December 18, 2022: The Crowning of Lionel Messi

December 18, 2022: A controversial World Cup comes to an end with a classic Final, won by Argentina, lifting its biggest star, Lionel Messi, into a legitimate place in the discussion for the title of the greatest player in the history of soccer.

The tournament never should have been given to Qatar. We all know that this country -- bigoted toward women, Jews and gays -- never should have been considered, let alone given the tournament. But the country's royal family guaranteed FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, its most profitable World Cup ever, and got it. As with Russia 2018, it was a bribe.

Throw in the moving of the tournament from late Spring and early Summer to late Autumn, due to the intense Middle East heat, the fact that the construction of these stadiums was a reminder of the plight of migrant labor, and even a reminder that there are places in this world where slavery still exists, and it was, clearly, the worst World Cup ever, from an administrative standpoint, surpassing the ones hosted by fascist governments in Italy in 1934, Argentina in 1978, and Russia in 2018.

The time zone differences were a minor issue. Certainly, it was more workable than in 2002, when Japan and South Korea teamed to hold it. If Australia -- with or without New Zealand stepping in as co-hosts -- want to host it in 2030 or beyond, that will have to be dealt with. The tournament has to be convenient for the hosts, but the rest of the world's needs also need to be taken into consideration. (At least Australia is a free country, and, due to having held the Olympics in 2000, and having a thriving A-League, would have the infrastructure already in place.)

(UPDATE: In 2023, FIFA awarded the World Cup for 2030 to a joint effort by the neighboring nations of Spain, Portugal and Morocco, because it was Europe's "turn," and Morocco was a bone thrown to Africa, which lasted hosted in South Africa in 2010. And they awarded the 2034 edition to Saudi Arabia, for the same reason as in 2018 and 2022: Money.)

Fox broadcast the tournament in America. A defeat during the Group Stage doesn't necessarily mean disaster. Argentina were upset by Saudi Arabia. It ended up not mattering, any more than did the most embarrassing Group Stage loss ever, West Germany falling to political (if not footballing) arch-rival East Germany on West German soil in 1974.

The English love to remind the Americans of certain things. "It's called 'football,' not 'soccer.'" The English love to remind us that they invented the sport. They did not. They invented its organization, but even that was a co-invention with the Scots. They love to remind us that they've won the World Cup, and we haven't. Well, we've won 4 World Cups. When they hear that, They say the women's game doesn't count. Then that means that their women's team, which has been more successful recently than their men's team, gets insulted.

And England claiming superiority because they've won 1 of the 17 World Cups, and that 1 being 56 years ago, is like Toronto Maple Leafs fans claiming 13 Stanley Cups, when they haven't even made the Finals since 1967. At least the New York Yankees have won 7 of their 27 World Series since England '66 and Toronto '67, and that's still the most since then, as well as overall.

And when the game was played, the U.S. did not play well, and England controlled the game most of the way. And still, it ended 0-0. It had all the markings of a Premier League game where Arsenal dominate but still can't find a win. England were better, but couldn't prove it on the scoreboard.

It was better for England than the 2010 match in South Africa, which became a 1-1 draw thanks to Rob Green's "Hand of Clod" mishandling of a Clint Dempsey shot. That was reminiscent of an Arsenal failure to win because of a fluke goal that never should have happened. For the vast majority of English fans, who like to mock Arsenal, the shoe seems to go on the other foot every 4 years.

Throw in the biggest upset in World Cup history, America's 1950 win over England in Brazil, and the record is as follows: American wins, 1; draws, 2; England wins, exactly none. For all their braggadocio, England have never beaten America at the World Cup.

The draw with England was encouraging, but it followed a draw with England's neighbors, Wales. That was depressing: We led 1-0 after 80 minutes, but indiscipline took over, and we gave away a stupid penalty.

This put us in a position where we had to beat Iran, which had the world supporting them as their people finally seem to have taken the initiative in challenging their evil religious-fanatic government. We won, but it was a very sluggish 1-0, and we felt like the least deserving team in the last 16.

And then we had to play the Netherlands, one of the teams that always seems to grab the world's attention at the World Cup. Haji Wright's goal to pull us within 2-1 was quickly canceled out, and the Dutch won, 3-1.

After not making the tournament at all the time before, making the knockout stage this time was a success. But the Dutch showed us that the difference between Top 16 and Top 8 is big. Manager Gregg Berhalter earned the right to be the man to bridge that difference, but, bridge it, he must, if we are to go any further than this on home soil in 2026.

To go with superstar midfielder Christian Pulisic, we need an out-and-out scorer, and we need stronger defenders. And it's not like "club football," where we can just go out and buy them. They have to be trained. Maybe Berhalter can bring Arsène Wenger in as a consultant, to help them develop "the quality" and "the mental strength." Because, for now, as to either one, we can truthfully say, "I did not see it."

One person who will never get to see it is Grant Wahl, a journalist who did as much as anyone in the MLS era to spread knowledge of soccer through America. The 49-year-old native of the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, a Princeton graduate, wrote the 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that introduced the world to a high school basketball star named LeBron James, and continued to write for SI on the subject of soccer, for which Fox Sports hired him as a studio analyst.

He was in the press box watching the Quarterfinal between Argentina and the Netherlands, which Argentina won on penalties (of course: When it comes to penalties, the Dutch are famously as useless as the English), when he collapsed in his seat. Despite his detainment by Qatari authorities after flouting their rules against political statements, and subsequent death threats, it was quickly determined that his claims of feeling unwell were due to an aortic aneurysm, which ruptured.

After showing Senegal the difference between Teams 1 through 8 and Teams 9 through 16, England had to face France, and were lucky to be level going into the 78th minute, when former Arsenal star Olivier Giroud scored for France.

In the 84th minute, the Three Lions were awarded a penalty, and, of course, it would be Harry Kane, golden boy for England and Tottenham Hotspur, who took it. But his former Tottenham teammate, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, stopped him. After his giveaway performance in Russia 2018, and now this, any discussion of whether Kane, a known diver for penalties, is "world class" needs to end.

Of course, Kane wasn't the only choker. England haven't had a good defense in 30 years, and, once again, their attack tightened up after falling behind. For England, at least historically, the difference between Teams 1 through 4 and Teams 5 through 8 might be bigger than the U.S.'s difference between Teams 1 through 8 and Teams 9 through 16.

No team from the African continent had ever reached a World Cup Semifinal. The only Muslim-majority country to have done so was Turkey in 2002. But Morocco won Group F. Then, avenging their geopolitical defeat of the Middle Ages, they beat Spain on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stopping 3 penalties. "Bono" then played his club soccer in Spain, for Sevilla.

They faced Portugal in the Quarterfinal. Portugal were expected to play hard in what was to be the last World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo. But Morocco held them, and Bounou's Sevilla teammate Youssef En-Nesyri scored in the 42nd minute, and Morocco were through to the Semifinal.

Which meant that they would face their former colonial overlords, France, the defending Champions. The dream ended quickly, as France scored in the 5th minute, and Morocco never looked like scoring. France added a goal to make the final 2-0.

As Croatia had done in the previous tournament by reaching the Final and holding their own in it, Morocco had won the world's hearts, but someone else would win the World Cup. It would be between, France, Les Bleus, and Argentina, La Albiceleste (the Sky Blues), at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, in Lusail, outside the Qatari capital of Doha. 

Only once before had a player scored 3 goals -- known among hockey fans as a "hat trick," and the term has drifted to soccer -- in a World Cup Final. That was Geoff Hurst of England in 1966, and the 2nd of those goals remains controversial.

Kylian Mbappé was a big reason why France won in 2018. He stood to be an even bigger reason why France won in 2022, had they done so. For the 1st 80 minutes of the Final, France did practically nothing in attack. They couldn't: Argentina just controlled the ball the whole way. There was no doubt in my mind that Argentina were the better team.

That said, it was a very rough game. Argentina have been accused of dirty tactics by the world's English-language media since their performance in England in 1966, and this game was no exception. Eventually, the French began replying with their own roughhousing.

I watched the game at Jack Doyle's, a bar in Midtown Manhattan, supporting France but surrounded by Argentina fans. A few of them had been in America long enough to get the joke, adapted from comedian Rodney Dangerfield's line about going to a prizefight: "I went to the World Cup, and a hockey game broke out!" The fact that this bar was only 2 blocks from Madison Square Garden deepened the connection.

Argentina's 1st goal was a penalty, given after an obvious dive by Ángel Di María. No surprise there, because he's spent most of his career at teams where cheating is the norm: Real Madrid, Manchester United, and was then with Juventus. Of course, the penalty was taken by their premier player, Messi.

It would have been hard to say Argentina cheated their way to victory, though, had the subsequent score of 2-0 held up: In the 36th minute, they had a strong setup, leading to a very nice goal by Di María, totally legit. "Ballgame," I said at the time. "France are not coming back from this."

And, until the 80th minute, it looked like I was right. But Randal Kolo Mouani was brought down in the box. That gave France a penalty and a lifeline. Mbappé took it and scored, and France had a chance. Just 1 minute later, Mbappé scored brilliantly from open play. It was 2-2. Argentina had blown a game they had controlled for its 1st 87 percent. As the old English soccer saying goes, "Two-nil, and they fucked it up!"

The last 10 minutes were nervy. And, as usual, given the heat and the injury stoppages, there were 8 minutes of stoppage time, but neither team could find a 3rd goal. On to extra time.

In the 108th minute, Messi fired. The ball crossed the goal line, but was kicked out by a France player before it could reach the back of the next. VAR (Video-Aided Refereeing) showed that the goal was complete, and it was properly awarded. Argentina, again, had it won.

Except, again, they didn't. A handball in the box by Gonzalo Montiel meant another penalty for France. Mbappé took it, and it was 3-3. After 123 minutes -- 134 minutes, counting all the stoppage time -- referee Szymon Marciniak of Poland blew his whistle, and this insane game was not over yet. It went to penalties.

France won the toss, and elected to kick first, against Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, of Aston Villa of Birmingham, England -- and, formerly, of Arsenal. There was no question that Mbappé was going to take the 1st one for them, even if it wouldn't be credited as a record-breaking 4th goal in a Final. He made it. Likewise, there was no question that the 1st Argentine to shoot toward Lloris would be Messi. He made it.

But in the 2nd Round, Martínez stopped Kingsley Coman. Paulo Dybala made it 2-1 Argentina. And then, after having a great tournament for France, Real Madrid's Aurélien Tchouaméni missed the net completely, shooting wide left. Leandro Parades made it 3-1. Kolo Muani converted to keep France going, but Montiel, a right back for Sevilla in the club game, converted to give Argentina the 4-2 win, and their 3rd World Cup.

And to give Lionel Messi the World Cup that had previously been denied to him, as he'd been with Argentina as they lost to Germany in penalties at the 2006 Quarterfinals; were knocked out by Germany in regular time at the 2010 Quarterfinals; lost to Germany yet again, in extra time, in the 2014 Final; and were knocked out by France in the Round of 16 in 2018. Finally, the "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) had removed the only doubt as to that title, by winning the biggest trophy of all, the one that had, until now, eluded him.

Pelé -- whose illness prevented his attendance at the World Cup for the 1st time since 1954, and who died before the month was out -- won 3 World Cups, was definitively the best player in the world longer than the debate between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has raged; and, unlike Messi and Cristiano, never had to cheat, or to benefit from his teammates' cheating.

But Messi and Argentina had the World Cup. Although I didn't like the result, it was a great way to end a very shady tournament.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 11th, citing the shadiness of the background, but also the upsets, and the atmosphere brought by the fans of the upsetting teams.

*

December 18, 2022 was a Sunday. As crazy as the World Cup Final was, in America, it was, beyond any doubt, the craziest weekend in NFL history, and I have a separate entry for that.

There were no college football bowl games. Baseball was out of season. There were 7 games in that NBA that day: 

* The New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 109-106 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Detroit Pistons, 124-121 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 95-92 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors, 126-110 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Chicago Bulls, 150-126 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 119-115 at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Washington Wizards, 119-117 at the Crypto.com Arena.

And there were 5 games played in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-1 at the United Center in Chicago. The Rangers pulled off the unusual feat of having 7 different scorers: Filip Chytil, Artemi Panarin, Kaapo Kakko, Jacob Trouba, Vincent Trochck, Vitali Kravtsov and Jonny Brodzinski.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-2 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

* And the Seattle Kraken beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

July 13, 2014: Götze 1, "GOAT" 0

July 13, 2014: The World Cup Final is held at Estadio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, the most famous building on the continent of South America.

Hosts Brazil are not in it. In a game even more stunning than their loss to Uruguay at that stadium in the 1950 Final, Germany beat them in the Semifinal, 7-1. To make matters worse for the home country, the other Semifinal was won by their arch-rivals, Argentina, who beat the Netherlands on penalties in the Semifinal.

The Final was broadcast in America in English on ABC, and in Spanish on Univision. The opponents were Argentina and Germany, and the game is billed as Lionel Messi, "the GOAT" (as in, "the greatest of all time") vs. the classic football pantomime villains, "Ze Germans." Neither billing is particularly accurate.

Argentina were managed by Alejandro Sabella, a former star midfielder for Buenos Aires of River Plate and Estudiantes de La Plata, who managed Estudiantes to the South American club championship, the Copa Libertadores, in 2009.

In addition to Messi, who served as Captain, their starting lineup featured Sergio Romero, goalkeeper for Sampdoria in Genoa, Italy; Pablo Zabaleta and Martín Demichelis, right back and centreback, respectively, for English team Manchester City; Javier Mascherano, a centreback for Spanish giants FC Barcelona, who had previously starred in his homeland for River Plate and in England for Liverpool; Ezequiel Lavezzi, a forward for French team Paris Saint-Germain; and Gonzalo Higuaín, a forward for Napoli of Naples, Italy, who had starred for River Plate and Spanish giants Real Madrid.

This team was so good that Sergio Agüero, whose goal won the 2012 Premier League title for Man City, could only come off the bench; while Real Madrid midfielder Ángel Di María didn't get into the game at all.

Germany were managed by Joachim "Jogi" Löw, a midfielder for SC Freiburg, whose biggest title as a manager thus far had been the 2002 Austrian Bundesliga title, with Tirol Innsbruck. He had, however, managed Germany to 2nd place at Euro 2008 and 3rd at the 2010 World Cup.

As usual, Die Mannschaft were dominated by players from Bayern Munich: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, right back and Captain Philipp Lahm, centreback Jérôme Boateng, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, midfielder Toni Kroos, midfielder Mario Götze, forward Thomas Müller,

Centreback Mats Hummels, then with Borussia Dortmund, and forward Miroslav Klose, then with Lazio of Rome, Italy, had previously played for Bayern. Defender Benedikt Höwedes played for Schalke 04.

Three members of the German team played for North London team Arsenal FC, whom I support. But only midfielder Mesut Özil started. Centreback Per Mertesacker only got in at the end of the game, and forward Lukas Podolski did not play at all.

The game kicked off at 4:00 PM, local time, and also Argentina time -- 9:00 in most of Europe, including Germany, and 3:00 U.S. Eastern. Attendance in a stadium that once had a capacity, including standing room, of 200,000, was an all-seated 74,738. The weather was good, and the grass dry.

Each team missed a couple of shots in the 1st half-hour. Early on, Higuaín mis-hit a ball that he should have put in the net. In the 30th minute, Higuaín did put the ball in the net, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside. Later Romero made a save. I am serious, and you can call the man who took the shot André Schürrle. He was a forward for West London team Chelsea FC. Messi had a shot blocked by Boateng. Just before the half, Höwedes hit the post, and was offside, anyway.

Argentina began the second half with Agüero replacing Lavezzi. Higuaín shot wide. Messi then had a one-on-one with the Neuer, but also shot wide. In the 56th minute, Neuer took down Higuaín in the penalty area, but no penalty was given, or even a card. Just before the hour, Klose had a shot that was caught by Romero. Messi had another miss in the 75th. Regular time ended, 0-0.

Early in extra time, Schürrle's close-range shot was stopped by Romero. Five minutes later, a lob by Rodrigo Palacio went just wide. In the 113th minute, Schürrle raced past 2 defenders on the left before crossing into the penalty area, where Götze controlled the ball on his chest, and then volleyed left-footed into the net. Germany were deservedly ahead.

Müller had a chance to double Germany's lead shortly afterward, but his shot went wide. With time running out, Messi, as if ordained by God, or "the football gods," or Fate, or FIFA, had a chance to be the hero, but he fired over the crossbar. That proved to be the last action of the game as the final whistle was blown, confirming Germany's 1–0 victory. It was their 4th win, matching Italy, trailing only Brazil with 5.

In 125 minutes, counting stoppage time, "greatest of all time" Messi neither scored a goal nor assisted on one. People who believed him to be the "GOAT" would have to wait.

Kroos was born in Greifswald, East Germany in 1990, 2 months after the Berlin Wall came down, and 9 months before reunification. He was the only player born, raised, and trained to play soccer in East Germany who ever played on a World Cup-winning team.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 15th.

*

July 13, 2014 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, in a game shortened to 5 innings due to rain. Kevin Gausman, who usually pitches well against the Yankees, outpitched Chase Whitley. Chris Davis hit a home run for the O's. The Yankee run came on a homer by Brett Gardner. Derek Jeter, in his final season, went 1-for-2. Alex Rodriguez was suspended for the season.

* The New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins, 9-1 at Citi Field. Jacob deGrom was the winning pitcher.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Ryan Zimmerman and former Phillie Jayson Werth hit home runs for the Nats.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. David Price pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Jake McGee pitched a perfect 9th.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cleveland.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Houston Astros, 11-0 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. This was when the Red Sox were defending World Champions, and the Astros were new to the American League and horrible, building up the draft picks that would, along with cheating, allow them to succeed the Red Sox as the AL's unfairly dominant team.

Clay Buchholz pitched a 3-hit shutout, striking out 12 and walking none. Astro starter Brad Peacock didn't get out of the 1st inning. The Red Sox got only 1 home run, from Brock Holt, who went 5-for-6. David Ortiz went 0-for-4, but drew 2 walks, and had RBIs on a bases-loaded walk and a groundout.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 10-7 at Globe Life Park in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Colorado Rockies, 13-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hyun Jim Ryu pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 hits and no walks, striking out 10. Three relievers completed a 4-hit, 2-walk, 12-strikeout shutout. The only run scored in the 6th, when Yasiel Puig singled Dee Strange-Gordon home.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-4 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

March 8, 2011: Robbery at the Camp Nou

March 8, 2011: If the disgrace in Newcastle 31 days earlier wasn’t bad enough, Arsenal are robbed by the officials again, this time at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, in a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match. FC Barcelona were hosting North London team Arsenal, and Arsenal were leading from the 1st Leg, 2-1.

Arsenal, as is usually the case at this point in the season, were staggered with injuries: Centreback Thomas Vermaelen was replaced by Johan Djourou, midfielder Aaron Ramsey was replaced by the useless Abou Diaby, and, after only 19 minutes, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny got hurt, and had to be replaced by Manuel Almunia, by this point known to Arsenal fans as "The Clown."

Barca, meanwhile, were missing defenders Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué, but had the usual offensive suspects all available: Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, David Villa and Sergio Busquets.

In spite of this, the Gunners held Barça off until injury time of the first half, when Arsenal Captain Cesc Fàbregas sent a what-the-hell backheel pass toward Jack Wilshere, but it ended up at Iniesta, who passed to Messi, who put the ball in the net.

Fàbregas, a Barcelona native who'd been purchased by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger from Barça's youth system, had been "tapped up" by various Barça players and officials, and it seemed only a matter of time before he "went home." Lots of Arsenal fans -- myself included -- considered The Backheel to be his "Manchurian Candidate" moment.

But that wasn't the biggest problem -- far from it.  Not one, not two, but three times, a Barça player grabbed an Arsenal player by the throat: Eric Abidal on Robin van Persie, Dani Alves on Samir Nasri, and Victor Valdés on Nasri.  And there is photographic evidence that referee Massimo Busacca saw at least two of these despicable Catalan actions.

Did he issue straight red cards to the offending players? Did he issue yellow cards as a caution? Did he so much as say, "You can't do that, do it again and you're out of here?" As they say in English soccer circles, Did he fuck! 

There was a player sent off by Busacca. It was van Persie. Early in the game, the Dutch striker committed a stupid foul on Alves, and rightly got a yellow card. In the 56th minute, just after a messed-up attempt to clear a corner resulted in an own goal by Busquets, making the aggregate score 3-2 in Arsenal's favor, Busacca blew his whistle, because he judged the ball to be out of play.

RVP did not hear the whistle, and kicked the ball right afterward. Busacca gave him a second yellow card for this, and that's equal to a red card. Arsenal would have to play the last 34 minutes (plus stoppage time) of their biggest game of the season thus far not just as 10 vs. 11 (or 10 vs. 12, considering Busacca), but without their best offensive player.

Interviewed by Sky Sports after the match, van Persie said, "How can I hear a whistle with 90,000 people jumping up? How to God can I hear that? The referee has been a joke all evening, I don’t know why he is even here. These people are unbelievable."

In the 69th, Xavi scored to make it 3-3 overall, and in the 71st, Barça were (rightly, I'm afraid) awarded a penalty, and Messi hammered it past the hapless Almunia to make it 4-3. But in the 87th, Wilshere sent a pass to substitute forward Nicklas Bendtner that Bendtner could well have put in the net, tying the two-legged tie 4-4 and giving it to Arsenal, 2-1 on away goals. But he muffed his chance, and Barça went through -- and went on to win the tournament.

That bogus sendoff changed history, at least in the short term. Had Arsenal been allowed to keep 11 men on the pitch, even if Barça scored the 3rd and 4th goal, it might have been RVP who got the late chance, and buried it, and Arsenal would have gone through, and, with the Final in London at Wembley Stadium, might have won the whole damn thing -- even if it was Manchester United they would have had to face in the Final.

And then van Persie likely would have stayed more than just the one more season, and Nasri wouldn't have left, either. Granted, Fàbregas still would have gone, but at least he would have stayed long enough to lift the European Cup as Captain of Arsenal. And Arsenal, not Chelsea a year later, would have been the first London team to win the European Cup.

But UEFA wanted Barça -- known to its critics as "UEFAlona" -- to win, and so Arsenal got screwed.

UPDATE: In 2024, Dani Alves, one of the Barcelona throat-grabbers from this game, was convicted of rape in Spain, and sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.

*

March 8, 2011 was a Tuesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. American-style football was out of season. There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Washington Wizards, 95-76 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 101-87 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Miami Heat, 105-96 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami. Dwyane Wade led all scorers on the day with 38 points.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 95-85 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers, 110-100 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets, 113-110 at the US Airways Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

And there were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3 at the Nassau Coliseum. Blake Comeau scored the winning goal with 58 seconds left in overtime.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Ottawa Senators, 2-1 at the Prudential Center.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-1 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at the Bank Atlantic Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

* And the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-3 at the Jobing.com (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. Dan Hamhuis scored the winning goal with 2:47 left in overtime.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators, 3-2 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose (now the SAP Center). Patrick Marleau scored the winning goal with 1:26 left in overtime.