1919 Chicago White Sox (aka the Black Sox) Team Photo (Wikipedia Commons)
Pakistan has more than enough to worry about these days: the terrible flooding, war and terrorism, and a teetering government. But now, some of the country’s star cricket players have become embroiled in a match-rigging scandal during their current tour against England. Sports can be heartbreaking enough for fans; throwing games is a dagger through their hearts.
It wasn’t just Maradona, Dunga, Felipe Melo, the French team (and England) that went home from the FIFA World Cup to a less than stellar homecoming. The North Koreans, it seems, did not bring glory to Dear Leader.
The World Cup begins in South Africa one week from Friday. I’ll be posting video and links to historic Cup moments and trivia over the next six weeks. The Unlikely Fan has a great summary history to catch you up.
The video below is about one of the most famous games in Cup history: Brazil’s 1950 loss to Uruguay at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. The match wasn’t technically a “final”, but in the tournament format that year, a win or a draw would have given Brazil its first World Cup. That didn’t come for another eight years, in Sweden. The loss at home for Brazilians was searing.
To really appreciate winning you have know what it feels like to lose.
A notable inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer will be John Fogerty, whose baseball anthem “Centerfield” is now 25 years old. MLB.com and the New York Times tell the story of how recording the song (and album of the same name) helped Fogerty relaunch his music career. New grass on the field indeed.
