The 'empire' still strikes back, and the Glazer flap

All the hot news this week is with the "Empire" sports. Does anybody remember when the Commonwealth Games were called the Empire Games? I think it has a nicer ring to it, let's bring back the Empire Games, what is so common about wealth anyway? Sounds like a misnomer to me...

The Rugby Super 12 Grand Final kicks off tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. Jakarta time. It will be shown live on Kabelvision. But, if you want to watch it with dozens of the most knowledgeable rugby fans in town, head to Aphrodite restaurant/bar in Klub Rasuna, Kuningan, South Jakarta.

The New South Wales Waratahs will take on the heavily favored Canterbury Crusaders from Kiwi-Land. It will be played on Canterbury's home field in Christchurch, but I'm pulling for NSW, mostly because I appreciate good defense in any sport and the Waratahs play it as good as any club in the world. Also because I've had some good times surfing on the beaches up and down New South Wales.

* Random musings

Congratulations to Liverpool! Wow that was a mind-blowing game, and if you stayed up until nearly 5 a.m watching it here like I did, you will have something to tell the grandkids, which is more than some Liverpool "fans" can claim. A large group of them left the stadium at half-time to drown their sorrows in Istanbul pubs, only to miss the greatest comeback in history!

* Glazer/ManU fiasco

How absurd and sophomoric of Manchester United fans. Malcolm Glazer, an American who just bought a controlling interest in the club, is a shrewd, intelligent businessman, which by very definition, means he will let the manager and players do their thing to the best of their ability and pay them handsomely for it. He's well-known for being a hands-off guy and he wins by delegating to highly qualified people.

He'll be good for ManU and world football, in general, so cut the childish xenophobia ManU fans, the rest of the world is watching and you are making a mockery of yourselves and your country. The Premiership and ManU are global brands and for that you should very proud.

There are many impoverished countries with millions of ignorant, ultranationalistic xenophobes, but who can blame them, when they have had decades of dictatorship and strictly controlled propaganda telling them what to think and who to hate. What excuse do Manchester fans have?

Speaking of ManU, did anybody catch that amazing FA Cup final? Hands down one of the most exciting, intense games of the year in all leagues, but what a debacle to give the Man of the Match to Wayne Rooney. Strikers get paid millions of pounds to score. Goalies earn their "dough-re-mi" by making saves.

* Trivia Time Which country is the defending Olympic champion in Rugby?

* Medieval Medicine technique?

Shaquille O'neal, the Miami Heat basketballer, before their NBA Eastern Conference final series with Detroit, had 100cc of blood drained from his thigh. Conjures up memories of Steve Martin's portrayal of Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber on Saturday Night Live in the late '70s: "Unfortunately, we barbers aren't gods. You know, medicine is not an exact science, but we are learning all the time. Why, just 50 years ago, they thought a disease like your daughter's was caused by demonic possession. But nowadays we know that Isabelle is suffering from an imbalance of bodily humors, perhaps caused by a toad or a small dwarf living in her stomach - so we'll have to do some more bloodletting."

* This week in sports history

May 29, 1985

Thirty-nine Juventus fans are killed during a clash with Liverpool fans at Heysel stadium during the European Cup Final in Brussels.

May 25, 1935

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens breaks three world records (220- yard dash, long lump and 220-hurdles) and ties another (100-yard dash) in a little over an hour during a track meet while in college at Ohio State -- that long jump record stood for 25 years at 26 feet 8.25 inches (8.16m).

On the very same afternoon in New York, the best baseball player in history, George Herman "Babe" Ruth, hits his 714th and final home run. His career home run record would remain out of reach for nearly 40 years until Hank Aaron broke it in 1974.

*

Trivia answer: The United States. Rugby was last held in Paris at the 1924 Olympic Games, and the U.S. beat France in the final. The U.S. also won the gold in 1920 at the Antwerp Olympics. There is some talk of restoring it as an Olympic sport.

That subject, in fact, will be on the Agenda July 6-9 in Singapore when the IOC meets to decide the host city of the 2012 Olympics. What a story that would be if Paris gets the Games again and present-day minnows, the U.S., successfully defends its Rugby title?

-- Rich Simons