It's time to move to other search engines if you haven't already done so. There is Duck Duck Go, obviously, but in terms of accuracy and exhaustivity, brave.com is just as efficient as the "old" Google. And no, this is not a sponsored post!

Remembering Victoria Wood, born this day in 1953.

TNT getting a kicking for not putting European finals on for free in the UK and somehow UEFA escaping scot-free, more than that in fact, being presented as an aggrieved party. Would not have happened if UEFA, which sold the rights, made it a contractual demand of rights holders to broadcast for free

"All done by the book". New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social: an illegal casino has hijacked the brand name and logo of Fifa's new prediction market partner Predictstreet to launch a fake mobile app on the Google store. It also appears that Predictstreet had forgotten to trademark its name and logo.

Done. Over *1 billion USD* has now been wagered on Polymarket *on a single market*: the 2026 World Cup winner, dwarfing the volume of what traditional sportsbooks will process. This is not a concern. This is an emergency. Polymarket is unregulated as a betting operator, illegal in most territories.

"AIs successfully replicated themselves on a chain basis for the first time by hacking computers". Well that's reassuring.

Always happy to be reminded of this piece of genius

On Argentinian football shenanigans, this, just published by @playthegame-org.bsky.social, is absolutely superb; jaw-dropping too.

As revealed by @tariqpanja.bsky.social, CONMEBOL pres. Alejandro Dominguez faces an ethics probe into the misuse of confederation funds. @josimarfootball.bsky.social has investigated Dominguez's chequered background and record in a series of articles, now accessible with no paywall. All links below.

Wonderful to learn that Australian pipe organs are made of didgeridoos.

This deserves much more than a couple of likes.

The glowing pre-obits written about Guardiola would stand better to reason (greatest of his era? Probably), and to scrutiny were it not for the small matter of how that Man City was built. Whichever "legacy" he leaves behind will always come with an asterisk. It's a pity, but it's part of the story.

Where to start with this

"All done by the book". New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social: an illegal casino has hijacked the brand name and logo of Fifa's new prediction market partner Predictstreet to launch a fake mobile app on the Google store. It also appears that Predictstreet had forgotten to trademark its name and logo.

The press release frames the partnership between Fifa and Betano in terms of 'integrity' and 'engagement'. No, if Fifa had integrity, they wouldn't be promoting gambling like this.

Next year's Eurovision. Use computers. Loads of 'em. More computers than anyone has ever used in music production before. Get computers to perform it. Computers!

Tribal bait often dressed as a jingoistic slogan (6,2,7) #crypticclue

Guess which word doesn't make an appearance in this very, very long (and quite informative in many respects) piece? Brexit.

Wrote on similar subject (in French) a few days ago fir Eurosport if you're interested.

Best thing about this FA Cup final is that it's over.

We've had enough. The press is one of the last guardrails against Gianni Infantino's autocracy. But Fifa does all it can to crush the media and prevent us from doing our work. An editorial from @josimarfootball.bsky.social. And please support us if you can.

Congratulations to Jake Pearce, Isabelle Martin and Billy Taylor, winners of the @fwaofficial.bsky.social Student Football Writers of the Year awards!

We've had enough. The press is one of the last guardrails against Gianni Infantino's autocracy. But Fifa does all it can to crush the media and prevent us from doing our work. An editorial from @josimarfootball.bsky.social. And please support us if you can.

The best thing you might read on FIFA this year, never mind today. If you care about football and the way it is being misgoverned and misappropriated, one of the best thing you can do is support @josimarfootball.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2026/05/14/o...

The Spanish language investigation is a collaborative effort from journalists from Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago. Read Airwars' English-language guide to the key findings airwars.org/major-invest...

Thank you, Eoin Connolly, for inviting me on the Outlines podcast to talk about the subject of my latest (in fact, just-published) book The Mbappé Project. A very enjoyable conversation indeed. podfollow.com/outlines-a-p...

Kenneth Tynan on Eric Morecambe.

Judging by the media coverage, the biggest scandal in English football history is that a "spy" was spotted at a training ground, not that so many of its clubs are owned by brutal regimes, private equity grifters and gangsters, and take the money of quasi-criminal crypto companies and bookies.

I'd missed that Ousmane Dembele had been voted "Ligue 1 Player of the Year" by fellow footballers, which shows that said fellow footballers mustn't watch too much L1 football: the PSG striker started a grand total of *nine* games this season. www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/ar...

Disappointed he's not hiding in an actual bush or wearing camouflage if I'm honest.

Proust Baking Company Recalls Thousands of Madeleines

Stevie Wonder’s birthday today, a man whose music is full of love and compassion both in short supply nowadays. Stevie at a Children's School For The Blind In London, 1970. Photographer Terry O'Neill. youtu.be/JI6zfrA3-CA?...

110 years ago to the day, my grandfather Henri Auclair led his squad in the assault of the "tranchée de la Madone" in Verdun and was met with a barrage of machine gun fire. He was knocked unconscious by one bullet; but saved by his helmet, without which, well, you wouldn't be reading this.

How did I not know about this? Brought to my attention by Dylanomaniac Mike Collett. Starts with a piano motif straight out of the Horace Silver vamp book, then Bunny Wailer takes over, with Bob and Peter providing the harmonies. Pure groove, pure bliss.

I think the first thought I had when reading this will cross many other people's minds.

A 79-year-old president who’s been having poor results lately blames the media and says he wants to stay in office longer. apnews.com/article/flor...

Andy Pratt is not completely unknown. His "Avenging Annie" was a minor hit in 1973, and he's been active ever since. But those records I can live without, which is not true of his first album, released in 1969, a bizarrely seductive (and vice versa) collection of weird pop. A true musical UFO.

Great to see this proposal being amplified in Denmark as it's been in Sweden and France, and through @josimarfootball.bsky.social. A no-brainer, which unfortunately has yet to be acted on in the UK.

Counterpoint to this none-more-Bluesky bio: I’m here to receive and transmit ideas, jokes and opinions with people I trust. I’m not here to explain myself to random strangers who don’t know what I’m on about. Also: we all get to choose. Also: it’s ‘people who’, not ‘people that’.

It is only now, with great sadness, that I learn that Tony Rivers died a little over a month ago. Forever the voice of this miraculous song, which he wrote and, I believe, arranged, the closest any British band has come to emulating Brian Wilson's magic. RIP.

15.8 Fahrenheit

Gerard Pique doing Gerard Pique things.

Rock'n'roll, DOB: 1949. Goree Carter was 18 when he wrote and recorded this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZlE...

Her rendition of "Precious Lord, take my hand" - the last extant footage of her - which closes this beautiful documentary is just sublime, and the way she introduces it to her Copenhagen audience will wrench your heart. It's not for nothing that these songs are called "spirituals". A giant.

Some news from Fifa's brand new "prediction market partner" ADI Predictstreet. Their website, which was supposed to go "live" on 9 April, is still a (wrongly-calibrated) landing page and nothing else, one month away from the World Cup kick-off. Go to josimarfootball.com for more details.

Still not a squeak from our friends in Zurich, who had set a deadline of 4 May to sort out this mess.

A reminder that advertising for sports betting is, ahem, prohibited in La Liga. But that's fine, they can still take the money and plaster the ads all over the international feed, including in countries where this particular operator is 99% illegal and the subject of prosecution (like India/Morocco)

🚨 Football Weekly is here! 🚨 Watch the latest Football Weekly now: youtu.be/hIdJA3-2-jE @maxrushden.bsky.social @barryglendenning.bsky.social @robyniocowen.bsky.social @philippeauclair.bsky.social And listen wherever you get your podcasts.

So... any questions for the pod? @maxrushden.bsky.social @barryglendenning.bsky.social @philippeauclair.bsky.social @robyniocowen.bsky.social

My heart