Larry Brown Sports

Earlier this week, we told you about a guy who rushed the field at a World Cup game and was ushered off without being physically abused. That’s probably because he wasn’t trying to touch the ultimate prize – the tournament trophy. I have no idea what Jaume Marquet Cot’s intentions were this time, but he’s become famous for acting like an idiot at high-profile sporting events.  Sports by Brooks has discovered that he’s the same guy who some know as “Jimmy Jump” — a nickname that stems from his antics at sporting events in the past.  You might remember when he went after Roger Federer during the 2009 French Open and tried draping a flag over him.  Check out the video of Jaume Marquet Cot trying to steal or put a hat on the World Cup trophy:

What a moron this guy is.  How are they even letting him buy tickets to these events?  I know it would be extremely difficult to enforce, but you’d think that since he’s done this time after time they’d find a way to keep him out.  He’s a clown and a menace to society.  If I was at a game and saw him there…I’d probably do nothing.  But I’d certainly hope someone else did.

Sources:
Video: Dumbass Tries Swiping World Cup Trophy [SPORTS by BROOKS]
Video Credit: YouTube user stylerchris78

After going 116 minutes of scoreless soccer, Spain’s Andres Iniesta broke the tie and connected for a goal that made Spain the champions of the 2010 World Cup. Here the Andres Iniesta goal video that won the World Cup for Spain, making him a god in his home country for the rest of his life:

After emerging from Group H to the Knockout Stage, Spain won all four of its games by a 1-0 score. While their wins over Portugal, Paraguay, Germany, and finally the Netherlands all were nail-biters, there is some comfort knowing that the best team won it all when you consider that they didn’t allow a goal for four straight games. Maybe we have to call Iker Casillas the MVP of the tournament for his streak of clean sheets. David Villa has to be up there as well with his five goals too.

Video Credit: YouTube user WorldCupSA2010

With the 2010 World Cup being held in South Africa, it’s an obvious no-brainer that FIFA president Sepp Blatter would salivate over the possibility of closing the first ever World Cup held on the African continent with former South African President and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela presenting the champion’s trophy to either Spain or the Netherlands on Sunday. And there is no harm in asking, of course, but reports emerging that Mandela, who will be 92 this week, is under “extreme pressure” from FIFA to present the trophy are a bit unsettling, particularly in light of the passing of Mandela’s great grandaughter, Zenani, following the World Cup opening concert. Mandela’s grandson, Mandala Mandela, has spoken out on the issue:

We’ve come under extreme pressure from FIFA requiring and wishing that my grandfather be at the final today. But I think that decision will solemnly lie with him, how he wakes up today, how he feels, what his medical team says, but as well his family.

My grandfather is 92 years old next week, this is an evening game. He’s expected to hand over the trophy after the game which could be anything from 10:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and it will be quite strenuous on his part.”

Mandela has generally steered clear of the international soccer celebration, and with good reason. The family is in mourning and the man is basically 92 years old. Let it go FIFA. Or here’s a suggestion—Invictus star Morgan Freeman will be at the game — maybe FIFA should consider him to present the trophy.

Sources:
Mandela faces pressure to attend final [AP/ESPN]

One slimy sea creature was really cashing in on the 2010 World Cup — that is, until Germany lost Wednesday. Paul the psychic octopus correctly predicted all six of Germany’s outcomes, including a 1-0 group play upset defeat at the hands of Serbia and Wednesday’s semifinal defeat to Spain. The eight-legged creature is clearly not afraid to tell fans the future, no matter how harsh it may be for their team. Here’s a video of Paul the Octopus picking Spain to beat Germany via Jimmy Traina’s Hot Clicks:

Here is what owner Oliver Walenciak had to say about Paul’s powers:

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Clearly they do things a little differently in South Africa than we do them here in the States.  When a fan rushes the field in Philadelphia with a goal of outrunning security long enough to hear 40,000 people roaring for him and enjoy his 20 seconds of fame, he ends up getting Tasered by Phillies’ security.  When a fan does the same in Durban, South Africa during one of the most important games in the world carrying arguably the most obnoxious noise-maker in the world, he’s chased down and taken off the field.  Take a look at this video of a fan running onto the field with a vuvuzela during the World Cup Semifinals, courtesy of Sportress of Blogitude:

I know, the World Cup is a much larger stage with higher security awareness, but would it kill MLB teams to hire some security guards who are capable of getting out of their own ways?  If your job is to protect players and fans at a sporting event and you can’t chase down an occasional drunk who who runs onto the field, there’s something wrong.  The World Cup guy gave up much easier than the Phillies fan, but I didn’t see a security guard chasing him around waiting for an opportune shot with a stun-gun, either.

Source:
Vuvuzela-Carrying Vagabond Vanquished From Pitch During Germany-Spain Match [Sportress of Blogitude]
Video Credit: YouTube user moka10

I’m not sure anyone has had to sacrifice more to help their team win in the 2010 World Cup than Demy De Zeeuw of The Netherlands.  I won’t lie and say I’ve followed the games closely enough to analyze his play, but I’m certainly willing to give De Zeeuw all the credit he deserves after the punishment he took during Holland’s 3-2 victory over Uruguay on Tuesday that cemented his team a spot in the World Cup Finals.

Soccer is already well known for the acting and flopping players do, but there’s absolutely nothing fake or over-dramatic about this video of Demy De Zeeuw taking a Martin Caceres bicycle-kick right to the face:

Sources:
Martin Caceres Boots Demy De Zeeuw in the Face [You Been Blinded]
Video Credit: YouTube user kieverfutbol

Miroslav Klose scored two of Germany’s four goals against Argentina in a quarterfinals shutout win at the 2010 World Cup. The match against Argentina marked Klose’s 100th international game for Germany, and his two goals placed him second all-time in World Cup history with 14 for his career. Klose’s first goal was the result of an impressive setup from Lukas Podolski. He slid on his knees after that goal but broke out his trademark flip following his second goal which came in the 89th minute. Here’s a video of Miroslav Klose’s flip after scoring for Germany:

Germany has displayed the most firepower of any team at the tournament, scoring four goals in three different games. As of now, it’s looking like they’ll have a date with The Netherlands in the finals, unless Spain and Uruguay have something to say about it.

Video Credit: YouTube user hollywoodz2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup has been interesting to say the least. From the refs screwing over England to players hitting reporters it seems like there’s been no end to the madness … and the tournament’s not even over yet! The latest piece of ridiculousness comes to us from Nigeria, where their president Goodluck Jonathan has banned the Nigerian national team from competing in international games for the next two years due to their poor play in the WC.

Does anyone else see this as a little bit dramatic? No one likes to see their team lose — it’s heartbreaking and infuriating all at the same time. But is Nigeria’s president really proving anything by not allowing the team to compete internationally? Yes, he’s proving that he’s an idiot. The team didn’t break any rules why playing in the World Cup — they just sucked. There’s no law against sucking.

Did he really expect the national team to just go in there and dominate? Even if they made it past the three games they played they would have run into a team like Germany or Spain and I’m sorry, but they don’t have a chance in that match-up.

The thing that really irks me about all this is that by “punishing” the team for their bad performance, they are potentially violating the government interference rule. And because of that, FIFA could suspend not only the men’s national team but the Under-20 Women’s team which is supposed to compete on the 13th of July in Germany. They haven’t even had their chance to play yet and because their president is being stupid they might lose their spot. That’s just not right.

Governments should have a very small role in sports. They can be fans, host parades, and give teams money for new stadiums (which I’m not quite sure I 100% agree with that all the time either), but do not sit there and suspend a team. If that were the case, teams like the Detroit Lions would have been booted a long time ago.

While the glory of the 2010 World Cup competition resumes on Friday for the remaining eight nations, the fallout of defeat is emerging from those who made the early trip home. Namely, Nigeria. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has suspended the Nigerian national soccer team from international play for two years as a result of their poor performance in South Africa, as well as other recent failures. Nigeria finished at the bottom of group B, drawing with South Korea and losing to Argentina and Greece. Here is what Nigerian Sports Minister Ibrahim Isa had to say:

“The government has taken a decision we believe is in the interests of Nigeria that we should for now, withdraw from international competition because our football since 1996 seems not to be growing … The president Goodluck Jonathan has endorsed this decision and the Nigerian people are excited about it.

The Nigerian people are excited about having their national team suspended from competition? OK … And one slight potential problem: FIFA regulations prohibit national governments from interfering in the affairs of national football federations. FIFA officials have yet to act but Nigerian lawmakers have already attempted to intervene, passing a resolution calling on President Jonathan to rescind the ban. FIFA is currently reviewing the situation before it takes any action. Nigerian national team member Dickson Etuhu had this to add:

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Come on Russia, where’s your national pride?  Only eight percent of you think your nation’s team has a shot at winning the 2010 World Cup?  How are they supposed to win when they barely have any support?  Oh wait, maybe they aren’t going to win because they aren’t in the tournament and never were.  Apparently, that’s not enough to stop eight percent of the people who participated in a poll from thinking their boys have a chance to take home the trophy.

A survey conducted by Russia’s Levada Centre asked 1,600 Russian adults in 130 different cities who they thought the tourney favorite was and the results found that eight percent of Russians believe Russia can win the 2010 World Cup even though they never qualified.  When Russia was defeated by Slovenia in the qualifying stage before the Cup, Russians were stunned and disappointed.  Either the eight percent who said Russia could win it all have no interest in soccer, or they’ve blacked out the devastating loss they suffered a while back and still believe Russia is in the tournament.  The same results would probably show if they did this type of survey in a lot of other countries whose teams didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s the funniest news I’ve heard all day.

Sources:
Absent Russia will win World Cup says 8 percent of nation [Yahoo! News]
Russian World Cup fans redefine the word optimism [Out of Bounds]