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1. cristiano ronaldo smites villarreal to become the new god of madrid | sid lowe

   
   
   if kakб belongs to jesus, you could be forgiven for believing that the rest of real madrid's players now belong to ronaldogod moves in mysterious ways. theatrically, dramatically. beautifully, brutally. head held high, neck extended, shoulders back, spine straight, lips pursed. chest heaving. up, pause for effect, down again, air escaping his lungs, blowing sailboats to shore. a prelude, a performance, pulling the world towards him before striking with great vengeance and furious anger. the hush became awe. wonder. let there be light, preferably a spotlight ? and, lo, there was light! a flash and a thunderbolt scorched across the sky, ripping past diego lуpez. if guti boasted the "heel of god" as real madrid finally won at riazor three weeks ago, cristiano ronaldo boasted his destructive power as they defeated villarreal last night.the word of god is the word down madrid's way. iker casillas has long been saint iker, "a fallen angel" with the hands of god. as one column-writing loon put it: "the day he came to earth, light shone upon his house like at the gate of bethlehem when christ was born." when david beckham joined madrid a particularly sycophantic suitor described him as "arriving barefoot, like christ". and from the day ronaldo took the same path, these most devout zealots have had him down as a candidate for beatification, his qualities exalted, his failings excused. meanwhile, across the spanish divide, sport declared that christ's address at the sea of galilee was, in fact, "a prophecy of leo messi". but this was something else. something bigger. this was deification.last night god himself appeared before the santiago bernabйu. shiny faced, oily-haired, pouting and dressed in a madrid shirt but god nonetheless. "yesterday," opens as's match report, "cristiano was not just cristiano but the whole of christianity." marca's cover, meanwhile, declared: "god came dressed as cr9".the heel of god? bah! the hands of god? so what?! ronaldo has his creation, his omnipotence, his omnipresence. the whole package. perfect teeth. nice smell. a class act all the way. today, ronaldo is god. not because, as in richard dawkins's famous description, he's the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it, petty, unjust, unforgiving, a malevolent bully, capricious and megalomaniacal. but because last night ronaldo was omnipresent and all-powerful, the creator supreme, an irresistible force as madrid hammered villarreal 6-2 to go back within two points of barcelona, climb above them in terms of goals scored and rack up a 12th win out of 12 at home.he was god because he "made" and scored the first, tumbling over and then belting in a free-kick so good, so quick, so vicious in its sudden dip, that one radio station began a search to find it a name to go with cruyff turns and panenka penalties. because he created the third for gonzalo higuaнn, racing down the right wing to slide a perfect first-time ball across. because he laid the fifth on a plate for kakб, wriggling through the challenges to leave the brazilian one-on-one with lуpez. and because he made the sixth for xabi alonso, cutting inside from the right and getting brought down for the penalty that he ? very, very reluctantly and not without storming off the pitch in a strop at the end ? let the former liverpool midfielder take to score his first goal for the club.as one editorial inevitably put it, madrid won and convinced ? they managed to "vencer" and "convencer", which is still the task before them. alonso played superbly, marcelo terrified villarreal every time he advanced and higuaнn got two more goals to give him 14, twice as many as karim benzema. but few noticed because last night was all about cristiano ronaldo; last night, he was everywhere and everything, dashing down the line, crashing to the turf, lashing at the ball, sprinting after lost causes, resuscitating moves, utterly engrossing, utterly all-encompassing. if kakб belongs to jesus, you could be forgiven for believing that the rest of the team belongs to ronaldo.while there have been signs of madrid being a more impressive side collectively without ronaldo; while there are times when his almost pathological desire to do it all is counter-productive; while every time madrid win marca says its down to him and nothing to do with manuel pellegrini but every time they lose it's not his fault and everything to do with pellegrini; while he missed his big chance against barcelona, something that royston drenthe was tried, convicted and sentenced for but for which ronaldo was quickly forgiven; and while he did little during wednesday night's defeat in lyon, when he's this good he is irresistible. a beast.last night madrid were given a slight helping hand by jelly-headed referee muсiz fernбndez ? the first came from a free-kick which wasn't, the penalties for the second and sixth look a little generous but probably correct, and there's a hint of offside in the third ? and villarreal's defending was appalling, their back four suicidally high and so slow they're still out on the bernabйu turf making tackles now. but still, ronaldo was absolutely unbelievable; a whirlwind awarded four marks by as. out of three. just before midnight in the cold concrete corridor of the stadium, a villarreal player shook his head sadly and blew out his cheeks. "when he's playing like this," he said. "ronaldo is completely unstoppable. truly incredible.""his performance can be summed up in just one word," insisted one tomбs guasch: "Ўolй!" raising his eyebrows, the villarreal goalkeeper lуpez used as many to describe the free-kick that set madrid on their way: "whoosh!" el paнs's headline simply called him a "colossus." most, though, were using rather more words. "one day, he'll win the ball, cross it in and head it home himself," claimed el mundo. "apart from the absurd paraphernalia that accompanies his free-kicks, he was impeccable. as well as shooting, taking the free-kicks, building the plays and giving passes, cristiano ronaldo is also the one that folds up the shirts, cleans the boots and cuts the grass. the only thing left for him to do is man the ticket office," wrote roberto palomar in marca, "ronaldo did everything. his activity was such that his team-mates just get in the way."it is an uncomfortable and potentially damaging truth but this morning no one cares. and why would they? ronaldo was, el mundo, wrote: "the orchestra man, capable of doing everything a player can do in attack." for those with long memories, the remark struck a chord. the internazionale and barcelona coach helenio herrera famously once said of madrid's greatest ever player: "if pelй was the lead violinist alfredo di stйfano was the entire orchestra." the implicit comparison was the greatest compliment they could have paid him. when it comes to real madrid, no one can compete with di stйfano. not even god.talking points? and so mallorca's home run comes to an end. ten straight wins later, in front of 11,000 fans, the big champions league-chasing clash went sevilla's way. jesъs navas was brilliant again as fourth placed sevilla beat fifth placed mallorca 3-1. perhaps it was inevitable, at least in part a quirk of the fixture list. after all, until this weekend mallorca had not played sevilla, valencia, atlйtico, barcelona or madrid at home. they need to hope this isn't the start of their home form deserting them because away from son moix they are rubbish ? just one win in 12. sevilla had didier zokora sent off for telling the linesman, in english, to fornicate with his mother.? normal service is resumed at atlйtico madrid. a week after beating barcelona they were defeated by almerнa, 1-0. a tad unlucky, mind you. but the copa del rey finalists (which says it all about the tournament this season), are still only seven points off the relegation zone. and 31 points off the top.? barcelona were 4-0 winners over racing santander, with thierry henry getting his first minutes in a month ? and scoring too, albeit with the help of a dreadful wall. racing were without gonzalo colsa, pedro munitis and muhammad tchitй, all of whom had sought out cards the previous week to serve their suspension at camp nou and have a clean slate for other games. in other words, they'd given up before kick-off (as so many teams sadly do, with or without players). some are talking about that adulterating the league, which of course it does.? not as much as those clauses that prevent loan players facing their former clubs do, though. racing's on-loan henrique played against loanees barcelona, while deportivo wouldn't let xerez play with either of theirs. xerez's brief revival appears stillborn. nйstor gorosito's hair is still magic, though.? pennant watch: came on after 68 minutes and again had a few good runs. but couldn't prevent his team losing 3-1 against sporting and remaining just one point off the relegation zone.results: deportivo 2-1 xerez, barcelona 4-0 racing, mallorca 1-3 sevilla, malaga 2-1 espanyol, athletic 4-1 tenerife, osasuna 1-1 valladolid, zaragoza 1-3 sporting, almerнa 1-0 atlйtico, madrid 6-2 villarreal. (valencia play getafe tonight.)latest la liga tablecristiano ronaldoreal madridla ligaeuropean footballsid loweguardian.co.uk © guardian news & media limited 2010 | use of this content is subject to our terms & conditions | more feeds
   
   




2. all the nous of arsenal's sol campbell fails to keep his keeper calm | amy lawrence

   
   
   the veteran arsenal defender supplied order and a goal but it was not enough to overcome a calamitous goalkeeping displayfor sol campbell it was all about having the experience to pull his team-mates over the line. that was how that rugged old warrior martin keown had put it. ­campbell was back at arsenal to impart words of wisdom, instil an instinct for ­resilience and be a bit more ­bloody-minded in times of trouble.ever since the 2004 invincibles were disbanded, the tendency for mental frailty has lurked in arsиne wenger's team ? temperamentally they are like an english rose, pretty in fine weather but quick to wilt in a storm.they were on course for a spell of ­piteous navel gazing after the first of two calamitous errors from lukasz fabianski presented porto with the easiest of leads after 11 minutes. arsenal peered over the precipice.their response after conceding early goals in recent summit meetings with ­manchester united and chelsea did not augur well. now, in the champions league, would they cave in again or buck up to pull ­themselves back into contention?campbell delivered what appeared to be a resounding answer. he sauntered up for a set piece and thumped in a joyous header to secure an important away goal.that is two in two successive champions league games for the arsenal defender. the fact that they happen to be four years and a journey through several divisions apart is a story whose meaning perhaps only he can fully appreciate.it was all going so well. on top of the equaliser the 35-year-old tidied up with all the nous he had accrued over the years. and then the evening tilted, crushingly, all over again as fabianski imploded once more. the second half was trundling along harmlessly enough when campbell pushed a pass back to his keeper from close range. inexplicably fabianksi picked it up. the balloon of what passes for arsenal's defensive confidence deflated.concentration popped. self-pity ruled. campbell looked at the floor. fabianski did not know where to look. and porto looked at the referee, said obrigado and poked an absurd winner into the unguarded net.in the build-up to this game the word wenger chose to describe the prospects for fabianski was "outstanding". out of his depth and a standing target for criticism, the pole endured another catastrophic outing. porto had dug deep underground when building this sunken stadium, but not deep enough to include the trap door through which fabianski must have wanted to disappear.public humiliation is a terrible thing to bear. arsenal's second-choice goalkeeper, 24 and a full international, is of an age when he should be beyond such wobbles. sooner or later wenger has to take responsibility for the goalkeeping situation. both manuel almunia and fabianski have felt crushed by what is expected of them this season and this has manifested itself in mistake after mistake.despite the manager's reluctance to fix problems with fresh signings, this cannot go on. to have one dodgy keeper is unfortunate, to have two is careless.it is hard to envisage fabianski coping with another high-profile game in the near future. a blunder at stoke has already cost arsenal the fa cup, now his team-mates will have to ensure the champions league does not go the same way and a much more gutsy ­performance will be required in the return leg at emirates on 9 march.perhaps, when the emotions have settled slightly, campbell will have a word with him. he knows what it is like to feel overburdened with the pressure of ­top-level football, having himself ­succumbed when he abandoned a premier league game against west ham at half-time having struggled badly.when campbell last appeared in the champions league for arsenal, in the 2006 final against barcelona, he had more than a smattering of high-calibre experience in the team around him. there remained a strong spirit of the invincibles in the starting line-up: jens lehmann, ashley cole, gilberto silva, robert pires, freddie ljungberg and thierry henry.lining up in the estбdio do dragгo he looked behind him at a novice goalkeeper who reacts to big games with a fit of ­jitters. in front he saw a midfield which is very much a work in progress around cesc ­fбbregas, supporting a young striker who is yet to convince the rest of the world he is quite as good in reality as he is in his own imagination.that wenger did not enhance his squad in january, despite some blindingly obvious weak spots, has been a bone of contention for the paying public at the emirates. not that anyone would dispute campbell's value on a free midway through the oddest of seasons for him personally and it is perfectly possible that away goal of his could prove decisive when this tie is settled next month.a league two away-day at morecambe back in ­september was evidently not much fun for campbell but compared with a champions league night in front of the most neurotic goalkeeping imaginable, it must have been more comfortable.sol campbellarsenalarsиne wengerchampions leaguefc portoamy lawrenceguardian.co.uk © guardian news & media limited 2010 | use of this content is subject to our terms & conditions | more feeds
   
   




3. sports law blog on facebook

   
   
   if you are among our readers who use facebook to stay in touch with classmates and friends, jason chung of the project on law and mind sciences at harvard law school has created a facebook group devoted to sports law blog. our thanks to jason for putting it together and we hope you check it out if you are a facebook user.
   
   




4. olympiawetter: ?weder hцlle noch regen werden uns hindern?

   
   
   das wetter denkt noch nicht olympisch: der januar war in british columbia der wдrmste seit menschengedenken. schnee war in cypress zur mangelware geworden. erst kurz vor dem start der wettbewerbe legte sich eine weiЯe decke ьber die pisten. faz.net - homepage | politik | gesellschaft | wirtschaft | finanzmarkt | sport | feuilleton | reise | wissen | auto | computer
   
   




5. authority through morality: nike can terminate michael vick's endorsement contract

   
   
   a couple of weeks ago, i wrote about the morals clause in michael vick's endorsement contract with nike. despite publicly supporting vick immediately after his indictment, the company suspended vick's contract. the clause's language entitled nike to do so.at the time, however, the exact language of the clause was unknown, and we were left to speculate its possible meaning. we wondered if, for instance, nike could terminate the contract based alone on vick's indictment. another and more contentious possibility would be that nike could terminate the contract based on public outrage directed at vick. that speculation generated some outstanding reader comments, and i appreciate all of those who commented.thanks to the intrepid reporting of cnbc's darren rovell, we now know the language of vick's morals clause. over on sportsbiz, rovell reveals that if vick is indicted or if he "causes harm to company," nike can unilaterally terminate the contract. in other words, nike could have already terminated vick's contract based on his indictment, but has not. instead, it has suspended the contract. it will not pay vick while the contract remains suspended and could still terminate the contract at any time.as rovell discusses, vick's particular morals clause is somewhat unusual, as historically, moral clauses usually require a conviction before a contract can be terminated. on the other hand, as rovell notes, a recent trend in endorsement contracts between athletes and companies has been to characterize an indictment as a sufficient condition for termination (for a related television interview with rovell, click here). for another recent trend on morals clause, check out a harvard law bulletin article on "reverse morals clauses."rovell's article also poses an interesting poll question:nike has suspended vick. knowing this information, do you think it will help their brand at all to terminate him?interestingly, 80% of readers have thus far said "yes." granted, the poll is not scientific, but any thoughts on why folks do not see a suspended contract as a sufficient-enough separation for nike from vick? put another way, is nike doing the right thing by not terminating the contract until more information about vick's potential criminal exposure emerges, or should it have already severed all ties with him?
   
   




6. a big, easy decision for archie: root for peyton

   
   
   fort lauderdale, fla. (ap) -- the town he calls home and the team he took a beating for over the course of a decade finally made it to the super bowl. the quarterback on the other side is his middle son. archie manning will not mince words. he can find room in his heart for only one of them.
   
   


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