De kracht van arbitrage in een veranderende samenleving. Lees meer op https://www.covs.nl/artikel/2026-01-05/de-kracht-van-arbitrage-in-een-veranderende-samenleving

Connections Puzzle #939 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 I thought I knew my art better than that. V for Vendetta ✌🏻

Wordle 1.661 5/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩 ⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Five. With a bit of gambler’s luck. I’ll be betting on horses next.

Went out to witness the majesty of snow-covered meadows and, hopefully, fungi. It's not that often that we get so much snow here in the Netherlands, so it was worth the wet shoes and cold feet & hands. Here are some fungi I found, undoubtedly shivering as much as I was. #fungifriends

The #referee is Youssou N'Diaye (Senegal). His assistants/linesmen are Pablo Sánchez Ibáñez (Spain) and Omar Delgado Gómez (Colombia).

Every year on 4 January, priests at the Shimogamo temple in the Japanese city of Kyoto play #kemari hajime, a 1400-year old ball game that is a precursor to modern football. My obvious first question is: Do they need a #referee?

Connections Puzzle #938 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟩🟦🟩 🟩🟩🟦🟩 🟪🟩🟩🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 I guess a good episode. Lots of room for error. But lots of Americanisms, too.

Wordle 1.660 3/6 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Three. That’s company. But is it a party?

#Telstar v #Feyenoord, December 1968. #telfey

Connections Puzzle #937 🟨🟪🟩🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Always like how the red herring generates a rainbow group. Shame I’m not more into modern pop music, btw.

Most of last year was about The Book, but I did lots more science writing, too! Here's a 🧵of a few of my favorite stories, one for each month of 2025. The first is about geochemists solving a centuries old "cold case," identifying the volcano that erupted in 1831 and cooled the planet 🧪

Wordle 1.659 3/6 🟩⬛🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Three. Every day a little better. Like learning to play an instrument. You have to practise.

On the right, #referee Ramón Barreto Ruiz (Uruguay). He’s (and is likely to remain) the only official/referee to have been present in two World Cup finals: 1974 and 1978, both involving the Netherlands as the team losing to the host country.

🚨 NEW YEAR, NEW BOOK Uruguay: Football’s First Global Power, 1918-1930, my sequel to From Beauty to Duty. Coming June 2026 via @PitchPublishing 1924 Paris Olympics. 1928 Amsterdam. Inaugural World Cup, Montevideo 1930. And the story in between… Preorders soon, please share & follow for updates!

And in the background, #referee Tofiq Bakhramov (USSR/Azerbaijan). Controversially, as a linesman he awarded England’s third goal in the 1966 WC final. The national football stadium in Baku is named after him.

Connections Puzzle #936 🟩🟩🟩🟦 🟨🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟦🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Saw too many options in the purple group. And I’d never heard of a gag in this sense. But hey, a new year brings new teachings!

Wordle 1.658 4/6 ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Four. Evidence I’m still an average guy.

As we’re substituting 2026 for 2025, my only wish for the new year is that it will bring some much-needed hope and optimism. Happy New Year!

Connections Puzzle #935 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Not a good sign when I finish Connections faster than Wordle…

Wordle 1.657 5/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩 ⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩 🟨🟩⬛⬛🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Five. Not a good start to the new year. Which otherwise I hope will be fabulous.

Connections Puzzle #934 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 Couch cushions. Make your own VP-related joke 😬 Oh no, now I can’t enter the US!

The #referee is Günter Linn.

Wordle 1.656 4/6 🟩⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟩⬛⬛🟩🟨 🟩⬛🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Four. No ambulance required, but also no sweet song from marine maidens for me either

Connections Puzzle #933 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 Run-of-the-mill episode.

Wordle 1.655 4/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Four. Let’s hope this is not the backdrop against which I’m going to end the year.

The #referee is Radoslav Fiala (then Czechoslovakia).

Зне һіӏӏ І ѡіӏӏ діе ои: Ғаих Сугіӏӏіс іѕ а ӏоад оҒ оӏд сґар www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The 241st episode of my podcast, 🎙️'Soccernostalgia Talk Podcast’ is up. I interview Distinguished Professor Dr. Laurent Bellaiche of University of Arkansas as we discuss Girondins de Bordeaux FC during the Claude Bez Presidency (1978-1991). soccernostalgia.blogspot.com/2025/12/socc...

Koude start… (Foto TOMO Photography) #Nagano #Fuji #Japan #fotografie #photography #travel #travelphotography #landscape #landscapephotography #natuur #nature #naturephotography #snow #frost #sneeuw #vorst #winter #nachtvorst #dawn #sunrise #daybreak #zonsopkomst

Connections Puzzle #932 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 ‘Outie’? Really? 🙄

Wordle 1.654 3/6 ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ 🟩⬛🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Three. Picking the result of my hard labour

Countless colors and textures out today on the Ferncliff peninsula! #Mushrooms

Je kunt de klok er (bijna) op gelijk zetten. Eind december is er een verse voetbalkaart van Nederland. Inclusief een toelichting over de ontwikkelingen in het Nederlandse voetballandschap. www.voetbalarchieven.nl/specials/de-...

Connections Puzzle #931 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 Never heard of a pawl until today. Love learning something new.

Wordle 1.653 4/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟨⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Four, a score to abhor. And with that piece of poetry I’m announcing my retirement to a monastery.

Always on the look for new #referee related objects and items to add to my collection. But a Christmas bauble in the shape of a whistle with 'Scheids' (Ref) written on it had so far escaped my attention. Until 2025.

From a dino superhighway to origins of fire-making: The incredible discoveries in 2025. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This needs to go viral

Connections Puzzle #930 🟦🟨🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 I should look out more for word endings rather than synonyms and associations.

Wordle 1.652 3/6 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬛🟨🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Three. Better than a whole shipload of guesses

Ik ben dringend op zoek naar een huurhuis in de stad / gemeente Groningen, waar ik met mijn zoons (14 en 12) kan wonen, dus met drie slaapkamers. De verhalen kloppen: Er zijn bitter weinig woningen beschikbaar, dus daarom ook dit bericht. Iedere tip (of huurbaas die die leest🙂) is meer dan welkom!

Revisiting my old blog articles Full Football (Soccer) magazines soccernostalgia.blogspot.com/2016/03/full...

Revisiting my old blog articles Football (Soccer)’s the First time..... soccernostalgia.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-...

Revisiting my old blog articles Football (Soccer)’s Cartoons and Diagrams soccernostalgia.blogspot.com/2017/11/cart...

Revisiting my old blog articles Football (Soccer)’s Oriundis and Other Naturalized Internationals soccernostalgia.blogspot.com/2017/05/oriu...