UF Quick Throw: Barca Prez tells Madrid to get their shinebox

Real Madrid may be off-season, paper champs, but Barcelona are the treble-winners... Kings of Europe. And lest ye forget it, Blaugrana president Joan Laporta has brought out his inner Lloyd Bentsen.

Said Sr. Laporta:

We make Ballon d'Or winners and others have to buy them. It's fine by me that Real have bought Cristiano Ronaldo but at present Barcelona are the point of reference for everyone."

Wow. Get some, Florentino Perez. Get some. And by the way... Can we please start the season NOW?!?

Read more on "UF Quick Throw: Barca Prez tells Madrid to get their shinebox"...

We Own Steaua Bucharest, Too! Thanks!

My fellow Americans (and expat taxpayers), we need to start keeping better track of our new and exciting holdings across the sports world.

Today, I am thankful for so many things, none more than our newly apparent stake in Romanian side Steaua Bucharest... the team so good it has four nicknames!

After months of tacitly funding SAF and his devilish enterprise (Figure that Tottenham fans, our personal funds actually helped prise Berbatov from Spurs. Jolly!), we finally snatch up a piece of fun club like Steaua. They've got good uniforms-- Barca rip-offs. They play in a city that's emerged as the hub of Romanian New Wave. And... well, that's about it. But who's complaining?

Not me. I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed. First, we'e got a new baseball stadium opening this spring in Queens, NY. There's that issue about Man U. Now this bit about Steaua. Forget the crypto-populist rags whining about the deal. We need to talk to our new co-owner about his Queen hang-up.

Read more on "We Own Steaua Bucharest, Too! Thanks!"...