While most of my football chagrin has focused on the Carolina Railhawks losing the USSF Divison 2 Finals to Puerto Rico — I so wanted my club to be the answer to that trivia question – I was also a little annoyed by the fact that the death of Setanta Sports has made it so much harder to watch the annual International Rules Football Series between Australia and Ireland. For a while, I was hoping a torrent would pop up, but I never found one.
As it turns out, all I had to do was look on YouTube.
Thanks to the efforts of user tallowmanirish, both test matches from this year’s International Rules series are available for streaming. Just go to tallowmanirish’s YouTube page and do a search for either of these terms:
- international rules 2010 first
- international rules 2010 second
And you can watch both matches almost in their entirety. The second match, as you might expect, is the more entertaining one, as the first one saw both sides trying to adjust to different rules. International Rules is still something of a curiosity, really. It’s a blend of two somewhat similar football codes (Australian Football and Gaelic Football) that I still think has the potential to be highly entertaining — that is, if it were ever played more than twice a year.
When you’re done checking out those test matches, here are a few stories you should read about football codes that other people actually care about:
- The CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage is set, and with all the Mexican teams on one side of the bracket — funny how that worked out, eh? — an MLS v. FMF final is within reach. Would that finally get American soccer fans to start caring about this competition? [Soccer By Ives]
- That reported kiss-and-make-up session between Zidane and Materazzi? Yeah, it didn’t happen. They still hate each other. [The Offside]
- A 10-point plan for Manchester City that could help them avoid running afoul of UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules. [The Swiss Ramble]
- West Brom is in sixth place. So where’s the love? [EPL Talk]
- Why do we cheer for the underdogs? [The Run of Play]
- Don King loves the West Coast Eagles. Really. I’m sure the cocaine had nothing to do with it. [The Age]
- Shocking news you won’t believe: ESPN3D isn’t catching on. [Gizmodo]
- DeSean Jackson is wearing a new helmet that offers more protection from concussions. [Shutdown Corner]
- One neurosurgeon suggests that new helmet might not be enough. [Business Insider]
- Is the NFL only paying lip service to player safety? [Triple Pundit]
- Jake Plummer’s post-football athletic pursuit? Handball. Irony? Perhaps. [Shutdown Corner]
- Tom Dempsey’s 63-yard field goal celebrates its 40th anniversary as an NFL record. [NFL Fanhouse]
- High school running back runs for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns — on a broken leg. [Prep Rally]
- Mississippi State defensive end Nick Bell succumbs to cancer way too soon. [Every Day Should Be Saturday]
- A remembrance of the great Walter Payton. [Grizzly Detail]
Finally, I leave you with an animated GIF of Cristiano Ronaldo from this week’s UEFA Champions League action:
You stay classy, Cris.