The Irish men’s rugby team is currently number one in the world. We might therefore expect its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), to be a proficient and effective organisation, capable of meeting its own aims while setting examples for others to follow. Unfortunately, however, when it comes […]
Sport
Suarez: Nature or nurture? BBC expert unable to specify, quoted extensively nonetheless
Reasons why footballer-biting-other-footballer resulted from nature (i.e., the passing of traits from parent to offspring at a biological, or genetic, level): “I would suggest he is hard-wired in this way. It’s not something that’s going to come out of his character with a few sessions with a psychologist…It’s in the man.” That was […]
Bandwagon latest: ‘Science news’ with tenuous World Cup relevance doing the rounds right now
1. Analyzing John Brooks’ Dream About Scoring the Winning Goal Source: Time.com, ‘HEALTH’ section (17 June) One-line summary:  A US soccer player scored a goal and then says he previously had a dream about doing so. So then, can your dreams predict or influence your future? Scientists say maybe or maybe not. By which they mean: […]
New Zambia soccer jersey features spermatozoa design, presumably not on purpose
From footballshirtculture.com: This the new Zambia Home football shirt to be worn throughout 2014, by Nike. The 2012 African Cup of Nations champions’ green shirt is embellished with a complex patterned sublimated watermark, with the stitched crest and the Swoosh logo – in white – on the chest. Yes, that […]
Sports drink ad fuels complaints, producer ordered to water down claim
It turns out that Lucozade Sport doesn’t hydrate and fuel better than water after all. In the UK, our old friends the ASA have finally told them to quit saying so in their celebrity-laden ads. I guess it always did sound a bit iffy. I don’t think I was alone […]
Obligatory Halloween tie-in: Ghost spotted at football match actually a man
Here’s a famous football quote (out of the mouth of Satan himself): “Football, eh? Bloody hell!” Yes. Football and hell. Inextricably linked. So, it was always but a matter of time before intrepid photojournalists would capture occult goings-on at a football game. But not just any old kickabout. No, the […]