Football, Facebook, and soft wars over Palestine

Last month there was a stirring around the Brazilian football player Marcelo Vieira (known simply as ‘Marcelo’ to fans), first for purportedly having his page deleted* from Facebook and then for being cut from his team.

The Bedouin Olympics in Pictures

Bedouins are into sports as competitors and spectators. These photos capture Beja tribespeople taking part in camel races, jumping, fighting, soccer and tug-of-war in Egypt’s Valley of Camels.

Homeless Football World Cup

Currently held in Rio de Janeiro… With Palestine representing for the first time, and bring a whole new meaning of what constitutes “homeless”. It is being represented by a team of Palestinian refugees from Camps in Lebanon.

But there’s a difference between being homeless and not having a homeland. For the first time in the cup’s eight-year history, there’s a team for Palestine, made up of players from refugee camps in Lebanon.

The United State of Algeria

US or Algeria in today’s game? I can’t decide…and honestly, I did not even know the decision was going to be this hard nor that the feeling would be so torn.
So go Algeria, or US, if I figure that out by the time of the game I may enjoy the game more… We’ll see, they can’t both advance. May be this is how it is when you make a good life in a country the oppresses your people… How do Latinos do it?

Soccer is Officially An American Game Now!

The second day of 2010 World Cup action saw a great day where Team USA took on England today, Saturday, June 12th, at 8:30 p.m. local time at the Royal Bafoking Stadium in Rustenburg in the nations of South Africa.

Israel’s Latest Propaganda Tool Malfunctions

One of Israel’s most hyped new propaganda machines stalled over the weekend during a show it put on in Yankee Stadium. Boxer Yuri Foreman, seemingly a nice Belarusian, Jewish boy has become Israeli hasbara’s most polished news story of late. He was TKOed by Miguel Cotto in the first boxing match in the new Yankee Stadium.
Most media outlet, including the sports commentators and analysis of ESPN and HBO who hyped the fight, or more realistically Foreman, recognized that he was no match for Cotto, yet he was the news story because of his “unique” and “emotional” story, born in Belarus, temporarily Israeli, living and training in the US, studying to be a rabbi, became the darling of the Israeli Consulate, and by extension, US media.

Ali Farokhmanesh Is One Frisky Persian Cat

Just few hours after the Egyptian Kid pulled off the first upset in the 2nd round of March Madness, we get a Persian Kid leading the Northern Iowa Panthers into the tournament’s biggest upset, period. The Panthers ousted the number 1 overall seed, Kansas Jayhawks.

Ali “Long Name” Farokhmanesh led his team in scoring, including a picture-perfect three-pointer that sealed the deal, when common wisdom calls for running the clock and not take chances that could result in mistakes and turnovers. But his gutsy play earned the glory, and placed Kansas in a deeper hole than they could dig out of in 30 seconds.

Omar Samhan: The Egyptian Gael Who Blew Villanova Away

The superb performance by the 6-11 senior, Omar Samhan, just lifted St Mary’s College Gaels past 2nd seed Villanova in the first upset of the 2nd round in the NCAA Tournament.

The Egyptian-Irish Gael scored 32 of the games 75 points (more than the 5 Aussie players on his team combined), while Nova doubled up his coverage for most of the game. He led his team with a performance that exuded confidence and disciplined play. He acted like the odds were in his team’s favor, and he rubbed off on his teammates. His confident play was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Ray Hanania Adopts Jackasses

Ray Hanania, a Palestinian-American comedian whose funny bone has yet to be verified, recently unveiled plans to adopt a number of jackasses housed in zoos across the nation. His goal is to unite them and form a lobby that is able to adequately represent their rights in the United States. His efforts are being supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

My Personal Challenge to Niveen Rasheed

The New York Times had a write-up about Niveen Rasheed (left), the leading scorer of Princeton University’s women’s basketball team. The Times took particular and primary interest in the fact that her teammate, friend and fellow Bay Areaite, Lauren Polansky, is Jewish.

Whoopty-do. read