MARADONA - FIFA photo

DUNGA - FIFA photo

Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy is the guest on Soccer Talk Live debut telecast - FIFA photo Donovan on Soccer Talk Live

SPORTS NOTES - THE HAND OF GOD LOST ITS GRIP ON MARADONA

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

Diego Maradona was given his walking papers by the Argentine Football Association... but as they say in court... guilty... with an explanation your honor - MLS ON THE RISE - REAL MADRID vs. GALAXY SHINES - MAGIC JOHNSON... OHHH PLEASE!!!! - JERRY RICE INDUCTED INTO THE NFL HALL OF FAME - SAY WHAT UFC TOO HOLLYWEIRD

Tuesday August 10, 2010

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?

In the world of what have you done for me lately it was no surprise that Argentine manager Diego Maradona was given his walking papers by the Argentine Football Association... but as they say in court... guilty... with an explanation your honor.

The hand of god man claims he could have remained at the helm if he had fired his assistants. The AFA offered him a four year contract good through 2014 providing he made some changes in releasing his coaches. The 49-year-old Maradona insisted that he is faithful to his coaches and refused to do so thus god's hand let him slip away into manager's sacked hell.

From the beginning his lack of managerial credentials always was put into question. At the start of his tenure the team underperformed and he was criticized. The lack of quality at midfield proved to surface and was never corrected. Argentina barley qualified for the World Cup but did so and gods grip was firm as the side stormed through the group stage in the tournament winning all three games decisively scoring 7 goals and giving up only one.

The World Cup was on fire with five teams from South America making it out of the group stage with Argentina and Brazil being the two of the favored teams to win the title but both sides failed in the quarterfinals. Germany slaughtered Argentina 4-0 which was embarrassing to watch but the Argentines had to live through it and god wasn't there to help them.

The Netherlands narrowly defeated Brazil 2-1 resulting in them eventually going forward to the final but Brazil went home. Brazil's crash and burn caused Dunga to lose his job. Like Maradona he was criticized throughout his tenure and like Maradona he survived through to the quarterfinals but that wasn't good enough. Ironically tiny Uruguay was the most successful of the South American teams with their fourth place finish.

So what have you done for me lately? The answer is in the hands of god.

MLS ON THE RISE - REAL MADRID vs. GALAXY SHINES

They said it could never be done but International football is making an impact in the US of A. An enthused 89,134 fans turned out at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California to see their Los Angeles Galaxy fight for a thrilling 3-2 friendly loss to the all mighty Real Madrid.

The Galaxy is in first place in MLS's Western Conference without the services of David Beckham. Beckham hopes to be ready to play in September.

Of note the Galaxy's Landon Donovan will be the initial guest on Soccer Talk Live a new program that debuts Monday August 16 on the Fox Soccer channel in the USA. The weekly show is hosted by Former MLS and US national team player Kyle Martino. Full story

MAGIC JOHNSON... OHHH PLEASE!!!!

The more one thinks about former LA Laker Magic Johnson criticizing LeBron James for making a career change and sign with the Miami Heat and join tow other NBA stars Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade he really made a fool of himself. Yes Johnson was a great player and was on five NBA title teams BUT he had much more help in all of those titles.

Johnson had Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy who are two of the NBA's all time top 50 players. Johnson also had strong players surrounding him who were major stars for other teams during the prime of their careers. The Cleveland Cavaliers never had anyone to help James the caliber of players who helped Johnson. One who does deserve more credit for four of those titles is then coach Pat Riley who knew who to substitute and get the most out of his older players with his substitution patterns and allotment of minutes. Full Story

JERRY RICE INDUCTED INTO THE NFL HALL OF FAME

Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, John Randle, Dick LeBeau, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm and Floyd Little were inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. All are worthy but from our experience two stand out.

Rice is by far the greatest of all time receivers to ever play the game. He was rhythm and poetry in motion the way he glided down the field to be in the right place at the right time to cradle a ball thrown by Joe Montana when they were teammates on the San Francisco 49ers. Together they won three Super Bowl titles.

Rice caught 1,549 passes, gained 22,895 yards and scored 208 touchdowns. He made receptions in 274 consecutive games. He was a member of 10 All-Pro teams and was chosen for 13 Pro Bowls.

Unfortunately we were unable to obtain an interview from Rice but we did from Grimm who was a member of the Washington Redskins offensive line nicknamed the Hogs. That radio feature is one of our most popular with the then Redskin offensive line coach Joe Bugel who gave them the name describing how it all came together. The Hogs also included Mark May, Jeff Bostic and Joe Jocoby. Grim is the first of the Hogs to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

SAY WHAT!!! UFC TOO HOLLYWEIRD???

In old western films the bad guys would ware black and the good guys white. The UFC has always been perceived as the bas guys if sports with its blood bath bouts. Then some of the baldest lost their toughness as they became involved in Hollyweird films trying to become actors. In the process they started to lose.

Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell are two of the tough guys gone Hollyweird who have not done well since they adopted the world of glitter. Rich Franklin has been one of the few UFC fighters who are perceived as good guys. Good or not as he became involved in Hollyweird films the losses followed. In the past these three have been at the top of the UFC stars list but their lights have been put out. Perhaps UFC chief Dana White and the organization should consider a contract that fighters can't perform in films while under contract with the organization. The question is what is more important marquee names via films or quality competition and serious competitors who are not into that Hollyweird scene?