GOAL - Cheats, Frauds and just not football

Hello Friends,
So what is wrong in the world of soccer.
Not that we were not battered enough coping with the market recession, terrorism, pollution, etc,etc that we now have to deal with this. Deviousness on the soccer field - a place where we thought things were still fair and square.
Henry' famous hand of God goal brings focus to what threatens the playing arena. The fact that one country is deprived of it's rightful place in the World Cup means nothing to FIFA as they hide behind rules on not allowing a replay.

This brings back memories of another incident not so long ago when Maradona, the god of the soccer field had to take God's help to scrape through an important encounter against England in the 1986 WC. He continues to shame the game that gave im everything, the latest being his two month ban for his tirade against critics who voiced concern over his plans to ruin Argentinian footbal by playing 70 players in about a little more than 12 months. Here again FIFA has shown the tendency to bend backwards to please all and allowed him to continue in his role as coach for the WC.

But the final straw is obviously the accusation of match fixing. It is believed that more than 200 suspected members fixed or tried to fix around 200 matches across Europe, including three in the Champions League.

Yes, cheating is everywhere.

So have we all, the passionate football fans been fooled till now or is it just an indication of the times we live in.

Best regards,
Manoj

ANDRE AGASSI - REVELATIONS

Hello,

Agassi wrote in his soon-to-be-released autobiography Open that he ingested crystal meth and then lied to the governing body of men's tennis to avoid a suspension after failing a doping test.

Excerpts from the book revealed that eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi admitted he used crystal meth in 1997 and said he had wriggled his way out of a suspension after a positive drug test. (he claimed in a letter to officials that he drank it out of his mysterious assistant Slim's soda can)

Besides admitting to using crystal meth in the book, Agassi also wrote that he swallowed a pill given to him by his father - apparently when he was a junior player - that may have been the amphetamine speed.

Other major revelations that could make the book a best seller includes his admission about using a wig in the 1990 French Open and how his relationship with Brooke Shields died out because of her not caring much about him.

An interesting revelation says that Brooke Shields, just before their marriage, had pinned Steffi's picture on her refrigerator for motivation to get in better shape before their wedding.

"It's a photo of the perfect woman, she says" Agassi wrote. "The perfect woman with the perfect legs — the legs Brooke wants."

Agassi, who is now married to tennis great Steffi Graf, is a former top-ranked player who won all four Grand Slam titles.

He has also raised tens of millions of dollars for at-risk youths in his hometown of Las Vegas and opened a preparatory academy there.

Agassi reportedly received at least $5 million for the book; the first printing is a half-million copies, a relatively high number in publishing.

Any reactions on why now.

Best regards,

Manoj