Short pitch: Sessegnon sale highlights new Sunderland

A fee has been agreed for the
transfer of Sunderland forward Stephane Sessegnon to Qatari club Al Jaish.  The deal completes a hasty exit from the
Stadium of Light for the Benin international, who has been probably the most
influential Mackem of the past two seasons – the player was arrested
for drink-driving only hours before the transaction was announced.





Questions must be raised about

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Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid exposes disparity

As the narrative of Gareth
Bale’s transfer to Real Madrid careens towards its end pages, we look back
on its lifespan with the typical, ho-hum shrug of fulfilled prediction that
accompanies such uncomplicated, Cartlandian prose. 



This tricky situation evolved in
exactly the same manner as every other protracted move: larger club unsettles
smaller club’s player, player decides he likes the

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EPL: Re-installing Arsenal

After a disappointing 3-1 defeat
to Aston Villa on the season’s opening day, speculative glare has fallen upon
Arsenal and their unsuccessful efforts to improve their squad.  Despite controlling the ball for long periods
against the Clarets, the Gunners seemed strangely faceless – perhaps a
side effect of Gervinho’s departure two weeks ago.



Over the past number of years,
Arsenal have

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EPL finally overcomes offseason inertia

The most pressing questions facing the English Premier League as the offseason
began were:



Question: Will Luis Suarez stay
at Liverpool?

Answer, May 30th:
Likely, but we don’t know

Answer, August 14th:
Likely, but we don’t know



Q. How will David Moyes fare as
Manchester United manager?

Answer, May 30th:
Your
guess is as good as mine

Answer, August 14th:
Your guess is as good as mine

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Guardiola may not be Bayern Munich's Man of Steel

The new Superman movie, Man of Steel, does some things
well.  It creates a plausible Superman
back story, introduces a new dynamic into the Clark Kent/Lois Lane relationship
and makes Kevin Costner somewhat likeable again after two decades of “meh”.  Despite making nearly $300,000,000 (or nearly
three
Gareth Bales) in its two-month run so far, the film pales in comparison
with Superman and

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Graphic: Name quality vs. talent level, Seattle Mariners

click to embiggen

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