Soccer birthdays:
What is your all-time lasting Diego Maradona memory? The Hand of God goal, maybe from the 1986 World Cup? Or is it that goal, where he spins out of double trouble in midfield and races into history against England in that tournament?
Is it something darker, maybe the 1991 failed test for cocaine in Italy, or the infamous sending home from the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for ephedrine?
That man was an amazing soccer player; that can never be in question from any reasonable source. But he certainly was a mess, wasn’t he? Still is. Insiders say that his performances behind the scenes as Argentina’s manager at the 2010 World Cup were as ridiculous as his public performance as head coach.
But never mind all that. Not today, at least, on the date that Diego Armando Maradona, one of the truly great greats of the game, turns 52 today.
Big Important Stories of the Day:
Cup competitions are playing out today in some spots across Europe and South America.
On our shores, we are a day away from Major League Soccer kicking off its playoffs with the first to two single-date “elimination” matches.
RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day: Richie Williams
*Ahead on the blog today:
We started our ProSoccerTalk conversations Monday evening on MLS awards. Richard Farley, Noah Davis and I go over the MLS Awards, providing our thoughts on the Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and Most Valuable Player. Coach of the Year is already out. The rest will drop today.
And we’ll have some thoughts on the teams that kick off Major League Soccer’s 17th “tournament,” Chicago and Houston. They meet Wednesday at Toyota Park.
Twitter daps:
What you should watch on TV today:
If you’re into the Capital One Cup, which is the old Carling Cup, which was of course the old Football League Cup, then you can catch Reading hosting Arsenal from the Madejski Stadium. It’s on beIN Sport at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Also on beIN Sport, Deportivo Alavés meets Barcelona in Copa del Rey tournament play, kicking off at 4 p.m. ET
PST background noise while blogging today: Just watching the Weather Channel like the rest of the country. And hoping for the best for our friends along the East Coast, like the rest of the country.
We’ll leave you with this: Ugly racism in the game? And now possibly from a referee, of all things, in the world’s most high-profile league? What a mess! People really need to grow up. On the other hand, I suppose every time we get one of these silly, ridiculous, unsavory happenings, it raises awareness and reduces the chances that something similar happens down the road. At least there is that.
*Always subject to change; you know how it is