Inspiring

In the southeastern Roman neighborhood of Quadraro, Atletico Diritti play their home matches under the shadow of the Felice Aqueduct. The aqueduct was completed in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V, bringing water back to the hills of Rome, which had been waterless and sparsely inhabited since the sixth century.

By 1589, the aqueduct was filling no less than twenty-seven public fountains. As the aqueduct provided for the people of Rome, so Atletico Diritti hopes to provide for the migrants, refugees, prisoners and former prisoners in the area. 

The greatest story I saw in sports this weekend was not the amazing comeback by the Golden State Warriors who were down 3-1 in the NBA's western conference finals only to win the series 4-3. It was not the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. It was not some of the masterful shots made by Novak Djokovic in the French Open. Instead it was an exhibition match between some blind soccer players who won over the crowd at the UEFA Champions festival.

Harry Kane spent the 2011/12 season on loan at English Championship side Millwall F.C., a club known more for its associations with hooliganism and their supporter’s chant “No one likes us, we don’t care” than as the home of future England internationals. 

Under the watchful eye of England’s then U-21 manager, Stuart Pearce, an 18-year-old Kane failed to impress. 

Xavi Hernandez is still making the game of football look effortless in Qatar, and the former Barcelona and Spain star is on the verge of adding another trophy to his cabinet. For those keeping count, this would be number 627.

For those of you wondering how footballers will manage to perform in the sweltering heat of a Qatarian World Cup, Xavi has the answer: slowly but surely. 

We don’t have to tell you about the ways soccer makes a difference in people's lives. The world's game is consistently a catalyst for change.

The Middlesex Senior Charity Cup quarterfinal tie between Cockfosters (we are not making that team name up) and Hampton & Richmond Borough last Tuesday was notable for two reasons. Reason number one it ended in one of the longest penalty shootouts we have ever heard of, with Cockfosters winning 18-17 after 42 kicks. Reason number two is Martin Tyler was there.

Now, 42 is a number of spot-kicks bordering on the ridiculous, but that's not unheard of. What we really want to know is why a Sky Sports Premier League commentator was at a non-league game.

Didier Drogba is not above playing with US players, as the Sacramento Republic (which sounds like the name of a newspaper) found out when Drogba spent 10 days training with the team. 

The Ivorian former Chelsea striker found himself training with the USL side because of his issues with playing on turf, which his team, the Montral Impact, say makes his knee swell up. Drogba missed the Impact first two games of the season due to concerns about playing on turf (he made his season debut in Saturday's 2-0 loss to FC Dallas).