Our favourite things online this week: from Sussex football to Sochi's dogs

Featuring NFL team logos, synchronised swimming, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic tweeted Cristiano Ronaldo and bankrupt footballers.

1) Racing to save the stray dogs of Sochi

When will the Winter Olympics controversy end? First it was the massive cost, then the environmental concern, then the worry over Russia's anti-gay legislation and then the stories about how the government was planning to exterminate the city's stray dogs. Thankfully a Russian billionaire is ploughing some money into a dog shelter that is trying to save the strays, which would otherwise face the death sentence. David M Herszenhorn takes up the story for the New York Times.

2) Sussex football by David Bauckham

David Bauckham

 Photography:David Bauckham

David Bauckham has been publishing photos of lower-league football on his Flickr page since 2008 and this gallery from the ever-reliable In Bed With Maradona is a perfect starting point for anyone unfamiliar with his work. The man has an eye for a photo.

3) NFL team logos remixed with famous brands

Some people have too much time on their hands. But at least they make good use of it.

4) Zlatan Ibrahimovic tweets Cristiano Ronaldo

When Starbucks started putting people's names on cups and customers responded by posting pictures of misspellings online, some marketing genius at Nike must have taken notice and gone about concocting a plan to sell a few T-shirts. Sometimes you have to sit back and admire the genius and subtlety of advertising. That Ronaldo replied "Thank you for the birthday present @Ibra_official. It will look better on me than you though" carried that suspicious whiff of a marketing campaign. Either way, it's a lovely bow.

5) Dispatches: Hunted

This Channel 4 documentary lasts an hour, but you'll have seen enough of Sochi's vigilantes before the first ad break. It's essential, if harrowing, viewing.

6) The future is bleak

Andy Murray is Wimbledon champion, worth about £30m and can even expect some love in England these days, but life is not so rosy for tennis players lower down the rankings. As Paul Wachter puts it in this piece for Grantland: "Of all major professional sports, tennis is the cruelest to its non-stars." He proves his point by meeting some struggling players, who compete for prize money of $310 in front of a crowd of eight people. At least they're living their dream.

7) Medal predictions for every Winter Olympic competition

Sochi 2014: Meet Great Britain's 'fridge kids' going for Winter Olympics gold

Thursday 6 Feb 2014

Over the next 18 days, 294 Olympic medals will be handed out in Sochi. Most of them will go to Norwegians, Americans and Canadians, according to this predictions table from Brian Cazeneuve at Sports Illustrated. Great Britain may boast a selection of "fridge kids", but Cazeneuve reckons the team's best hopes are with the genteel sport of curling. If the summer Olympians win most of their medal sitting down, it probably fits that the winter team pick up their golds while sweeping the floor.

8) Mesmerisingly quiet photos of synchronised swimming

Synchronised swimming is all about movement, but this selection of stills on the Slate photoblog captures the peaceful nature of the sport. Jordan G Teicher runs the blog and is well worth following on Twitter – as is the photographer, Paul Schlemmer.

9) Sochi hotel guests complain about topless portraits of Putin in rooms

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prince Albert II of Monaco visiting Republic of Tuva

 A warm welcome from the Russia president. Photograph: Dmitry Astakhov /EPA

Visitors to Sochi have been bemused by the curious case of the city's double toilets. But, as Andy Borowitz points out in the New Yorker, it could have been much, much worse.

10) Day-by-day guide to the Winter Olympics

Get it bookmarked.

11) Football's lost fortunes.

This blog is powered by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks

Michigan Football Recruiting: The Best and Worst of National Signing Day

Compared to other premier college football programs around the country, the Wolverines had a relatively uneventful, relaxed national signing day. Michigan's class gained its final member back in August, and the theme of this year's recruiting cycle was consistent with its last few classes. Head coach Brady Hoke doesn't care for last-minute surprises.
While Michigan's 16-man class slipped all the way to 20th nationally, it's packed top to bottom with elite talent. No. 3 overall recruit Jabrill Peppers is the headliner, but wide receiver Drake Harris has the type of ability that could propel him into next season's starting lineup.
Lawrence Marshall, who is the nation's No. 9-ranked defensive end, is another player with tremendous upside that can help create much-needed pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
But while it was mellow day in Schembechler Hall, it wasn't without its disappointments.
So what was the best and worst of national signing day for the Michigan Wolverines? I'll define "best" as the addition of signees who are likely to have an immediate impact on the team, and I'll define "worst" by highlighting a few recruits who made the decision to sign elsewhere.


This blog is powered by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks/

Football League Trophy 2014 Finals: Bold Predictions for Next Round of Matches

The Football League Trophy strides toward its conclusion as we reach the area-finals stage, and the battle for a coveted place in this year's showpiece final at Wembley.

In the southern section League One promotion hopefuls Peterborough United and Swindon Town square off against each other.

The northern section is contested by Fleetwood Town and the current dominant force in League Two, leaders Chesterfield. 

Chesterfield are recent winners of the lower-league prestige tournament, defeating Swindon 2-0 in 2012, per BBC Sport.

This blog is powered by: http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks/

Greatest World Football Moments of the Weekend: BVB Win, Atletico Go Top

It was another incredible weekend of football across Europe, so forget the Super Bowl: Take this chance to look back on all the eye-popping moments over the last three days!

In Germany, records were set and certain teams miraculously remembered how to win. In Spain, there's a new club at the top of the pile. Meanwhile, in Portugal, everyone is trying desperately not to win the Liga Sagres.

Sit back and enjoy as we bring you the greatest moments of the world footballing weekend that weren't readily available to our screens in the UK. 

Begin Slideshow » « Prev 2 of 11 Next » Borussia Dortmund Win a Game

By beating Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 on Friday night, Borussia Dortmund won their first game since November 30, 2013.

It's a sad indictment of the horrid injury luck they've experienced. A succession of ailments hit Signal Iduna Park over the first half of the season and all but ended their Bundesliga title challenge early on.

Usually, beating Braunschweig—the Bundesliga's basement club with just 12 points—by one goal would be nothing to shout about. In fact, it might even rank as a poor result.

Make no mistake, BVB squeezed through this one and were relieved to hear the whistle. 

« Prev 3 of 11 Next » Nurnberg Win Again!

Nurnberg broke a Bundesliga record this season by failing to win any of their first 17 fixtures—a complete half-season of draws (11) and losses (six).

We can only imagine they spent the winter break soul-searching and practicing shooting, as they've come back firing and won two on the bounce.

All of a sudden, things look rosy: They're out of the relegation zone, and the elation on the faces of the players and fans when Josip Drmic converted a 90th-minute penalty to seal a 3-1 win over Hertha Berlin told the whole story. 

« Prev 4 of 11 Next » Thiago Shatters Records

As the weeks tick by, Barcelona look more and more silly for allowing this to happen.

As per Bayern Munich's official website, Thiago Alcantara—Pep Guardiola's precious midfield technician—broke two records during the club's 5-0 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

He recorded a remarkable 185 touches of the ball over the course of 90 minutes and completed 159 successful passes.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (157) had previously held the first record, while Borussia Monchengladbach's Roel Brouwers had held the second (137).

Needless to say, it was a pretty comfortable win for the home side. 

« Prev 5 of 11 Next » Valencia Stun Barcelona

The title race in La Liga took another twist as Barcelona fell at home to Valencia by a 3-2 scoreline.

La Blaugrana made a great start as Alexis Sanchez somehow clipped a finish from an absurd angle over goalkeeper Diego Alves' head, but los Che bit back through Daniel Parejo and Pablo Piatti.

It was Piatti's goal that exposed, once again, the fragile nature of Barca's defence. The Argentine measures in at just 5'2", and yet he was able to convert a looping header from 10 yards.

Paco Alcacer finished off a Lionel Messi-inspired comeback in the 59th minute, condemning Gerardo Martino to just his second defeat at the Camp Nou. 

« Prev 6 of 11 Next » Atletico Madrid Go Top for the First Time Since 1996

Barcelona's loss gave Atletico Madrid the chance to move to the summit of La Liga, were they able to overcome the stern challenge of top-four chasers Real Sociedad.

They did so in style, winning 4-0 and in the process moved top for the first time since 1996, according to The Guardian.

David Villa opened the scoring before going off injured, and Diego Costa crowned a stunning physical showing by making it two. Miranda and new signing Diego made it a mauling in the closing stages.

« Prev 7 of 11 Next » Real Betis Renew Hope

You thought Borussia Dortmund's record was bad? Think again.

By beating Espanyol 2-0 on Sunday, Real Betis won their first Liga game since September 29, 2013. It means they went just over four whole months without winning a game in the league.

For a team who finished seventh in La Liga last season and qualified for the UEFA Europa League as a result, that is a truly astonishing record.

The victory, secured thanks to two Ruben Castro strikes late on, gives the Beticos new hope they can complete the impossible task and avoid relegation despite entering February with just 11 points. 

« Prev 8 of 11 Next » The 'Big 3' in Portugal All Drop Points

FC Porto dropped yet more points this weekend as they fell to minnow club Maritimo 1-0, but Benfica and Sporting were unable to take full advantage of the slip.

Paulo Fonseca's men bombarded the goal but couldn't find a way through, and it was Derley's early penalty that sealed the result. With Fernando injured and Lucho Gonzalez sold, the Dragons looked very suspect in the centre.

Sporting were held to a 0-0 draw by Academia and William Carvalho picked up a suspension, meaning he will miss the game against Benfica.

The Eagles themselves drew 1-1 at Gil Vicente. 

« Prev 9 of 11 Next » Cristiano Ronaldo's Red Card

Can anyone make a convincing argument in favour of the referee's decision here?

We're struggling, to tell the truth.

After a little goal-mouth scramble, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Gurpegi were involved in a little "coming together" off the ball. The Athletic Club defender pushed CR7 in the chest, and when he responded by nudging him in the face, Gurpegi went down like he'd been shot.

You can't raise your hands to someone's face—it's not OK—but it looked more like an affectionate stroke than anything else!

What's your take?

« Prev 10 of 11 Next » Remy Cabella Murders Reims

This is what Newcastle United missed out on this winter.

Remy Cabella was back to his best for Montpellier when they took on Reims this weekend, picking up two goals and an assist in a crushing win.

Defender Mohamed Fofana dallied on the ball for just a millisecond too long and Cabella was in, stormed in on goal and lifted a delicate finish over Kossi Agassa.

He did it again 10 minutes later, taking in a hopeful punt from his defence, chesting it down and lobbing the onrushing Reims 'keeper to make it 3-0.

He capped the day with an assist for M'Baye Niang's killer fourth strike.

 
This blog is powered by:http://visitwebpages.info/paypalchecks/