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Nick United

Commentary for Soccer, Futbol, or whatever you call it!

It's been awhile since my last post, and ironically enough, it's already time for the greatest league on Earth to rebut: The Barclays Premier League. Many moves have been made, money traded, and squads trained. It's time to hit the pitch and get down to business.

1. Manchester United

ManU is a truly elite squad: virtually the New York Yankess of association football. I think they have the talent (i.e. Fletcher, Nani, Rooney, Ferdinand) to go a long way. I think that last season was just inches short of triumph, and United has come a long way to not gain themselves a title. Manchester has made few changes, but the edition of van Persie will definitely make the Manchester United midfielder corps a lot much better. 

2. Chelsea

While the word on the street is that Wayne Rooney is the Premier League's best striker, thou could also make a case for Fernando Torres of Spain. Torres has an entire stockpile of morale after the Spaniards' Euro championship. However, Torres isn't Chelsea's only phenomenon, opposing strikers have Ashley Cole and John Terry to deal with, not to mention Frank Lampard and Juan Mata in midfield. Chelsea won't be any more than three points behind the title, and ManUtd should definitely watch out for the blues.

3. Tottenham Hotspur

The boys of White Hart Lane aren't necessarily filled with superstars like the teams named above, but the squad chemistry and management division are superb. Footballers such as Scott Parker, Luka Mordic, and Michael Dawson aren't the big all-stars we commonly association with being 'great', but they are all team players nonetheless. Heck, eleven men could beat out a solo Pelé any day.

4. Manchester City

Who's the top dog in Manchester now? Well, ManCity for now. The squad of Manchester city strikes me as 'overrated' and 'ego-induced, with the exception of Joe Hart. The "Why always me"-ism of Mario Ballotelli can, at times can make me want to puke, and at other times, make me want to burst out laughing. He also seems to contradict himself, because he a) gets himself benched multiple times after blowing a goal by showing off with a fancy shot, then b) boast that he doesn't celebrate goals because its his 'job'. However, City does have talent, and a top five finish is in order.

5. Arsenal

Arsenal is a lot like Spurs in the sense the the Gunners lack in stardom, but are big on team players and teamwork. There's not a lot to be said about Arsenal, besides that they have excellent side chemistry. Expect the Gunners to poke their heads into the top five, and might even soar a spot or two higher.

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That's about all for now, I am looking forward to the season of many domestic leagues.

Sports that should (and shouldn’t) be in the Olympics

The list of Olympic Sports goes on and on. Athletics, Archery, Swimming, etc.; it almost never ends. However, there are some sports that I believe should, and shouldn’t be in the Olympiad. Here are my opinions.

For the I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee) to admit a sport into either the winter or summer Olympics, the sport must be compliant with the Olympic Charter, be administrated by an Internation Federation, be widely played world-wide and be approved by the I.O.C.  There are some sports that will be a part of the 2016 Rio de Janero Olympiad, that weren’t part of the London Games. These sports are Golf and Rugby Union. I am perplexed by golf, because, it should have been a part of the games a long time ago, which it was, but then taken off. Golf is pretty widely played worldwide, thank you to an international Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour. Most Americans are wondering how Rugby, but not American Football, is going to make the games, but actually, Rugby Union, is very wide spread. It’s played a lot in Canada, and believe it or not, Rugby Sevens is somewhat of a major thing in NCAA. And, of course, Rugby is huge in Europe, and a little bit of Asia.

Well, there are only a few Olympic sports I think should be added. Baseball has a decent international base. It’s played in America and Canada, much of the Carribean, and South Africa, and last but not least, it’s huge in Japan, which is why all most all of the gloves I’ve ever owned have been Mizouno. Of course, the main agreement against, what I am saying is, “Only men play baseball.” Well, true, in a way, but you see, there is always softball. Softball may be seen as a totally different game, but you can also look at it as a modification of baseball. Ice Hockey is a good example to help my case. Womens’ Hockey is non-contact, which may seem minor, but the lack of contact is totally alien to the mens’ version. Also, many other sports, such as Swimming and Track have abbreviated distances for women. I really don’t see why not to add Baseball/Softball to the list of Olympic Sports.

The one sport I think should be removed from the roster of Olympic Sports is Table Tennis. Table Tennis, or simply, ping-pong, doesn’t really strike me as a sport any more than poker or billards. Maybe it is just my personal bias, and I will be the first to admit, that it very well does fit the criteria set by the I.O.C. I guess it is very opinionated to say such a thing, but it is just my personal judgments and you can disagree with me if you like, just saying.

London 2012 has been very entertaining, and it can only get more exciting from here!

Source(s):

• International Olympic Committee Website