Actually a Sports Blog

Men's Soccer: With qualifier competition resuming on Wednesday, Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine are still in the running to join Belgium, Georgia, Romania and Spain in the U21 Euros final tournament and move a step closer to Paris 2024.  Women's Soccer: With the CONCACAF W Championship starting in July, Canada, Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and United States are still in the running for the lone automatic spot at Paris 2024.  Who's Been Eliminated? Men's Soccer: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, San Marino and Wales...

1. Kudos to UEFA and FIFA for removing Russia from the U21 Euros qualifying. It might sound too harsh, but after they launched an unprovoked peacetime invasion of a neighboring country Russia shouldn't be allowed to compete internationally at least through the end of this year. Sports and politics should usually be kept separate but a key part of international sporting competition is peace (it's called *peaceful* international sporting competition for a reason) and if you can't abide by that then you shouldn't be able to compete. Simple as that.  2. It's my opinion that FIBA (finally) did the right thing. Montenegro has replaced Russia in Group A of September's EuroBasket tournament. I've been wanting this to happen for a month or so (and by "wanting this to happen" I mean starting a Change.org petition).   3. Thank you, FINA. Melbourne has replaced the Russian city of Kazan as the host city for December's short-course world championships. This...

The CONCACAF W Championship will take place in July and will serve as the continental qualifier in women's soccer. Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago all move a step closer to Olympic competition as group winners and will join Canada and the United States this summer.  *July's competition will see two groups of four teams with the top two teams in each group advancing to the semifinals. *The tournament winner will qualify for Paris Step Closer to Paris in Women's Soccer  Canada Costa Rica Haiti Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago   United States Bolded and Italicized = Newly Added The U21 Euros qualifying will continue in June and the tournament next summer will be the continental qualifier in men's soccer. Belgium is a step closer to Paris as they join co-hosts Romania and Georgia in the final tournament, but who can join them?  Group A: Croatia , Austria, Norway and Finland Group B: Germany , Israel, Poland and Hungary  Gr...

The CONCACAF W Championship will be the CONCACAF qualifier for women's soccer. The final matchday to determine the final six spots will be tomorrow.  Twelve teams remain in contention: Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Qualified teams 1. Costa Rica/Guatemala winner 2. Haiti/Cuba winner  3. Jamaica/Dominican Republic winner 4. Mexico/Puerto Rico winner 5. Panama/El Salvador winner 6. Trinidad and Tobago/Guyana winner  The six group winners will join Canada and the United States in the final tournament this summer

News broke yesterday that former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is returning from a nearly two-year retirement and plans to re-enter the USADA testing pool.  I'm thinking his comeback fight should be at featherweight, which would make for an easier weight cut, but the question is who should he fight?  I'd go for someone close to the top ten or just inside it, and I have some suggestions: Bryce Mitchell: Ninth in the division and his 15-0 record including recent wins over Charles Rosa, Andre Fili and Edson Barboza could be enough of an enticement to sign the contract  Dan Ige: Tenth-ranked in the division and his two straight losses could be cannon fodder for some Cejudo trash talk (granted they're against fighters ranked above him, but still)  Sodiq Yusuf: Eleventh in the division; stopped once and lost twice in fourteen bouts; most recent bout was a decision win over Alex Caceres, who's been competing in the UFC for eleven years as of three wee...

Men's Soccer The Europe qualifier tournament is the U21 Euros.  Belgium, as Group I winners, have joined Romania and Georgia in the final tournament next summer  Austria, Belarus, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Moldova, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine are all still in contention to join them (Russia, although banned from competing at the moment, are still in contention as well)  *Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland are the current frontrunners for automatic qualification Women's Soccer The CONCACAF W Championship, which will take place in July, will be the CONCACAF qualifier.  The qualifier tournament will wrap up on Tuesday to determine which six teams will join Canada and the United S...

Maybe this is just my opinion, but Russian sports need long-lasting consequences. Several things need to be put in place to let Russia know that launching an unprovoked peacetime invasion of a neighboring country is never okay.  Some of these might seem more severe than others, but if that's what it takes to get them to understand that some actions have more consequences then others, then so be it. 1. Revoke their UEFA membership.  For some people, this might be a step too far, which I understand. But maybe taking them out of UEFA for an undetermined length of time- and thereby meaning that they can't compete in European soccer for that length of time- will maybe tell them that if they deploy their military unprovoked and invade a neighboring country during peacetime, they won't be able to compete in international sporting competitions. Peace, after all, is one of the big parts of international sport. Short-term, it means they would miss out on the League of Nations and po...