Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Of Girls, Black Cats, and De-Relegation

De-relegation? Unrelegation? At any rate, stop the presses! The decision to send Fiorentina and Lazio down has been reversed, and Juventus has their point reduction lowered to 17 from 30.

Meanwhile, 10-year-old South London tyke Minnie Cruttwell successfully persuades MPs that the FA needs to do the right thing and let girls keep playing football with boys past the age of 11; she herself is "just as good as boys." The FA will release their own conclusions in September; here's hoping they get their heads out of their asses and into the twenty-first century on this issue and ramp up their funding and support for women in the sport. (No reason why those of us who like to watch men getting all sweaty as they perform heroic feats of athleticism should have all the fun, after all.) Seriously, I am delighted by young Minnie's courageous efforts and look forward to the day when it would not even occur to anyone to suggest that women footballers are a bunch of divers. (No, I'm never going to get over that.)

And finally, another tidbit of news we were too busy watching (and recovering from) the World Cup to report on till now: long-suffering Sunderland supporters got a reprieve from their anguish when the team was purchased earlier this month by beloved former Black Cats striker and Irish international Niall Quinn. Quinn will act as both manager and chairman, doubtless a relief to fans who blamed the former chairman and board of directors for Sunderland's abysmal 2005-2006 season. Meanwhile former Sunderland and Republic of Ireland manager and Roy Keane nemesis, the ruggedly handsome Mick McCarthy, is named as new head of the Wolves, in hopes he will lead them back into the Premiership, as he did for Sunderland before things went so horribly, horribly wrong.

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