The ludicrous narrative for a Korean World Cup in 2022

The voting for the rights to host upcoming FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022 take place on Thursday, December 2nd. Hardly a transparent process, the voting process is rife with secrecy and corruption, leaving no real clues as to whom the World Cups will be awarded.

The 2018 bids are from Russia, England, Spain/Portugal, and Belgium/Netherlands. The 2022 bids are from Qatar, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the United States. An executive summary of those bids, as evaluated by FIFA, is available here.

What's troubling, somewhat, is to hear the extent to which FIFA president Sepp Blatter is pushing a certain political agenda for these two Cups, which he deems as potential "legacy" tournaments, as outlined in this Wall Street Journal article:

"2018 would open Russia to the rest of the world, banishing the ugliness of the Iron Curtain once and for all. 2022, so the narrative goes, would help unify North and South Korea. Such is the power of soccer that, according to the theory, South Korea would happily share its World Cup with its neighbor to the North. That part's not implausible, but the imagined narrative goes further: North Korea would open up in time for 2022, ridding itself of an authoritarian regime (by that point, Kim Jong Il, the Dear Leader, might have made way for his designated successor, Kim Jong Un) and turning the event into a celebration of soccer-propelled international brotherhood."

Woefully optimistic at best and delusional at worst, could the power of Sepp Blatter's narrative - along with the executive committee members willing to do his bidding - deliver the 2022 Cup to South Korea, co-hosts (with Japan) in 2002? Lest we forget, it was also Blatter's doings that delivered a World Cup to Africa, which although deserved for South Africa progress as a nation, did not deliver in reality what FIFA's rhetoric had promised - as noted previously on this blog here, here, and here.

World Cup power broker and FIFA President Sepp Blatter

All in all, considering recent events in the Korean peninsula, such a pie-in-the-sky scenario for a Korean World Cup in 2022 seems preposterous. But, in truth, no less preposterous than FIFA's back-room-dealing, under-the-desk-note-passing, bribe-inducing, and country-colluding voting process in the first place.

Euro 2012 Mascots Unveiled

How strange is this video introducing the new mascots for Euro 2012, the European soccer championships, to be held jointly by Poland and the Ukraine?

Seriously. These animatrons, of course, look a whole lot better when manifested in material form:

Yikes. Why international sports organizations insist on giving children nightmares via their mascots is beyond me.  At least, however, the new Poland/Ukraine mascots are a tad less creepy than their 2012 Olympic counterparts, Wenlock and Mandeville.

Yowza. Names for the Euro 2012 freaks have yet to be determined, as FIFA holds a fan voting competition to determine whether they will be called one of the following: Slavek and Slavko, Siemko and Strimko, or Klemek and Ladko.

The triviality of the spectacle, does it matter?

HBO's 24/7, aka the 2011 NHL Winter Classic hype machine

A couple of story lines previewed in this 12 minute clip from HBO's production of 24/7, a series about the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins matchup in the 2011 NHL Winter Classic.

In no particular order:

• First, playing hockey outdoors is fundamentally special and, also, returns the game "to its' roots." Except for the fireworks and the overwhelming amount of corporate sponsorship, of course.
• Second, HBO behind-the-scenes shows are awesome.
• Third, these two teams have a rivalry that is concentrated around their two superstars, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. And, both teams are Stanley Cup contenders.
• Fourth, although the third narrative will be prevalent - these teams have other characters that will be interesting to watch.
• Fifth, hockey players are tough.
• Sixth, nobody - apparently - knows what hockey players do off the ice.

Should be an interesting series, especially as an "innovative" extension of the sports/media spectacle.

Absolutely brutal...

What a way to run a club.

Seriously, just a brutal breakdown of how the Glazers have run up the debts on one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world. Amazing, to me, is how overall revenues - including game-day revenue - are going up.  Too bad the 16% (!!!) interests on those debts have still shackled the team.

Q&A with Kevin Nelson, author of Operation Bullpen

He put the piece on Autograph Magazine's website, which is here.

I really appreciate his help and I think the Q&A is worth a quick read.

It never ends...

...or the Norwegian curling team/John Daly apparel outfitter strikes again.

This time, it's at Morehead State University, where women's basketball coach Tom Hodges whimsically signed a contract with LoudMouth golf to outfit his coaching staff for the 2010-2011 season. "It's a little outside my comfort zone," he said, "but anything that gets Morehead State in the headlines and puts our great university front and center, I'm all for it."

This is Tom Hodges first season as a head coach. At just 27 years old, he will be the youngest D-I women's basketball coach this year. But he's inheriting a squad that went 22-11 last year - the school's best season in three decades - and finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference regular season. That season, however, did not include an NCAA tournament berth.

At the end of the day, this just seems silly. But the media attention Hodges and MSU have received does underscore the issue of women's sports coverage in the media. When less than 5% of all sports coverage (on TV) is devoted to women's sports, this stunt is emblematic of the gimmicks required to get some publicity. Kudos to Hodges for realizing that, certainly there are worse ways to get media publicity. Still, I maintain a fragment of hope that it's his team's play can earn some coverage - and not just his garish garb.