Its one of my biggest pet peeves in football and it happens all over the world and it happens often. cheap nfl jerseys . Moreover, it makes the game a little less beautiful. I call it the "deliberate handball swindle." A player, believing hes been fouled, grabs the ball while falling to the ground, forcing the referee into making a decision in the players favour. As a long suffering observer of CONCACAF, Ill cynically assume that this technique originated in Central America and spread like a disease to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, FIFA has allowed the plague to fester...until recently it seems. More and more, we are seeing officials make the correct decision, by giving a free kick in the other direction, while brandishing the yellow card that is automatically awarded for intentionally handling the ball. Unfortunately for Whitecaps fans, it was a Vancouver player that fell victim to that modern interpretation and, because Mattias Laba was already in the book, it was an indisputable sending off in the Whitecaps 2-1 loss to Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Was Laba pulled back by Nick Labrocca in the 77th minute and might a foul have been awarded? Yes. But there were a full two steamboats between Laba tumbling to the ground and the Argentine midfielder grabbing the ball. Enough time for the referee to blow his whistle, which he didnt, and enough time for Laba to consider the circumstances - already on a yellow with his team leading by a goal. Perhaps in his home country, in front of a huge crowd, a referee might have caved to the con and we see that all the time. I sympathize with officials who are constantly being put in a position of having to interpret deceit. So for the good of the game, Im glad Ionnis Stavridis construed the law the way he did and I hope his contemporaries in the game consistently follow suit and react the same way in similar circumstances. There is part of me, though, that also wonders whether in this instance, if the referee knew right away that Laba was already on a yellow for a belligerent foul just 23 minutes earlier ,as there seemed to be hesitation between him showing the secnd yellow and then the red. If referees themselves strive for anonymity and the desire to let players decide games, then, upon reflection, perhaps Mr. Stavridis might have secretly wished he had just awarded a foul to Nick Labrocca and not influenced the game to that degree. But it doesnt change the fundamental issue - grabbing the ball to force a referee into a ruling falls under the same category as diving or, as its now known, “simulation." Its cheating plain and simple and if the Whitecaps truly want to live by their slogan “Our All, Our Honour”, maybe they need to learn from this incident and encourage players to think twice about employing one of the games most notorious swindles. cheap jerseys from china . Obama said Tuesday hes grateful for the role the team played in helping heal the city after the terror attack. He said sometimes sports seems trivial, but it can bring people together like almost nothing else. Red Sox slugger David Ortiz at one point took a selfie of himself and the president as a keepsake. cheap jerseys . The All-Star outfielder and the Yankees agreed Friday to a $45 million, three-year contract, two people familiar with the deal said.HONG KONG -- Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Hong Kong Open for the fourth time Sunday after winning a three-way playoff on the first hole to secure the victory. Jimenez, 49, defended the title he won last year and became the oldest player to win on the European Tour after sinking an 18-foot birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Thailands Prom Meesawat and Stuart Manley of Wales. "It just gets better and better. I love Hong Kong and this course," said Jimenez, who extended his record as the oldest player to win on the European Tour to 49 years and 337 days. "This is my fourth and it was my hardest. When you need to play a playoff, you need to play one more hole, and against two guys also trying to win is hard. But my experience paid off," said Jimenez who adds this title to ones he won in 2004, 07 and 12. It was also his 20th career win on the European Tour, bringing the Spaniard to within one of Scotlands Sam Torrance. "I just love this course. It is an old-fashioned course where accuracy off the tee counts. You have to control the ball here," said Jimenez who began the day two shots behind overnight leader Manley. After the final round, all three players finished on 12-under 268. Meesawat produced a nerveless display of top-class putting to card a final-round 5-under 65 that included two eagles on the 3rd and 13th holes, which pushed him into the lead for most of the last day. The Thai player was pplaying ahead of Jimenez and Manley, and took the clubhouse lead to watch nervously as first Jimenez and then Manley caught up with him. wholesale jerseys. "I was very pleased with my round," Meesawat said. "But I had a few chances to collect a couple more birdies. Unfortunately they fell short and in the playoff I had a bad approach shot." Jimenez knocked in a birdie on the 17th and then Manley needed a last-gasp chip from the edge of the green to hole a birdie on the 18th to force the three-way playoff. Jimenezs experience held him in good stead in the playoff as the Spaniard held his nerve to drive his approach shot at the tricky par-4 410-yard 18 on to the green. Manley had sliced his shot on to a corporate box roof while Meesawats approach fell just short of the green. Both missed their birdie putts but Jimenez made no mistake as he coolly knocked in the winning shot that earned him the victory. Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands finished fourth after carding an 11-under 269, while three shots further behind on 8-under 272 and tied-fifth were Spaniards Javier Colomo and Jose Manuel Lara and Angelo Que of the Philippines. Jimenezs fourth Hong Kong Open title matched the record held by Taiwans Hsieh Yong Yo, who won the tournament in 1963, 64, 75 and 78. "I turn 50 next month but Im still fit. I stretch every morning, you have to do this to keep up with the younger lot," added Jimenez. ' ' '
