Posts by David J Warner at FanHouse

Barcelona FC is doing everything in its power to keep Lionel Messi out of Beijing.

Despite repeated reminders from FIFA that clubs must release players under the age of 23 for the Olympics, Barcelona is refusing to let Messi, 21, play for Argentina, claiming that Olympic soccer not a FIFA-sanctioned event and that FIFA has no right to demand any player's release. The Spanish superclub plans to take its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport this week while taking Messi with them on their American tour.

Barca isn't the only one holding players back. Two German Bundesliga clubs, Werden Bremen and Schalke 04, are defying a FIFA order to release under-23 Brazilian stars Diego and Rafinha for the Olympics. They plan to go to the CAS as well.

By contrast, Liverpool was under no obligation to release Javier Mascherano, 24, for the Olympics, but they did anyway, and Messi has made it clear that he wants to join Mascherano in Beijing and win the gold for Argentina.

This begs the question: why do these Brazilians and Argentinians care so much about Olympic soccer, which certainly doesn't have the prestige of a World Cup or even a Copa America? They care because, as the BBC's Tim Vickery points out, it was the Olympics that put South American soccer on the map -- and begat the FIFA World Cup.

Two weeks after police in Arkansas arrested him for possessing cocaine in the back of a truck, Matt Jones apologized to the Jacksonville Jaguars for his actions.

"I'm embarrassed for Mr. and Mrs. Weaver, coach Del Rio and my teammates, and even the fans of Jacksonville. It's not good, but I really can't comment on it right now until all the things are settled in the courts and everything."

With that apology out of the way, Jones' next step is to apologize for being such a crappy receiver. I'm sure a few folks in Jacksonville wish he'd be embarrassed for them after the ball bounced off his hands in the end zone a few times. The Jaguars did spend all that money on Jerry Porter for a reason.

Then again, perhaps I'm being too harsh. I mean, I still won my fantasy league two seasons ago despite drafting Jones -- thank you, Maurice Jones-Drew -- and really, Jones has bigger problems right now than his inability to catch a ball consistently.

Previously at FanHouse:
Those Weren't Matt Jones' Drugs, He Was Just Holding Them in the Backseat of a Truck
Jaguars' Matt Jones Arrested, Police Say He Possessed Cocaine

The MLS All-Stars pulled out a 3-2 victory over West Ham United last night in Toronto, but the real highlight of ESPN's otherwise annoying coverage of this game -- who else misses Andy Gray? -- might have been Rob Stone's encounter with Bitchy the Hawk, who keeps the seagulls away from BMO Field. For a man who fearlessly throws streamers back at Toronto FC fans and bites into the world's hottest peppers, he's awfully skittish about a bird. Then again, they must have named that hawk after Didier Drogba for a reason.

Actual highlights of the game itself, including two goals from Dean Ashton and an MVP performance from Cuauhtemoc Blanco, are after the jump.

(H/T: Awful Announcing)

The Major League Soccer All-Star Game kicks off tonight in Toronto, and the best players in MLS, all of whom are in mid-season form, will face a mid-table Premier League club (West Ham United) just starting its preseason. The All-Stars will probably win -- just as they did against Celtic, Chelsea and Fulham in the last three All-Star Games -- and MLS will hold it up as an example of how their players can compete in any league in Europe.

Of course, this is nonsense. No MLS club could survive the Premier League season, because no club is deep enough or talented enough to handle it. (I could explain why, but I'd be repeating myself.) Plus, playing a team still in preseason mode is much easier than playing team in midseason form. That's why MLS hasn't won a CONCACAF trophy in eight years.

It does bring up an interesting question, though, which I will pose to you, FanHouse readers -- if this All-Star team was its own club, how would it fare in Europe?

Earlier this week, Will Ferrell showed up for promotional appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and MTV's Total Request Live sporting this old school Chelsea jersey. This pretty much ensures that no self-respecting Gooner will ever spend a dime on his movies again.

Ferrell is the newest addition to Chelsea's offcial Celebrity Fans list. He's up there with Michael Caine, Owen Wilson, Tara Reid, Busta Rhymes and Guy Ritchie. Sounds like a really crappy film waiting to happen, doesn't it?

(H/T: Unprofessional Foul)

How long has it been since the city of Boston got to celebrate a championship? A couple weeks, maybe?

Boston is going through quite the purple patch right now. The Red Sox won the last World Series, the Celtics are the reigning NBA champs, and the New England Patriots, who have won three Super Bowls this decade, might have been one amazing catch away from a fourth. (I attribute that to karma, but that's just me.)

Well, don't look now, but the New England Revolution, who won the U.S. Open Cup last year, are ready to outdo every other team in Boston. This club is up for not one, not two, but four trophies this season.

The Revs are currently five points clear in first place for the MLS Supporters Shield, which goes to the top club in the regular season. In addition, they're in the semifinals of both the Open Cup and Superliga, and they look poised to make another run in the MLS Cup Playoffs. They've reached the Final the last two seasons, only to lose both times the Houston Dynamo -- which, by the way, is the other MLS club in the Superliga semifinals.

Of course, this doesn't include the trophy that passengers on Flight 725 probably want to give them.

The Guardian is reporting that Chelsea is prepared to offer A.C. Milan a world-record €100 million transfer fee for Brazilian midfielder Kaká.

If completed, the audacious deal would smash the previous record transfer fee of €76 million, which Real Madrid paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001. Milan turned down a €90 million from Madrid for Kaká last summer, but with none of that filthy Champions League lucre coming in next season, Milan might use this deal to balance their books and add a less expensive, albeit less talented central midfielder.

This comes just days after Milan signed Ronaldinho from Barcelona for €21 million, so that much-anticipated Brazilian renaissance at the San Siro might not happen as expected.

Kaká beat out Cristiano Ronaldo for the Ballon d'Or in 2007 after leading Milan to the Champions League title. He would join a very crowded Chelsea midfield, which currently includes Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda, Claude Makélélé and Shawn Wright-Phillips. Lampard, however, is expected to move to Inter Milan and be reunited with Jose Mourinho soon, while Makélélé and Wright-Phillips are believed to be on their way out.

UPDATE (7/21): Chelsea is now denying that they made this offer. Looks like it's up to Cristiano Ronaldo to break the world record for a transfer fee after all.

This is probably not how Jerry Porter wanted to start his contract in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars' $30 million receiver underwent surgery to repair a torn hamstring and will miss training camp and the entire preseason. Porter suffered the injury during offseason workouts, and it hasn't healed nearly as quickly as he and the team had hoped. Head coach Jack Del Rio said the team is counting on Porter to make a full recovery before the team's opening game against Tennessee Titans in Nashville.

On the one hand, it's good that Porter is taking care of this now, because hamstring pulls can nag players over an entire season if not treated properly. (See: Steve Smith, 2006.) On the other hand, the Jaguars will now have to start training camp with a lot of receivers -- Reggie Williams, Troy Williamson, Dennis Northcutt -- who have questionable hands. Perhaps second-year receivers Mike Walker and John Broussard will get their chance to shine during camp this year.

Previously at FanHouse:
Porter Pulls Hamstring, Good Thing It's May

Just when you thought the silly season couldn't get any sillier, we get this -- Barcelona forward Samuel Eto'o has announced that he's seriously considering a transfer offer from PFC Kuruvchi, a club based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Yes, Uzbekistan. Go look for it on a map. I'll give you a minute.

When news of this first broke earlier this week, PFC Kuruvchi announced it was a done deal, prompting most people -- including officials at Barca -- to wonder if April Fool's Day comes 3 1/2 months later in Kazakhstan's southern neighbor. Then yesterday, Kuruvchi posted photos of Eto'o in Tashkent on their web site. That's when the weirdness meter spiked.

Seriously, why would this 27-year-old Cameroon striker, who's still in prime of his career, leave European club football for Uzbekistan?

So Cristiano Ronaldo hobbles off to Los Angeles for the ESPY Awards, and what's the first thing he gets asked on the red carpet? When he might move there and play for the Galaxy.

Sure, buddy. A guy who gets paid $240,000 a week and calls himself a slave will play in a second-rate league that gives players $5,300 bonuses for winning a million-dollar tournament and spend his free nights dodging Paris Hilton. Sounds like heaven compared to Madrid -- not that Manchester United will let him move there, either. So says Sir Alex Ferguson, anyway.

I suppose expecting a red carpet interviewer to know these things is probably asking too much. Dude probably doesn't even know that Ronaldo dumped his girlfriend last week. Then again, neither does she.

(H/T: 101 Great Goals)