Filed under: FIFA World Cup, MLS, U.S. Men’s National Team, FanHouse Exclusive, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, United States

JOHANNESBURG — The U.S. national team attracted a few celebrity fans during its World Cup run, most notably Bill Clinton. A few well-known athletes made the trip down to South Africa as well, among them New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (pictured above in South Africa), who decided to wind down his Super Bowl celebration by taking in the biggest sporting event of all.

Bush was in the country with adidas, which is a World Cup sponsor that has used Bush in some very creative cross-promotion before. In the “Futbol Meets Football” campaign a few years ago, Bush and David Beckham matched skills in a great series of ads that featured Bush taking penalty kicks and Beckham in a helmet and shoulder pads.

A few moments before the U.S.-Algeria game at Ellis Park, FanHouse was invited to spend a few minutes in the adidas suite, try some biltong (South African beef jerky) and chat with Bush about football, the other football, his trip to South Africa and whether he wishes he could play in a World Cup.

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I’m done, and you should be, too. Put the vuvuzelas away. Stop worrying about how much time is really left in extra time. Quit tweeting “Gooooaaaaaaallllllll” on the rare occasion when someone actually scores. Stop gushing to your co-workers about the inner beauty of a nil-nil tie. Don’t feel compelled to spend your lunch break Friday cheering for Uruguay just because Ghana knocked…

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, MLS, U.S. Men’s National Team, FanHouse Exclusive, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, United States

JOHANNESBURG — The U.S. national team attracted a few celebrity fans during its World Cup run, most notably Bill Clinton. A few well-known athletes made the trip down to South Africa as well, among them New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (pictured above in South Africa), who decided to wind down his Super Bowl celebration by taking in the biggest sporting event of all.

Bush was in the country with adidas, which is a World Cup sponsor that has used Bush in some very creative cross-promotion before. In the “Futbol Meets Football” campaign a few years ago, Bush and David Beckham matched skills in a great series of ads that featured Bush taking penalty kicks and Beckham in a helmet and shoulder pads.

A few moments before the U.S.-Algeria game at Ellis Park, FanHouse was invited to spend a few minutes in the adidas suite, try some biltong (South African beef jerky) and chat with Bush about football, the other football, his trip to South Africa and whether he wishes he could play in a World Cup.

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Full-back Leighton Baines has signed a new five-year contract at Everton. The 25-year-old moved to Goodison Park from Wigan in 2007 and still had two years remaining on his deal.

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, MLS, U.S. Men’s National Team, FanHouse Exclusive, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, United States

JOHANNESBURG — The U.S. national team attracted a few celebrity fans during its World Cup run, most notably Bill Clinton. A few well-known athletes made the trip down to South Africa as well, among them New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (pictured above in South Africa), who decided to wind down his Super Bowl celebration by taking in the biggest sporting event of all.

Bush was in the country with adidas, which is a World Cup sponsor that has used Bush in some very creative cross-promotion before. In the “Futbol Meets Football” campaign a few years ago, Bush and David Beckham matched skills in a great series of ads that featured Bush taking penalty kicks and Beckham in a helmet and shoulder pads.

A few moments before the U.S.-Algeria game at Ellis Park, FanHouse was invited to spend a few minutes in the adidas suite, try some biltong (South African beef jerky) and chat with Bush about football, the other football, his trip to South Africa and whether he wishes he could play in a World Cup.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Barcelona’s revenue surged by 10
percent to 445.5 million euros ($545 million) last season
compared to 2008-09, boosted by rising income from marketing,
player transfers and loans and the sale of a plot of land.

Goalkeeper Justo Villar says his Paraguay lineup has a game plan to stop European champion Spain in the World Cup quarterfinals: “Don’t give them any space.” Villar, who turned 33 on Wednesday, plays for Valladolid in the Spanish league, so he has a good idea of what to expect in the quarterfinal at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Javier Aguirre quit Wednesday as Mexico coach, three days after the national team was knocked out of the World Cup in a 3-1 loss to Argentina in the round of 16. It marked the fifth straight time that Mexico has been eliminated in the second round of the World Cup. “I’m the person responsible,” said Aguirre, adding that he’d made a commitment to reach the quarterfinals.

Fernando Llorente’s World Cup debut for Spain played a big part in turning around the team’s fortunes against Portugal. Llorente replaced the fading Fernando Torres in the 59th minute Tuesday, and his introduction changed the dynamic of Spain’s attack. Four minutes later, David Villa scored the goal that sent the European champions into the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory.

Elano will not play for Brazil in Friday’s World Cup quarterfinal match against the Netherlands because of a right ankle injury, a team doctor said Wednesday. Jose Luis Runco said Elano may be fit by next week but did not rule out the possibility that the playmaker could miss the rest of the World Cup.