Inspiring

Four days ago, Paul Pogba was taking part in Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos’ “The Beautiful Game” charity match in Miami, Florida. In that short time, he’s now hosting one of his own in Guinea 4,700 miles away. This Pogba charity match in his parents’ home country had some other big names like Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and singer Akon playing. Butler was also present for the Miami match.

The look of surprise, nay, disbelief, is what I remember most. A towering 6-4 frame had just headed in his first career international goal, and it couldn’t have come at a more important moment. On the eighth anniversary of his goal against Ghana, we have to wonder if John Brooks will ever get another chance on the world stage.

Most sports fans in the United States think of summer as the season for baseball, but the warmest months of the year are also the perfect time to attend a professional soccer match — and there's no shortage of teams.

As Major League Baseball continues to cut minor league teams, the decline of professional baseball in the country becomes more prominent. But not so with soccer.

It's a little unsettling and depressing to think that, were things running as usual on the international calendar, we'd be at the start of the month-long carnival that is the World Cup. 

June 13 has marked some unforgettable World Cup moments in the past, but none more so than what transpired eight years ago on this day at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil.

The greatest Romanian footballer of all-time, Gheorghe Hagi, has still got it — the "it" in his case being all-seeing assists that are weighted like californium and the ability to absolutely crack one at the age of 57.

On Sunday at Cluj Arena, a large crowd gathered to salute the career of the country's other favored footballing son, Adrian Mutu, as a Romania Stars team took on a World Stars side coached by Cesare Prandelli.