tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post418319062389736273..comments2024-02-06T16:17:25.826+00:00Comments on THE GRĂNMARK BLOG: Thanks, Yanks! The FIFA arrests are the "good news" story of the year!Scott Gronmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-91226692773948484882015-05-31T18:20:26.425+01:002015-05-31T18:20:26.425+01:00Apparently the French voted for Blatter (what a su...Apparently the French voted for Blatter (what a surprise!), as did Spain - I suspect the FBI or the Swiss authorities will have to arrest the nasty little gnome before Europe speaks with one voice. But all the signs are that warrants will eventually be issued. I suspect it's going to be a very entertaining few years. Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-84065451077457255342015-05-31T02:16:36.732+01:002015-05-31T02:16:36.732+01:00my apposite comments of yesterday have slipped int...my apposite comments of yesterday have slipped into oblivion but despite the fact that I have no interest in soccer whatsoever I find this bizarre story quite tantalising. Surely a European-wide boycott will unfold ( I heard this from Greg Dyke) and will the rest of the world follow?<br />Blatter's election is another extraordinary episode in this mesmerising soap-opera.<br />How soon before his collar is felt? Place your bets.....Rileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07191599030795096843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-26902844602821094662015-05-30T17:22:23.843+01:002015-05-30T17:22:23.843+01:00No they can't - but it'll be fun watching ...No they can't - but it'll be fun watching the snake (and its head) writhing in agony for the next couple of years.Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-35469177446908108492015-05-30T17:20:15.154+01:002015-05-30T17:20:15.154+01:00How much rest do you need, Riley??? We're on t...How much rest do you need, Riley??? We're on tenterhooks!Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-66639524456293266532015-05-30T17:19:26.255+01:002015-05-30T17:19:26.255+01:00Hey - we could end up with two different world cup...Hey - we could end up with two different world cups, just like boxing! Not a bad idea, actually - Europe and South America compete for one (oh, okay - with Australia and the USA), while the rest of the World - i.e. all the countries which have paid most of the bribes to FIFA officials - plus Russia, of course - could compete for the other, meaningless one!Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-56401114707863500722015-05-30T17:14:35.352+01:002015-05-30T17:14:35.352+01:00That means something, given that Obama is a deity ...That means something, given that Obama is a deity as far as the BBC's Justin Webb is concerned!Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-17438660312739122922015-05-30T06:58:44.224+01:002015-05-30T06:58:44.224+01:00Bad news story of the year - they left the head on...Bad news story of the year - they left the head on the snake. Can't they do anything decent?mahlermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14469854614938507153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-32809306296192826532015-05-30T03:00:07.189+01:002015-05-30T03:00:07.189+01:00I might try again when I have rested.I might try again when I have rested.Rileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07191599030795096843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-74646244072694909132015-05-30T02:59:25.088+01:002015-05-30T02:59:25.088+01:00bugger, I've just lost in the interweb what I ...bugger, I've just lost in the interweb what I thought was a pithy comment...and it's too late to ask the brain cells to re-assemble...hey ho.Rileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07191599030795096843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-53421300775958625172015-05-29T03:00:28.735+01:002015-05-29T03:00:28.735+01:00Blogmeister:
Practically every official sports bod...Blogmeister:<br /><i>Practically every official sports body in the world is rubbish</i><br /><br />Think of boxing.David Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12345636878071983416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-67821033036236385872015-05-29T02:59:08.716+01:002015-05-29T02:59:08.716+01:00Justin Webb, writing in the Times:
...one woman ha...Justin Webb, writing in the <i><a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article4454279.ece" rel="nofollow">Times</a></i>:<br /><i>...one woman has done more this week to counter the mutterings of the global coalition of anti-Americans than the entire presidency of Barack Obama. Her name is Loretta Lynch.</i>David Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12345636878071983416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-39601937328394348822015-05-27T22:58:31.382+01:002015-05-27T22:58:31.382+01:00Practically every official sports body in the worl...Practically every official sports body in the world is rubbish - for instance, it's just been revealed that Rafael Nadal has been allowed to veto an umpire who annoys him by regularly penalising him for his outrageous time-wasting tactics. Cricket, tennis, Football - the governing bodies are uniformly atrocious, but even in this dismal company FIFA stands out for its humungous levels of corruption. It's an utter cess-pit.<br /><br />Your question is a good one. Essentially, Blatter and his sordid cronies are being kept in power by a bunch of Third World countries. It's the same as the UN, basically. I have no idea why the proper footballing nations - and England - didn't just turn round when Qatar got the nod for 2022 and say "Sod this for a game of soldiers - we're off". I suspect South America's the problem - after all, some of the FIFA officials charged today are from that neck of the woods, and a truly global football tournament without Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile would be pointless - and Europe already has the European Championship every four years. Besides - even if all the proper football nations tried to give FIFA a body-swerve, what are the chances of France not stabbing everyone else in the back?<br />Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-68604186898216504792015-05-27T22:43:32.937+01:002015-05-27T22:43:32.937+01:00Tonight, the FBI are official heroes all around th...Tonight, the FBI are official heroes all around the globe, wherever soccer is played (and yes, just this one time, I'll call it "soccer" in honour of US law enforcement officials - but it's back to "football" tomorrow). If the FBI wind up arresting, charging and convicting Blatter, they should be invited to do a lap of honour at the start of the 2018 World Cup Final- even if it stays in Russia. That'll be a global audience of around one billion. <br /><br />Hearing that the arrested FIFA officials were charged with "racketeering" was a special treat.<br /><br />God Bless America!Scott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-465869674531145332015-05-27T22:31:28.346+01:002015-05-27T22:31:28.346+01:00As we have already established, I know nothing abo...As we have already established, I know nothing about football (and care even less) but I am bewildered by something. If FIFA is such a pile of crap (I insist on using the correct legal terminology) why don't the generally law abiding countries being afflicted by its malevolence (Brits, Germans, Dutch et al) simply walk away?<br /><br />I'd like to be able to pretend that things are better organised in the more gentlemanly world of cricket. But, clearly, they aren't.<br /><br /> GCoopernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-44685271379302073292015-05-27T21:32:30.676+01:002015-05-27T21:32:30.676+01:00Man I don't know what happened but it's th...Man I don't know what happened but it's the one time all y'all, in all the various forms of social media, have ever been in agreement with one another...and tickled. Erik Bartlamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05401279267556576137noreply@blogger.com