Posts by Dermot Hunt
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A (Possibly Invaluable) Guide to Winning the 2013-14 Fantasy Premier League
As you may already have noticed, this Saturday will see the long-awaited return of the English Premier League, and with it comes the return of its fantasy cousin, operated by the Premier League itself. It’s free, it’s straightforward, and best of all, there are prizes! Sparkly, glittery prizes, including glamorous, all-expenses-paid trips to England (and/or […]
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Six Exciting Ways to Lose Money Over the Coming English Premier League Season
A new Premiership season approaches! The ex-best league in the world springs back into action on Saturday, and it’s shaping up to be a classic, destined to be closer to the nonstop thrill ride of the 2011-12 season than the processional inevitability of 2012-13. If the bookmakers are to be believed, the 2013-14 vintage will […]
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Why You Shouldn’t Watch the Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup. Sounds like it should be kind of a big deal, doesn’t it? After all, just four letters distinguish it from the infinitely important FIFA World Cup, and those four letters would seem to suggest an improvement on the formula: It’s the World Cup, but with club teams! Considering those clubs […]
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The Key to Rafa Benitez’s Reign at Chelsea? Make Roman Abramovich Look Good
Last Wednesday, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sacked his manager, Roberto Di Matteo, in what many are now calling the Night of the Long, Increasingly Blunt Knives, Caked in the Congealed Gore of Numerous Highly Successful Chelsea Managers. Di Matteo was the 12th man to manage Chelsea in the last 14 years, and the ninth to […]
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Hat Tricks for Sale: Ranking Europe’s Top Strikers
January is nearly upon us! Or at least it feels that way if you spend any time reading the words of the soothsayers who try to predict what will happen when European football’s transfer window reopens on January 1, 2013. Speculation is particularly rife in England, and it mainly centers on two clubs: Chelsea and […]
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How Overrated Is Gareth Bale?
The international break can be a difficult time for star players from smaller nations. Footballers who are accustomed to domestic glory suddenly find themselves thrust into squads with far smaller ambitions. The contrast can be jarring, as can the transition from being one star among many to the solitary hero tasked by an expectant nation […]
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Schrödinger’s Refs: A Halfhearted Audit of the 2011 NFL Officials
The Titans are trailing by 25 points, deep in the third quarter, when they score a touchdown. The extra point is converted, the onside kick is well-executed, and the opposing team flubs the catch. Players fling themselves at the loose ball from all directions, and it is quickly lost under a pile of bodies. Two […]
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The Greater Fool Betting Tips: From North London to Hell
About once a week, a person whom I had no previous reason to suspect was an idiot will utter the following words, or a variation thereof: “Did you know that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results?! It’s true — Albert Einstein said it!” And […]
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John Terry vs. the Fourth Estate, or Why England Will Never Win Another Major Soccer Tournament
Sunday night, John Terry — widely regarded as one of the best center-backs of his generation — retired from playing international football for England at the relatively young age of 31. Terry is facing a disciplinary hearing by the Football Association (the governing body of the sport in England) for using racially abusive language, and […]
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You Should Be Watching the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup
It’s the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup! Exciting, dynamic, high-scoring, dramatic cricket, packed full of thrills, spills, and athleticism! Cricket! You should definitely be watching this! I’m not even joking. Well, maybe just a little bit, but cricket’s changed an awful lot in the last decade, and it’s entirely possible that you hadn’t noticed. I feel it’s my duty to clue […]