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Puskas Award – FIFA’s 10 Nominees for Goal of the Year in 2012
Once again, an award Messi can win and Ronaldo can’t. He isn’t even nominated. The Puskas Award, FIFA’s best goal of the year for 2012 has 10 goals up for the title, with Lionel Messi on the list, along with the dribbling (and last year’s champion) Neymar & Hatem Ben Arfa who are the big names on the list.
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FC Barcelona – David Villa Seems Unhappy
When things are going so well, you have to dig a bit deeper to find what’s wrong. The defense isn’t perfect and Barcelona have had close calls, but they’re 8 points ahead of Real Madrid, Lionel Messi is a goal machine and they are still undefeated in the league. So why isn’t David Villa happy as most would expect him to be?
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Duke Blue Devils – Seth Curry Stepping Out of his Brother’s Shadow
Not being completely healthy didn’t really bother Seth Curry, who has the back-court to himself entering his senior year for Duke. If his performance against the national champions is any indication, he’s not going to be talked about as Stephen Curry’s little brother anymore.
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San Antonio Spurs – Right Now, the Best in the West
Forget about everything said in the preseason. As long as Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan and especially this season Tony Parker are somehow linked to the San Antonio Spurs, this team is in the running for the Western crown and the NBA title. It’s still early, but it’s pretty clear they aren’t going anywhere.
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New York Knicks – Defense no Longer a Dirty Word
While most of the New York Knicks starting the season with a 5-0 record (for the first time in 19 years) is attributed to Carmelo Anthony playing responsibly and unselfishly, a lot of it has to do with the way the team has been playing defense through the first five games, something which hasn’t been exactly a point of pride in recent seasons.
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Dallas Cowboys – Thinking About the Playoffs Again
One win, and everything gets turned around. The defense creating sacks, turnovers and touchdowns. Tony Romo doesn’t turn the ball over two weeks in a row. Dez Bryant finally gets a break. Jason Witten keeps being the most reliable target in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys are still only 4-5, but they feel confident once again.
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Chicago Bears – Jay Cutler Is Anything But Soft
After being on the receiving end of a cheap shot from Tim Dobbins, Jay Cutler kept on playing, despite the concussion, before finally being taken out of the game. After his concussion on Sunday night it’s 3 and 9. He didn’t see anyone open so he just ran up the middle for 11 yards and the first down. No slide; just running till a defender brought him down.
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2012 NFL Season – Week 10 Power Rankings
Finally, a change at the top. With the Atlanta Falcons losing for the first time this season there’s no longer an obligation to put them at first. The Houston Texans, with the most impressive win of the week after beating the Chicago Bears on the road, deserve to be labeled as the best team in the NFL 10 weeks into the 2012 season.
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International Friendlies – Who Needs Them
Roy Hodgson and other coaches can talk all they want about opportunities to test new players and new formations, but the whole international friendly scene is feeling more and more useless; a foundation for FA’s to make a few extra dollars/euros/pounds while disrupting the flow of club football which people actually care about and putting players at risk of injury.
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Premier League – Who Scores When
Contrary to popular belief, the most clutch club in the Premier League this season is not Manchester United, with “only” six goals scored during the final 15 minutes of the match but Manchester City, with 8 goals of their 20 netted in during the final stage of the 90 minutes.