[fifa] How a curmudgeonly old reporter exposed the FIFA scandal that toppled Sepp Blatter … some fascinating background on the FIFA scandal … ‘The best way for Americans to imagine Andrew Jennings is to roll Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein together, then add a touch of a Scottish burr and plenty of flannel. Jennings was born in Scotland but moved to London as a child. His grandfather played for a prominent London soccer team, Clapton Orient (now called Leyton Orient), but Jennings had little interest in the sport. He did, however, have a nose for journalism.’

[stickers] How much does it cost to fill the Panini 2014 World Cup Sticker book? … it turns out that collecting World Cup team stickers in a pretty expensive hobby … ‘You need 824 packets and that’s a smacking £412.’

[wrestling] The Ring Cycle — Jon and Joel Ronson investigate WWE and the Chris Benoit double murder and sucide … ‘Bodybuilders beat each other to a pulp. Women in bikinis beat each other to a pulp, sometimes with midgets on their shoulders. From time to time the wrestlers lay out their philosophies for the camera. My favourite philosophical wrestler is John Morrison, who says, “Join me in the palace of wisdom or continue to be slaves to society. I am a portal to the infinite. You are temporary, a fleeting footnote to an average reality.” His palace of wisdom seems to involve hammering opponents’ faces into the floor.’

[football] The Long Goodbye — George Best summed up by Gordon Burns … ‘It seems remarkable, given his career of drunk-driving, philandering and domestic violence, and his multiple addictions to alcohol, gambling and sex, that Best only went to prison once. That happened in 1984 when, after failing to appear in court on a drunk-driving charge and resisting arrest after the police cornered him in a girlfriend’s flat, he served two months. But it’s an exchange that took place in the canteen at Southwark crown court before sentencing that has entered Best lore. His friends and defence team were staring into the bottom of their coffee cups, with nothing to say. Then George glanced across at them with a smile. “Well, I suppose that’s the knighthood fucked,” he said.’

[WTF?] Did Emlyn Hughes call his kids Emlyn and Emma Lynn? ‘Are you able to confirm this and are there any other instances of footballing parents with the imagination of a brick?’

[football] Manchester United Are Best Ever! ‘My Name is KOK kokweeuk’.

[comics] BBC News on India’s comic cricketers. ‘The books – which are on sale at the price of 50 rupees ($1.06) each – are largely targeted at children, and will have to compete with other popular English language comics. There are also many comics in Hindi and other Indian languages. However, the market for comics, even in English, is thought to be in millions, and the producers hope they can tap into the national enthusiasm for the genre of comic books and cricket.’

[more blogs] It had to happen… after a year or so of me talking at my flatmate about blogs he has gone and bitten the bullet and done one himself… Wanderers Weblog. All I can say is: Thank God it’s not a personal one.

[sport] newsUnlimited on John McEnroe’s coverage of Wimbledon for the BBC. ‘McEnroe, like his fellow New Yorker Woody Allen, is a master of deconstruction: he provides a narrative and then unpicks it. “Can Henman ever win?” Inverdale enquired innocently. “Sure, when Sampras is no longer around; he’ll have to slow down at some point – maybe in 2015 or something.” He cannot be serious: well he is and he isn’t, which is perfect for the hall-of-mirrors world of sport. Check out Prolific 2000 for a different view…

[sport] How Grandstand was cancelled [from newsUnlimited]. “The premier league clubs expect to realise around £2bn from auctioning the various rights packages. By chance £2bn is roughly the BBC reaped in licence fee income last year to fund its two television channels and five radio stations, plus its new digital ventures.”

[football] David Beckham immortalised in Thai temple reports BBC News. “The fan placed his sculpture of the Manchester United player in Bangkok’s Pariwas temple, in a spot normally reserved for minor deities.”

My flatmate wants you to visit London Whites Online.