A unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic which knows the mysteries of football…
Soccer players are significantly smarter than, well, pretty much everyone, according to a new study in PLoS ONE.
When professional soccer players were tested on “executive function”—a key aspect in memory, multitasking, and creativity—they scored significantly higher than the general population. In fact, elite players belonged to the best 2 to 5 percent of the total population. Why? Soccer players have to adapt constantly to a rapidly changing environment to perform well.
“People assume that if you have a gifted arm or can kick a ball that you aren’t smart, you don’t need to be smart, or both,” says Kristen Dieffenbach, Ph.D., professor at West Virgina University. “High-level sport is physically demanding and requires high-level cognitive skills.”
Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera.
Celebrating his 3rd goal of the season.
Getty
sorry chicharito, you will always have a grand place in my heart, but i think i’m getting a tony v. shirt next season. he’s so dominant yet humble (the anti c-ron), and the way he has come back from injury is rather inspirational. plus, i’m playing on the right wing mostly this season.
"Hundreds of Beitar Jerusalem supporters assaulted Arab cleaning personnel at the capital’s Malha shopping center on Monday, in what was said to be one of Jerusalem’s biggest-ever ethnic clashes. “It was a mass lynching attempt,” said Mohammed Yusuf, a team leader for Or-Orly cleaning services.
Despite CCTV footage of the events, no one was arrested. Jerusalem police said that is because no complaint was filed. Witnesses said that after a soccer game in the nearby Teddy Stadium, hundreds of mostly teenage supporters flooded into the shopping center, hurling racial abuse at Arab workers and customers and chanting anti-Arab slogans, and filled the food hall on the second floor.
Despite CCTV footage of the events, no one was arrested. Jerusalem police said that is because no complaint was filed. Witnesses said that after a soccer game in the nearby Teddy Stadium, hundreds of mostly teenage supporters flooded into the shopping center, hurling racial abuse at Arab workers and customers and chanting anti-Arab slogans, and filled the food hall on the second floor.
— Hundreds of Beitar Jerusalem fans beat up Arab workers in mall; no arrests - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
Editor’s Note: This isn’t the first time Beitar supporters have pulled pogrom crap like this. Israeli police and club leadership stand by and do nothing. Disgusting.
(via journalofajournalist)
Syria TV: FC Barcelona part of anti-Assad plot
State-owned station airs clip ‘proving’ that Spanish soccer team’s formation ‘represents arms smuggling routes’
A state-owned Syrian television channel has claimed that FC Barcelona, arguably the best soccer team in the world, is assisting in the smuggling of weapons to rebels fighting against security forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.
The narrator claimed that Barcelona’s formation represented arms smuggling routes to Syrian rebels. The players represent the smugglers, the narrator said, while the ball’s position represents the current location of the weapons.
According to the narrator, when Barcelona star Leo Messi passes the ball it indicates that the weapons have reached rebels in Dir al-Zur.
best conspiracy theory ever?
and lebanon are through to the final round of world cup qualifying for the first time in history thanks to a south korea win over kuwait and a clutch goal from ahmad zreik, lebanon’s left back, who, until a few months ago, was working 14-hour-a-day shifts at his uncle’s cafe in dearborn, mi. the stars were all kinds of aligned for this one!
National Team Helps Bring Lebanon Together
The last victory was Lebanon’s surprising 2-1 win over South Korea in November during qualification for the 2014 World Cup. Despite being the lowest ranked team in Asia at the start of qualification, and despite facing sectarian tensions that all but destroyed the sport here, Lebanon needs only a tie Wednesday in Abu Dhabi against the United Arab Emirates to reach the final round of World Cup qualification for the first time. The team’s recent success has also given a divided country something to rally around.
The local soccer league mirrored the sectarian violence that led Lebanon toward civil war from 1975 to 1990. Each soccer club had a distinct religious identity entrenched by the patronage of politicians who would help finance them. Teams like Ansar and Nejmeh were supported by the Sunni Hariri family, first by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated, and then by his son Saad; Safa is supported by the Druze; Racing Beirut is aligned with the Orthodox Christians; and Al Ahed has strong links with Hezbollah
“The Lebanese national team is doing the job that no politician can do.”
