I'm sure the marketing department at ESPN only saw cross-promotional gold here when they struck a deal with Coldplay to use music from their new album during the network's EURO 2008 coverage. Big European band. Biggest European sporting event of the year. Biggest sports network in America showing the games in HD. I'm sure they all thought it fit together nicely.
But we all know what's coming -- an endless stream of "You know how I know soccer's gay?" jokes. Let's not kid ourselves into thinking all the soccer-bashing lunkheads in this country will miss that movie reference so easily.
Nice going, ESPN. You're going to have to give Heather Mitts a ton of airtime next month to make up for this.
(H/T: We Are The Postmen)
One day very soon, there is going to be some kind of expose biography of the struggle to control one of England's most storied clubs. The strife at Liverpool this season is enough to garner some kind of BBC mini-series, and the latest turn has new owner Tom Hicks calling for the resignation of club CEO Rick Parry. Parry has been in charge of Liverpool for 10 years, a stretch that includes 2 League Cups, 2 FA Cups, a UEFA Cup and a Champions League title. This isn't enough for Hicks, who sees Parry in the corner of warring partner George Gillett, and is essentially trying to eliminate the competition or at least draw a line in the sand. 
Oh my, isn't that a mouthful of a title? Either way, Das FanHaus and the official unofficial source of all things MLS here at Fanhouse is here to say "Nay" with a hearty dash of name-calling. 
In probably one of the more boring celebrity traffic violations in Beverly Hills, David Beckham was pulled over for making an "illegal left turn between Fairfax Avenue and Sunset Boulevard and issued with a $160 ticket" according to the 
When East Fife of the Scottish Third Division clinched first place this weekend, they decided to celebrate in the traditional soccer style, massive bottles of champagne sprayed upon anyone and anything in the immediate celebrating vicinity. Unfortunately the team, not pictured happily at right, were reprimanded by police several times when they tried to bring the glass bottles onto the pitch. The law prohibits glass from the playing area, and the police in question were obviously strict constructionalists. Taking the bottles from the field to the dressing room then back out to celebrate with fans, raised the ire of local officers who then had the now empty containers thrown out. 
We have to look at any ruling that unites soccer with alcohol and place them firmly in the "bad idea bin." In the SPL, Motherwell chairman, John Boyle, is suggesting a return to frosty malted beverages considering the local Scottish Rugby Union allows its fans to tilt back the occasional pint at their matches. The Scottish FA has opened the door to the possibility, as long as fans can be expected to drink responsibly. In this age of heightened security, it isn't an issue of catching the offenders on camera, but ensuring that they don't abuse alcohol in the first place. 
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