Promotion for Some, Legal Insanity and Romance for a Goalie...

The old saying goes that you have to be crazy to be a goalie. As it applies to any sport where the rules permit a man between the sticks, posts, wood; these madmen are the last line of defense. They make the great stops and do their best to keep, as they say, the other team honest.

The promotion of Italian soccer team Novara to the top flight of Italian football inspired a memorable performance from goalkeeper Jimmy Fontana. Nothing of his performance had to do with his play during the game.

Do all Italian's celebrate like this? Perhaps (Cameronesi goes barbershop in 2006 World Cup win).

Fontana channeled his inner drug addict, drunk, and semi-nude firefighter for these recorded rampages. What can be learned from this? Nothing, other than the need to design soccer jerseys that Italian's cannot remove their lower extremities. And perhaps a future marriage between Fontana and whom I am assuming is the manager of Novara.

Some players see a promotion, some fans see a beginning to life in the top division in Italian football; goalkeeper Jimmy Fontana saw the chance to embrace some hybrid character from Scareface, Backdraft, and Y Tu Mama Tambien (for the kissing I guess).

More evidence to stereotype that goalie's are absolutely mental.

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Award For Best Floppers – NBA Basketball Players Or World Cup Soccer Players?

While Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock won Oscars for best actor and actress in 2010, the Academy has forgotten to include another category for some of the best acting performed in other categories:

The best acting for flopping in sports.

One of the biggest issues in sports has been players trying to lead on an official into making a call that can hinder a game. These calls often require more emphasis by the person who is being fouled in order for the referee to blow his whistle. This concept of over-emphasizing a foul on another player is called flopping and has become a consistent occurrence in many sports.

While flopping is non-existent in most sports because of the inability to emphasize a foul or infraction (such as non-team sports like golf or tennis), there are a few sports where the concept of flopping is a big issue. Although most team sports like football and baseball rarely deal with this issue, the two most notorious sports that have this problem are basketball and soccer.

The 2010 World Cup was a sensational tournament that showcased some of the greatest soccer talent from around the world. Despite its great ratings and high level of skill, the tournament has also been a display of some great acting as players flop to receive calls or to run the clock. Almost every game that has been played has had a player going to the ground with a look of being in agonizing pain in hopes of receiving a free kick, a penalty kick, or for referees to flash yellow or red cards to their opponents.

A big example of flopping for an advantage was in the match-up between USA vs Ghana in the first stage of the knockout round. After Asamoah Gyan kicked in the goal to give Ghana a 2-1 lead in the first overtime, players from the team began “getting hurt” on numerous moments in both overtime periods. Along with the countless times they flopped, they would remain down with a look of agonizing pain for as long as possible so that the clock would continue to run. The end result of the game: Ghana holds on to a 2-1 win over USA. Winning the best acting performance for flopping injuries to advance in the tournament: priceless.

(Click here to watch video content of a Ghana player faking an injury during the Ghana vs USA match)

The award for best flopping isn’t instantly given to the soccer world as the sport with the best acting. The NBA is equally infamous for a number of players who try to use their acting ability to get calls against players as well. Although there are fouls called due to players running over opposing competitors to score, sometimes the whistle for a call is blown because certain players make a dramatic scene. Some players would qualify that as being smart and forcing other players to the bench for foul trouble, but others would deem their actions as a negative portrayal on the sport of basketball.

A number of key players in the NBA are directly affected by others flopping in games. Stars like Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal have had to deal with opposing players acting as if they were hit hard in order to persuade the referees to blow their whistle on them. Both players are two of the biggest and most ferocious players in the game and make it difficult to differentiate if they foul their opponent or if they are acting like they are fouled.

Along with the two biggest targets of flopping in the NBA, Manu Ginobili is usually regarded as one of the most renowned floppers in the league. Throughout his eight year career in the NBA, Ginobili can be seen with his arms flailing in the air and his body flying around from the slightest contact of whoever he is guarding or being guarded by.

In a list of the top 10 all-time floppers created by ESPN writer Thomas Neumann, Ginobili was rated sixth all-time and was the highest rated active player on the list as well.



Although both basketball and soccer have issues with players flopping, both sports still have a strong appeal and competitiveness that keep the sport fair and genuine. They will always have an issue of players pretending to be fouled in order to be rewarded or put the other team at a disadvantage. Acting is just a part of both sports since they first began and will be for many years to come.

Maybe the academy will realize that and create an award for best acting in a sport. If they do, soccer and basketball players will be receiving most of those nominations.

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Jimmy Jump Tries To "Hat" World Cup Trophy

For those of you who don't know who Jimmy Jump is, Jump's real name is Jaume Marquet Cot who infamous for his antics in disturbing sporting events from Wimbledon to the UEFA Champions League.

During yesterday's 2010 World Cup Final, Jump decided to run out onto the pitch and attempt to put a red "Jimmy Jump" barrentina on the trophy.

Sadly, he came up just a bit short.



(Courtesy of AOL Fanhouse)

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Spanish Announcer Camacho World Cup Winning Goal Call

Spanish soccer announcer Camacho has become a beloved favorite for his entertaining goal calls for Real Madrid and the Spanish National team. Think of him as the Spanish Randy Moller of sorts.

So as Andres Iniesta's extra-time goal went into the net to win the 2010 World Cup for Spain, here is how Camacho responded.



(Courtesy of Dirty Tackle)

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Final Weekend at PUMA City NY: Watch Netherlands vs. Spain in the PUMA Social Club

After a month-long invasion of the Big Apple, PUMA City NY will be closing its doors on July 11 to rave reviews.

As reported here, to celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sportlifestyle brand PUMA launched PUMA City NY, a month-long activation of the full brand experience featuring events, programs and parties for the soccer aficionado and the casual fan alike.

Situated in the heart of South Street Seaport along the Lower Manhattan waterfront, PUMA City NY opened its doors to the public on the first day of action in the 32-team tournament (June 11) and will remain buzzing with activity until the presentation of the FIFA World Cup trophy Sunday afternoon (July 11).

On Friday evening at 9PM, Dance Right will stop by PUMA City to celebrate music from all over the world, specifically modern music from Africa.

In addition to Friday evening’s festivities, there will be a PUMA Social Club Promotional Event taking place through July 11.

Effective immediately, visitors who spend $100 or more on PUMA apparel and/or footwear will get exclusive access to the briskly air-conditioned PUMA Social Club on Sunday at 2PM to celebrate the end of the World Cup and PUMA City NY.

This is will be the first and only time visitors can watch a World Cup match in the PUMA Social Club. But not just any match, the final match of the tournament between the Netherlands and Spain where the winner will claim the first FIFA World Cup Trophy for its home country.

As always though, the outdoor space of PUMA City NY, consisting of what has been dubbed the PUMA Beer Garden, in partnership with the Red Bar, will be available to visitors to watch the championship match on the several big screen televisions in the viewing area.

So visit PUMA City NY this weekend to see how it all ends and celebrate all things football.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special PUMA City NY video presentation.

Click here to read about the special appearance made by the best women's soccer player in the world, Marta Vieira da Silva.

Click here to read more about the launch of PUMA City NY.

Click here for a visual and written tour through PUMA City NY during the first weekend of the launch.

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PUMA City NY: Brazilian Women's Soccer Sensation Marta Works Magic; USA vs. Ghana on tap

As spring transitioned into summer and rising temperatures proceeded to bake the Big Apple on a daily basis, PUMA City NY continued, and continues, to remain the place to be for the total World Cup experience.

PUMA’s invasion of New York began on the morning of June 11 and from that moment, South Street Seaport was destined to never be the same.

From the PUMA Football Pitch, a custom-built field open daily for pick-up games, victory dances, and more, to PUMA’s ‘Pop-Up’ Stores, which are shipping containers that have been transformed into shops to sell PUMA gear, fanwear, and footwear with not-to-be missed New York exclusives, to the PUMA Social Club, where post-sunset party hoppers can stop by for a variety of nightly events, PUMA City NY has quickly become the central locus to catch the fever of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

This is further evidenced by the additional attraction of being able to watch every live game of the international 32-team tournament on the big screens at the outdoor PUMA RED Beer Garden; including Saturday’s Round of 16 contest between the United States and Ghana.

The scheduled 2:30PM match between the United States and Ghana will be preceded by the first game in the Knockout Round between South Korea and Uruguay.

And after the Americans’ thrilling victory over Algeria to qualify for the Round of 16 and win their group (Group C) in the process, the anticipation for Saturday’s game against a tough Ghanaian team couldn’t be any higher.

A little over week ago, Brazilian Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) sensation Marta Vieira da Silva, a 4-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Award winner (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), graced the PUMA City NY grounds with an appearance at the PUMA Football Pitch for the "Can You Trick Your Inner Marta Out?" Contest.

Young soccer players watched Marta perform her favorite soccer tricks and then showed Marta some moves of their own. The player with the best tricks won the Marta's Best Trick Trophy.

Also worth noting is that PUMA will be continuing their Boot Demo program at PUMA City through the end of their time in New York on July 11.

Anyone who stops by the Football Pitch for a pick-up game or one of PUMA’s various programs, like ‘Suits in Boots’, is able to try on and try out a pair of PUMA soccer cleats, including the black/pink colorway of the women's PowerCat 2.10, which are the boots that Marta wore during her special appearance, as well as the PowerCat 1.10 and v1.10 for men.

For giving them a test run, visitors will receive a coupon good for 15% off all footwear, including the cleats, at the PUMA Footwear Store housed in one of the big, red shipping containers on site.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and amazing video of Brazilian women's soccer sensation, Marta.

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2010 France's World Cup Manager, "I Will Not Shake Your Hand!"

One of the most dissapointing teams in the 2010 World Cup was France who was picked as one of the early favorites to get out of Group A.

France failed to win any of their opening round games and tallied only one goal in the 2010 World Cup.

France's manager Raymond Domenech for some reason decided not to shake the hand of South Africa's manager Carlos Alberto Parreira after France's 2-1 loss to South Africa.



This might lead back to France's Thierry Henry infamous hand-ball against Ireland in a 2010 World-Cup playoff. Who was the manager of that French team?

One, Raymond Domenech.

(Courtesy of Dirty Tackle)

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Father’s Day Weekend at PUMA City NY: World Cup action, Free Bike Repairs, New PUMA Bikes

This weekend’s festivities at PUMA City NY present visitors with the unique opportunity to make it a fun-filled Father’s Day Weekend for dads and granddads alike at minimal cost.

On Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20, from 12:00PM – 5:00PM, PUMA, in partnership with Hub Station, will be offering free basic bike repairs and tune-ups on a first come, first serve basis.

In addition, while waiting for their bikes to be serviced, visitors can test ride new PUMA bikes including the Disko, the Pico, the Nevis Man, the Nevis Lady and the Funk.

If this isn’t enough incentive to surprise dad or granddad with a relatively inexpensive excursion to PUMA City NY at South Street Seaport then the multitude of events and activities on tap throughout PUMA’s month-long activation should make it a no-brainer.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video running down the 32 teams participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Click here to read more about the launch of PUMA City NY.

Click here for a visual and written tour through PUMA City NY during the first weekend of the launch.

For the complete calendar of events at PUMA City go to www.pumacity.com.

For more information about the South Street Seaport go to www.thenewseaport.com.

Become a fan on www.facebook.com/puma and www.facebook.com/pumafootball or follow the happenings via twitter at @thepumastore and use #pumacity for any tweets about PUMA City NY.

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Jimmy Kimmel Compares Mexican/French World Cup Fans

Yesterday, Mexico scored a 2-0 win over the French in their pool play during the World Cup.

Well, one thing that caught late night host's Jimmy Kimmel's eye was the comparison between the fans of Mexico and the fans of France.

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The Total World Cup Experience: PUMA City NY at South Street Seaport

As reported here, to celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sportlifestyle brand PUMA has launched PUMA City NY, a month-long activation of the full brand experience featuring events, programs and parties for the soccer aficionado and the casual fan alike.

Situated in the heart of South Street Seaport along the Lower Manhattan waterfront, PUMA City NY opened its doors to the public on the first day of action in the 32-team tournament (June 11) and will remain buzzing with activity until the presentation of the FIFA World Cup trophy next month (July 11).

Building on the excitement and success of PUMA City Boston in 2008-09, PUMA redesigned PUMA City especially for New York and for the World Cup taking place in South Africa.

The new version of PUMA City consists of two separate shipping containers that have been specially designed and re-configured as a retail space. These “pop-up” shops are where PUMA apparel can be purchased, including replica jerseys for all PUMA-sponsored teams, New York-specific T-shirts, wrist bands and soccer balls as well as PUMA footwear such as lifestyle shoes and soccer boots.

The outdoor space of PUMA City NY consists of what has been dubbed the PUMA Beer Garden, in partnership with the Red Bar, which has essentially been converted into a World Cup viewing area where visitors can catch every game of this year’s tournament on several big screen televisions while sipping on a cold one.

Adjacent to the PUMA Beer Garden is a T-shirt customization area where jerseys or T-shirts purchased in the aforementioned “pop-up” stores can be customized at no additional cost.

PUMA City’s outdoor gaming area keeps the spirit of artistry, sport and competition alive between each World Cup contest with foosball and ping-pong tables as well as an artists’ station where visitors can customize and design soccer balls, T-shirts and create objects of all shapes and sizes out of select PUMA laces. The laces have been provided through a special charity program co-sponsored by PUMA and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).

In addition, PUMA City’s Football Pitch can be found merely a hop, skip and a jump away. The Football Pitch is where visitors of all ages can channel their inner Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo by participating in kids’ clinics, human foosball, pick-up games and tournaments while demoing PUMA’s brand new soccer boots that are being worn by the athletes in the World Cup.

After the last World Cup match has been played for the day and afternoon turns into evening, visitors can head over to the PUMA Social Club, a lounge/party bunker complete with a bar, foosball and ping-pong tables, and a resident DJ spinning today’s hottest tracks.

And with an entire calendar of events on tap for the duration of the World Cup, from Day 1 it has become readily apparent that PUMA City NY is the place to be for New Yorkers to drink in the total World Cup experience.

“We just want people to come down and have fun”, said PUMA North America Senior Director of Marketing Tara McRae. “PUMA is truly, truly excited about being able to prop up the city of New York for the World Cup, for the entire month, to celebrate.” McRae went on to add that, “I think you’re going to see a lot more of this from us.”

For the complete calendar of events at PUMA City go to www.pumacity.com.

For more information about the South Street Seaport go to www.thenewseaport.com.

Become a fan on http://www.facebook.com/puma and www.facebook.com/pumafootball or follow the happenings via twitter at @thepumastore and use #pumacity for any tweets about PUMA City NY.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a photo montage of PUMA City NY's opening weekend in pictures.

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Vuvuzelas Are Awesome, Awesomely Annoying

It's been a pretty slow newsday in the world outside of the Big 12 staying alive and that oil spill that's taking over the Gulf of Mexico.

So, ABC's Good Morning America dispatched Robin Roberts to get some information on those annoying noise-makers being used by fans at the 2010 World Cup called vuvuzelas.



As the saying goes, "One Vuvuzela a day keeps fair-weather soccer fans away".

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U.S.A. vs England Recap

An early goal for England and gift from their goalkeeper had the fans in the stands in fits as England and the United States tied 1-1. The AP's John Mone has the match re-cap from the opening game for Team USA in Rustenburg, South Africa.

Courtesy of((AssociatedPress)

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PUMA brings Total World Cup Experience to New York City

On the eve of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sportlifestyle brand PUMA is gearing up to launch PUMA City NY, a month-long activation of the full brand experience featuring events, programs and parties for everyone from the soccer enthusiast to the fashionable New Yorker.

PUMA City NY, the second concept of its kind in the United States, will be fully functioning and operational from the opening kick of the 32-team tournament in South Africa (June 11) to the presentation of the FIFA World Cup Trophy (July 11).

Given its national relevance and its standing as an iconic and cultural New York City landmark, the South Street Seaport was chosen as the location to host all of the activities for PUMA City NY.

The following PUMA press release provides further details:

PUMA® City NY Takes on the Big Apple With Soccer by Day and Parties by Night

PUMA brings unique shopping, sports and event space concept to New York City for a month-long activation to celebrate the World’s Most Anticipated Soccer Event

Westford, MA, June 3, 2010 – Sportlifestyle brand, PUMA® will be taking over the South Street Seaport in New York City, June 11, 2010 – July 11, 2010, to create a soccer experience that is unmatched. The month-long activation is being coined PUMA City NY and is a full brand experience complete with events, programs and parties for the avid soccer enthusiast, the fashionable New Yorker and anyone in between.

The first PUMA City made its United States debut in Boston last spring for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 and quickly became the most popular event space and venue in the city. While in town for three weeks during the around-the-world sailing race, the three-story, 22-shipping container built PUMA City made a name for itself as THE place to be and be seen.

Building on this success and excitement, PUMA has redesigned PUMA City especially for New York and for this summer’s global soccer event taking place in South Africa. This new version of PUMA City consists of two separate shipping containers that have been specially designed and re-configured as a retail space. PUMA teamed up with renowned architects LOT-EK and builders SGBlocks on the design and construction.

Each unit transforms a standard 40-foot shipping container: two large pods slide out of one side of the container, expanding its interior space from 320 square-feet to 560 square-feet. On the opposite side, two large panels, cut out of the container’s corrugated steel wall, open up to allow access to the shop, creating a canopy and an entrance ramp.

PUMA City is designed for ease of transportation, deployment and recovery. Taking advantage of the shipping container network, the 25,000-lb. units travel as conventional containers to be rapidly erected and create an exciting and spacious retail experience. All fixtures are built-in to minimize onsite set up.

“Our goal is to give New Yorkers a true brand experience, combining sport and lifestyle with an element of design,” said Antonio Bertone, PUMA’s Chief Marketing Officer. “PUMA City NY will allow us to interact and connect with our consumers on a unique level during the largest sporting event in the world – the World Cup. This is just one of several pieces in our overall plan to celebrate the games.”

In addition to the retail space, there will be a soccer pitch used to host mini-tournaments, pick-up games, clinics and everything New Yorkers will need to get in the soccer spirit. PUMA City will also have a fully operational event space – The PUMA Social Club, where the brand will host DJs, ping pong tournaments, foosball games, athlete appearances and more.

The PUMA Social Club will, like PUMA, be the perfect mix of sport and lifestyle to help New Yorkers get to know all that the brand stands for.

Given its national relevance and its standing as an iconic and cultural New York City landmark, the South Street Seaport was the ideal location to host all of the activities for PUMA City NY.

PUMA has been preparing for the 2010 games for months and is embracing its rich history in African soccer. So much in fact that the brand has replaced its iconic PUMA Cat with the African continent.

PUMA is a sponsor to seven of the qualifying teams of this year’s 2010 FIFA World Cup, including the reigning World Cup Champions – the Italian National Team, as well as Cameroon, Uruguay, Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Switzerland.

As part of our long-standing relationship with PUMA’s 13 sponsored African soccer teams, PUMA has created a special Africa Unity Kit that has been approved as the third kit for each of these teams in 2010.

The kit is a symbol of unity and is meant to help raise awareness and funds for biodiversity conservation through PUMA’s partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. PUMA will be celebrating Unity and African soccer throughout all of the programs at PUMA City NY.

PUMA Soccer’s portfolio includes five European National Teams, including the defending FIFA World Cup™ champions Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and 13 African soccer Federations, including the current CAF African Cup of Nations™ holders Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Tunisia, Namibia, Morocco, Angola, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo.

In the United States, PUMA is the official sponsor of the Women’s Professional Soccer League and has a roster of athletes including Marta, Natasha Kai, Leslie Osborne, Amy Rodriguez, Karina LeBlanc, and Alex Scott. PUMA also sponsors men’s players including Jay Demerit, Brian Ching, Heath Pearce, Dwayne De Rosario, Matt Reis, and Kasey Keller.

For more the complete calendar of events at PUMA City go to www.pumacity.com.

For more information about the South Street Seaport go to www.thenewseaport.com.

Become a fan on http://www.facebook.com/puma and www.facebook.com/pumafootball or follow the happenings via twitter at @thepumastore and use #pumacity for any tweets about PUMA City NY.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special 2010 FIFA World Cup video presentation.

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Macy Gray and Models Playing Soccer, Must Be A World Cup Tribute!

Previously on Outside the Boxscore, we featured Shakira's song for the 2010 World Cup called, "Waka Waka, This One For Africa".

Well, she's not the only singer who did a tribute song for the World Cup in South Africa. Grammy award winning singer Macy Gray did one called, "Beauty in the World Cup" which features the below video of models playing soccer.

So, enjoy the models playing soccer.



(Courtesy of Unprofessional Foul)

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Nike Soccer Commercial, "Write the Future"

Some of you out there in the world wide blogosphere asked me to post the Nike Soccer commercial entitled, "Write the Future".

It features such soccer stars as Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Ronaldinho along with Kobe Bryant and Homer Simpson.

It's a rather impressive advertisement to say the least.



(Courtesy of The Republik of Mancuria)

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Fantasy Drafthelp: World Cup draft board/guidelines

For a World Cup team draft, we suggest any of the following league formulations: five owners drafting six teams apiece, six owners drafting five teams apiece, seven owners drafting four teams apiece or eight owners drafting four teams apiece. The draft should be held in standard serpentine fashion.

Points should be awarded in the following manner as each round advances:

^ 4 points for advancing into the second round
^ 6 points for advancing into the quarterfinals
^ 8 points for advancing into the semifinals
^ 10 points for advancing into the finals
^ 12 points for winning the World Cup

Here is our 2010 draft board:

TOP TIER
1 Spain
2 Brazil
3 England
4 Germany
5 Argentina
SECOND TIER
6 Netherlands
7 Italy
8 France
9 Ivory Coast
10 Portugal
11 Chile
12 Paraguay
13 Nigeria
THIRD TIER
14 Denmark
15 Mexico
16 Serbia
17 United States
18 South Africa
19 Greece
20 Ghana
21 Uruguay
22 Cameroon
FOURTH TIER
23 Australia
24 Slovakia
25 Algeria
26 Slovenia
27 South Korea
28 Switzerland
29 Japan
FIFTH TIER
30 Honduras
31 North Korea
32 New Zealand

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Fozzie Bear Would Approve of Shakira's World Cup Song, "Waka Waka"

Previously on Outside the Boxscore, we mentioned that Shakira would be the artist enlisted with the duty to write the 2010 World Cup song for South Africa.

Well, Shakira did not dissapoint with the song entitled, "Waka Waka, This Time For Africa".



I know that some of you out there in interweb land have different opinion about Shakira but I will say that this is a pretty catchy tune.

We at least know that Fozzie Bear would approve.

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Coca Cola's Interesting 2010 World Cup Commercial - "Quest"

The World Cup is coming up and it was only a matter of time until Coca-Cola decided to create their own interesting commercial.

Essentially, it's a CGI-epic about a boy who is looking for his own celebration.

I'm not sure about the commercial itself but there are Brazilian robots to say the least.

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France's "Hand-Ball" Propels them to World Cup

I figure that since "Outside the Boxscore" is becoming world-wide that I must take note of the current injustice in the world's favorite game, soccer or as they call it futbol.

During a match to qualify for the World Cup between France and Ireland, France's Thierry Henry appears to use his hands (a no-no in soccer) to help hand the ball to France's William Gallas for the game-winning goal in extra time based on an aggregate score.

The goal is shown above and well, it's clearly a hand-ball. Henry even admits that he touched the ball but mentions that the referee should have made the call. Since there is no replay, France will move onto the World Cup and Ireland will have to deal with a heart-breaking loss.

Oh well, at least they can drown their sorrows in a pint of Guinness.

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