George Steinbrenner on Being the Boss

Since former New York Yankees skipper Joe Torre managed to not mention longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner during his 28 minute speech as he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it is worth recognizing "the boss".

Tony LaRussa on Baseball

Rory McIlroy on Winning

Rory McIlroy did not test himself in Hoylake this year .  The 25 year old Ulster golfer lead throughout the 2014  British Open, closing with a final round of 71, finishing 17 under par, which was two strokes ahead of Rickie Fowler and  Sergio Garcia.

McIlroy joins Tiger Woods and Jack Nicholas to have won three of four major titles by the time they are 25 years old.

With his British Open victory, McIlroy won the Claret Jug and a check for  970,000 Pounds Sterling.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Mother Tried to Abort the Unborn Soccer Superstar

Dolores Aveiro, the mother of Real Madrid (and formerly Manchester United) soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, helped author a candid autobiography with ghost writer Paulo Sousa Costa titled: Mãe Coragem "Mother Courage" which was recently had its lusophone launch in Lisbon.  Aveiro had wanted to dub the book "A Woman Is a Woman" as a nod to German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht's  "Man Is a Man".  But "Mother Courage"'s subtitle: "The Life the Force and the Faith of a Fighter" better explains her homage to the struggles of mothers.

In the book, Ms. Aveiro revealed that when she was pregnant with Cristiano on the Portuguese  archipelago of Madeira  in 1984, she tried to abort him.  Dolores Aveiro reasoned that she was 30 years old, already the mother of three children and her poor gardener husband was an alcoholic.  When doctors rejected her reasoning, "Mother Courage" tried to do the dirty deed  herself with a homemade abortifacient concoction of warm ale and running until she dropped.  Fortunately for the F.I.F.A. world, her attempts to abort were unsuccessful.

When Cristiano Ronaldo learned that his mother tried to kill him in utero, he seemingly took it in good spirits, joking about who pulled the purse strings in the house.  Perhaps it was a coincidence, but Ronaldo was not present for the book launch, nor was one of his brothers. Dolores excused the absence, since she claims that he knew what she would say.

Had Dolores Aveiro been successful of getting rid of a pregnancy problem when she felt under mental duress, the world would have never seen the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.

F.I.F.A.'s Red Card for Formula One Helmet Celebrating German World Cup Victory

Formula One driver Nico Rosberg had a grand plan to honor his native Germany winning the World Cup.  The German Grand Prix will be held in Hockenham, Germany.  The 29 year old driver for Mercedes Benz "Silver Arrow" team planned to sport a helmet which celebrated Germany's fourth World Cup victory in Rio de Janeiro.

Unfortunately, trademark troubles threw a spanner in the works for this Formula One tribute.  F.I.F.A. gave a red card to the design as the trophy's likeness was protected.  F.I.F.A issued a firm but friendly denial to Rosberg's design.

"We appreciate Nico Rosberg's desire to congratulate the German team and have therefore been in discussions with the Rosberg team, who have now found a solution whereby he will still be able to show his support for Germany without using FIFA's intellectual property in a commercial context."

If only the international football organization was consistent in protecting its trademark from Formula One racers.  In 2006,  Jarno Trulli raced in the French Grand Prix with an image of the trophy on his helmet celebrating Italty's victory, and he suffered no sanctions. 



Rosberg tweeted that he understood F.I.F.A.'s trophy trademark prohibition. 

 Rosberg tweaked his helmet design to include four gold stars marking Germany's World Cup wins.

John F. Kennedy on Age

Derek Jeter on Character

Derek Jeter at bat during his 14th and final MLB All Star Game.  #FarewellCaptain 

Kaka on Values

Pele on Penalty Kicks

Orthodox Priest Condemns Puma's World Cup Tricks

Alexander Shumsky, a Russian Orthodox priest who is also a member of the Russian Writers Union, gave the foot fashion on World Cup players the boot.   

Shumsky's critique is centered on the bright colors of the Puma Trick shoes, which were designed for the 2014 World Cup being held in Brazil.

Puma's reasoning for the exotic color palate for the football boots was because Brazil is all about vibrant colors. The context for Shumsky condemning the World Cup as anathema has not been widely circulated outside of Russia.  However, the thrust of the critique does mirror the homosexual tolerance controversy which shrouded the 2014 Winter Olympics. 

Shumsky's perspective on FIFA had better lighten up, considering that Vladimir Putin has secured the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the finals being held in Sochi.  Maybe by then the hotels in Sochi will be finished.

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