On Sunday, America’s most-watched sporting event will take place. This year viewers will have to tune in to FOX to watch Super Bowl 54 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. This means our ears will be graced with the absolute beauty of the NFL on Fox theme song.
There are those who believe that kickers have no place in the game of American football. In fact, the revamped XFL is doing away entirely with the tedious extra-point process. But take one look at the last two Super Bowls and it’s obvious that the sport’s showpiece event often comes down to which placekicker sucks less.
Aston Villa defeated Leicester City 2-1 on Tuesday to advance to the final of the English Football League competition in hopes of lifting the Carabao Cup. The competition has seen many different sponsorships come and go as Carabao, a Thai energy drink, hasn’t always sponsored the competition. There once was a time teams raised the EFL Milk Cup.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane and review some of the fun EFL Cup names.
Shrewsbury Town has created one of the biggest talking points in Liverpool’s seemingly golden season. The Reds were handed a surprise 2-2 draw in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Now they will have to partake in a replay, but it seems Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp isn’t too interested in the FA Cup.
A new video has surfaced featuring an emotional phone call between Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and his parents discussing his move to Los Angeles and the beginning of his retirement.
With the transfer ban on Chelsea lifted and the team’s recent struggles, the Blues have their eyes on acquiring new assets in the transfer window. But a vegan-only kiosk might be the greatest acquisition thus far.
On Tuesday, Chelsea hosted London-rival Arsenal and looked to bounce back after losing to Newcastle during the weekend. The Blues secured one measly point after playing the majority of the match with a man advantage courtesy of a David Luiz red card.
There’s no going back. Soccer no longer relies on its history, tradition and tribal lines for meaning. While those aspects are still appreciated, they are now the means to an end defined by business, industry and global reach — and there’s always so much more to be done on that front. That’s the monster of commercialization.
Tottenham could be left without star striker Harry Kane until the start of next season, according to manager Jose Mourinho. Kane left Spurs' 1-0 New Years Day defeat to Southampton with an injury, revealed after scans to be a ruptured tendon in his hamstring. The North London side was initially hopeful Kane would be able to resume training in April, but Mourinho has now suggested that may be too optimistic.
Disgraced former USMNT manager Jürgen Klinsmann has doubled down on his belief that he had the nation “in a good place” and on track for “the final four” at the 2018 World Cup despite his final game in charge — a 4-0 defeat to Costa Rica in San José — echoing through time as the second-most abject, clueless performance in the history of the program (the nadir being that night in Couva).
To coincide annually with The Guardian’s excellent list of the 100 best male footballers in the world — compiled by a panel of 239 experts from 63 different nations — we here at The18 have compiled our own list over the last few years. There are no experts involved, there’s no rhyme or reason for anything, but we do hope you’ll join us on this adventure into the bowels of the beautiful game.