Speculation everywhere today on who Sir Alex had in mind in his interview with Sky yesterday about possible summer transfer targets. The Manchester United manager seemed to imply that his shopping list is rather short: in fact, possibly only one player, and a youngster at that.

With Mikaël Silvestre hopefully staying at Old Trafford, SAF doesn't need to consider cover for Wes Brown and Gary Neville at right back, (though I've wanted to see Micah Richards at United for months. Click to continue reading...

Dear Darren:

I've heard that you are headed up to Sunderland this week to talk some business with Roy Keane. I've sat on both sides of the job interview desk in my career, so may I offer you a little advice on making a great first impression with the Sunderland manager? Just some suggestions to help you get your foot in the dressing room door at the Stadiium of Light? Click to continue reading...

A comedy musical titled MacBecks, based on the life of football star David Beckham and his wife Victoria, is to be staged in Dublin, with the promoters hoping for a subsequent UK transfer.

The show follows the formula of I Keano, the spoof musical about Roy Keane's walkout from the Irish World Cup squad, which had several sell-out runs at Dublin's Olympia Theatre, toured provincial venues and also transferred to Salford.

Click to continue reading...

Tonight, I'll be in the crowd on Parliament Hill with friends, loved ones and complete strangers, watching the fireworks as we celebrate the 141st birthday of the greatest country on earth. Envious? You should be.

As Margaret Wente writes in today's Globe and Mail: "We've won the lottery and, sometimes, we're even smart enough to know it. Click to continue reading...

My apologies to my regular readers, but due to today's unfortunate circumstances, I've disabled the comment function on my blog for the time being. Thanks for understanding. You know where to find me if you need to get in touch. Click to continue reading...

A moderator at Ready to Go Sunderland Message Board has contacted me, and apologized for the behaviour of the commenters there. I appreciate his concern and I accept his apology. I asked that the thread and my account at RTG be deleted and it has.

As far as I am concerned, the matter is closed. Click to continue reading...

I visited a Sunderland fan forum yesterday to ask for travel advice for my upcoming trip from Canada to attend the Ajax friendly on August 3.

Click here for the thread that ensued. While I appreciate the help that was extended to me by some of the forum members, the majority of the responses were gross and insulting. Click to continue reading...

Wayne Rooney's honeymoon in Las Vegas, in the daylight hours at least, seems to consist of endless hours of the newlywed slowly poaching in the hotel swimming pool like a big pink salmon, whilst drinking beer and smoking ciggies.

Dare we hope that our talisman might be putting in an hour or two a day in the hotel gym keeping up his fitness? Click to continue reading...

For months, forums and media sites have speculated enthusiastically that Bayern Munich and Germany full back Philipp Lahm was a key transfer target of Sir Alex Ferguson. Lahm was seen by many as an ideal replacement for a sometimes-shaky Wes Brown and injury-plagued Gary Neville in the right-back position. Click to continue reading...

Sunderland manager Roy Keane is finally back in the office and speaking to the press. Personally, a month without Keano-speak is 29.5 days too long for me. And as always, Roy has something interesting to say: this time about the thirst for success that is driving his management ambitions. Click to continue reading...

Thank Christ. Some news out of Slumberland Sunderland. I navigate to the club's official site and click on "Breaking News", a little giddy with anticipation.
But wait. Unfortunately, it's not a hot multi-million pound killer striker (or even Andy Johnson); it's Grant Leadbitter. Yeah, I know. Click to continue reading...

After three days of futility, I FINALLY got through to the Manchester United ticket office and bought my ticket to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's testimonial. I got up at 3:00 a.m. EST this morning, so I could start calling the office as soon as it opened in England. First try, I got into the queue (granted I was #52, but still, it was progress). Click to continue reading...

It takes a lot to get me mad, but I am absolutely fuming (when I should be enjoying my golf holiday.) I've been trying to purchase a ticket to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's testimonial at Old Trafford on August 2. The official club site announced two days ago that the tickets were now available for general sale to the public, and to order via the provided online link or by telephone. Click to continue reading...

(Summary is not available.) Click to continue reading...

Some of my posts are missing their accompanying photographs. It might be a problem with Google Blogger or Picasa Web Albums. I'm not sure. Hopefully it will be resolved shortly. Thanks! Click to continue reading...