Ronaldo will win, but Neuer deserves it.

Ok. Good to know it's okay to say offensive things as long as you're quoting a movie.

I've said for a long time to anyone who will listen that Iran's rhetoric on Israel and the US is just that - rhetoric. They do not actually give a pork-free shit about Israel, and are only concerned about US politics to the extent that the US can and does create problems for them and their neighborhood. But though…

Yeah, but then what's really the difference between that and letting them get paid? Scholarship athletes get all their food, books, housing, and travel expenses covered, plus a little extra, and at least in my experience rarely need to shell out personally for alcohol or booze. So, sure, this kid could use $20 large,…

False. Precedent is taken into account, even in civil law countries (the Swiss civil code even specifically mentions customary law). The difference between civil and common law codes is the size of the body of customary law and the expectations about when it is to be applied; resort to precedent in civil law systems…

No: there is a doping problem in sports. Anyone who thinks this is unique to her or Kenya or running or endurance sports is an idiot. Everyone at the top level of nearly every sport uses some kind of illicit substance or training regimen, whether that's EPO or blood doping or synthetic androgens or myostatin…

For once, I think Sepp Blatter may be on to something (instead of just on something). Neuer's performance at the World Cup was nothing short of staggering - everyone handicapped Germany's chances because of the team's weakness on defense, but that turned out not to be a problem as Neuer doubled as a sweeper.…

That is not what he said, no. But that was the point he was trying to make. Smart guys and good writers, you see, understand something called "context" and "reading between the lines" so that things can be understood by readers without having to spelled out. But you, apparently, are not one so gifted as to be able to…

I think his argument is that the NCAA is corrupt, self-serving, exploitative organization because apparently some people didn't get the memo.

I've seen this reasoning before (it cost my team in college a game, and was also a line ref); it's a failure of understanding physics. It's a basic tenet of soccer that the whole ball has to cross the whole goal line to count. Refs sometimes seem to think that because the crossbar is placed behind the goal lines, it…

DE GUSTIBUS NON EST DISPUTANDUM ASSHOLES!

This has been going on ever since hooligans started getting thrown out of stadiums in the 60s for taking things too far - instead of fighting at the stadium the hooligan groups agree to meet up somewhere the day of the game, lay down rules for what's allowed, and go at it. It's a good system, keeps innocent people…

Faux outrage is good clickbait, though. It's the same thing with social justice warriors on Tumblr calling out anyone who says anything about gender without uttering the proper inclusiveness shibboleths for mixed-race pansexual Jewish trans* cyborgs. Except Tumblr users do it get follows and reblogs instead of hits…

It's a well-known fact most Deadspin writers are complete jerks, don't let it bother you.

Most of the things kids these days get shit on for is actually stuff their parents did - they're the ones that handed out trophies for participation, after all. The only things you can actually blame kids for are selfies and hashtags. And even then, Slate loves to commentate on how narcissistic this means kids are,…

1. Athletes in less important sports (it's silly to call football or basketball revenue sports when the programs still operate at a net loss for the overwhelming majority of schools, including some nationally competitive ones) are much less likely to get full-ride scholarships based on sports.

MLS appears to be in the early stages of shitting its own bed; it's not clear to me that it's actually capable of surviving or growing in the way it needs to in order to become an institution like the big four sports leagues. That's sad, because they've been around long enough for fans to grow attached to them, but in…

I wrestled in high school. There was a guy in my weight division, perennial state champ and also at our rival school, who only ever used one takedown. Everyone knew what it was but his movements were so quick and so precise there was literally nothing you could do. Sometimes if you took a very defensive strategy you…

Criticizing the way the team plays is one thing, but it's another to criticize the front office. Players and coaches know that the talent can be good and the strategy can be good but simply not be right for each other, and mediocre players and coaches are generally aware of their mediocrity and don't make their…

I think, actually, people hate Ronaldo more because he plays for Madrid than vice versa (he's nowhere near Zlatan levels of arrogance, for example, and people love Zlatan). Barcelona is basically a bandwagon team - they're rich and successful, so you get to be on the winning side more often than not, but the fact that…