Chainsaws and redwood logs were banned from the Columbus Crew soccer stadium on Sunday, but the Portland Timbers won the MLS Cup anyway, beating Columbus 2-1: their first title, and the first title for any of the three “Cascadia Cup” teams from the Pacific Northwest. A well-deserved win for a well-managed team.
Manchester United was eliminated from the European Champions League with a loss Tuesday, but Chelsea and Arsenal won on Wednesday to advance to the final 16. In a triumph of Euro-parity, 10 different countries will be represented in the knockout round, beginning in February.
Penn State won its first NCAA Division I women’s championship on Sunday, beating Duke, 1-0.
Alohagate: Megan Rapinoe tore an ACL on Friday on a Hawaiian practice field, and a Sunday match against Trinidad & Tobago was canceled due to concerns about the artificial turf conditions at Aloha Stadium. U.S. forward Alex Morgan explained the embarrassing late cancellation: “The training grounds that we were given and the playing surface of the stadium were horrible. I think it’s hard because no one’s really going to protect us but ourselves. So we’re put in a very hard position because obviously we want to play in front of these fans … but injuries happen when you don’t protect yourself and when you’re not protected from those higher up from you.”
And speaking of those higher-ups: FIFA executives suffered a new round of pre-dawn arrests Dec. 3, at the same luxury Zurich resort hotel where other officials were arrested a few months back. A reported 16 people were charged, nearly doubling the size of an already huge case; at this point, more than two-thirds of the people who voted to award the next two World Cups to Russia and Qatar have been arrested or indicted on bribery-related charges… Our continent’s confederation, CONCACAF, has decided to go without a president until at least May, since its last three presidents have each been indicted for bribery in the past six months.
This article appears in December 11 • 2015.