Sweden (National Football)

Last weekend, Linkoping of the Swedish Elitseiren won the Nordic Trophy over fellow Swedish powerhouse Frolunda, while Finland's HIFK defeated well-known Swedish club Djurgarden for the bronze.

The Nordic Trophy is one of the most prestigious tourneys in all of Europe and it pits 10 teams—five of the best from both Sweden and Finland—against each other in a round-robin tourney.

Although this is an annual tourney, this year's competition was prefaced by some interesting conversations between a number of clubs from both The Swedish Elitseiren and Finlands' SMLigga.

Apparently, a number of the top clubs from both leagues have been discussing making the annual cup into more of an annual league.  There have been hints that such a league might even extend membership to clubs in Norway and Denmark.

Both nations' hockey federations have strong infrastructures, and their governing bodies have voiced their disapproval of the formation of such a league, as have some of the member clubs. The IIHF would more than likely also have a say in any such merger, which at this point is still merely an interesting idea.

With the battle over top international players between the newly formed KHL and the NHL taking on a more prominent stance, you can't help but understand the sentiments of Scandinavian clubs—who now fear having their top talent being plucked away even more than it  has been in the past.

A merger of the two leagues' top teams would more than likely solidify already strong fan interests in these tow nations, while quite possibly bringing in a new fan base as well. Beyond that, there could be the potential for bigger sponsorship deals and television contracts—all of which potentially protect their nations' own hockey interests.

The new Russian KHL is aggressively looking for clubs that fall outside the former Soviet Union's borders. Medvedev and friends have rolled out the welcome mat to a number of top European clubs in Scandinavia, the Czech Republic, Germany—and I believe Switzerland and Slovakia as well.

Although it is unclear if any of the contacted clubs have any real interest in signing on with the new league, it certainly brings new and interesting questions to the forefront of the battle between the KHL and NHL over players' contracts and other matters.

I believe that we are on the cusp of a new era in international hockey.  Part two to follow.

The 1992 European Football Championship took place in Sweden. At the time, only eight countries took part in the final tournament. Seven countries had to qualify for the final stage, while Sweden qualified automatically as the hosts of the event.

The teams that qualified were as follows: the former USSR, England, France, Germany, Holland, Scotland, Sweden and Yugoslavia. A situation would arise however. Due to the Balkan crisis (Yugoslav wars) that were occurring at the time, the country was barred from competing.

Their replacement—Denmark. Naturally, the Danes ditched their summer plans to take part in the event. With only two weeks to prepare though, nobody was giving them much of a shot. They were put into Group A along with Sweden, France and England.

In a further blow to their chances, brilliant playmaker Michael Laudrup decided not to take part. Goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and his defense would be relied upon heavily for this squad.

Unsurprisingly, their first match against England finished in a scoreless draw. Even less shocking was the 1-0 loss they fell to at the hands of their Scandinavian neighbour and hosts, Sweden.

The biggest eye-opener came in their last group game. With a victory needed to advance to the semi-final, Richard Møller-Nielsen's men defeated France 2-1. The victory earned them a semi-final place as runners-up to Sweden.

Next up were the defending champions, the Netherlands, who won Euro 1988. Clearly, the road wasn't getting any easier for the Danes. Leading scorer, Henrik Larsen, struck twice for Denmark in the semi-final match. Dennis Bergkamp struck for Holland, before Frank Rijkaard tallied a late equalizer to send the match into extra time.

No more goals followed, and the game would be decided by a shootout. With the Danes up by one (5-4), the next shooter was a guy named Marco Van Basten. The superstar fired a low-shot to the right side, only for Schmeichel to dive for a superb save. Unbelievably, Denmark were headed for the finals.

Already eliminating the defending European champions, the Danes would have to square off against the reigning 1990 World Cup winners, Germany. The world was stunned in the 18th minute when John Jensen drove the ball into the German goal. Kim Vilfort would add a second to complete the storybook ending.

Germany did all they could to fire back, but an unstoppable Schmeichel denied everything that was thrown at him. Denmark did it. A team that was originally discluded from the tournament had defied all the odds with brilliant goaltending, inspirational defense and hard fought goals.

These elements were what it took to eliminate the defending Euro Cup and World Cup champions in succession. Head coach at the time, Richard Møller-Nielsen, had a less exciting summer planned before his boys got the call to replace Yugoslavia.

"I should have put in a new kitchen but then we were called away to play in Sweden," recalled Møller-Nielsen shortly after their triumph. "The kitchen is finished now. I had a professional decorator do it."

From making a new kitchen, to hoisting the European Cup trophy. Unfortunately, Denmark was eliminated in the group stage of Euro 1996, failing to defend their title.

Still, the Danes got something that doesn't come around too often—that's a second chance. They took full advantage of it, not allowing factors like limited time to prepare, key players missing and the world's best teams get in the way.

I'm sure most Danes remember what they were doing on the historic day of June 26, 1992.

Olsen managed to produce a rare smile in the few minutes after the sensational match against European giants Portugal. In a game where Portugal was defending a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Nani goal, Denmark came storming back.

In the 82nd minute, Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner tied the game at 1-1 with a superb goal but only for Chelsea's play-maker Deco to restore the lead with a 85th minute penalty. With the Portuguese believing, they were home and dry, Denmark struck back and in incredible fashion.

First Juventus midfielder, Christian Poulsen tied the game at 2-2 in the 89th minute before Weder Bremen player, Daniel Jensen stunned the Portuguese faithful with a 90th minute winner! Danish coach Morten Olsen was understandably over-joyed with the result.

"This was a dream scenario. I didn't think we had it in us physically to come back from 1-0 and then 2-1, but everybody delivered a fantastic performance.” "We had a funny feeling in our stomachs when they scored their penalty.

They obviously had their own chances to score more goals and they will undoubtedly feel they should have won the game, but we had our chances too and the players showed immense strength both mentally and physically.”

"They were frustrated at half time. I felt we stood our ground well and focused on our own game rather than worry about what they would do. They expectedly saw more of the ball but we didn't let it get to us. We played a fantastic game.” Joys over the remarkable Danish win was echoed across the border, in Sweden.

" Very impressive performance from the Danes,” was the response from the Swedish coach, Lars Lagerbäck. That was the general feeling around the Swedish camp, who after their own victory over Hungary, were told to go and check on Denmark's result.

"According to the first reports we were getting, the score was 2-0 to the Portuguese but that was quickly rectified. When we were told a few minutes later that Denmark had pulled off a 3-2 win in Lisbon, none of us believed it", said the Swedish captain Lars Richt.

Players then proceeded to get on their mobile phones to check and double-check the result. "Totally crazy. We were very surprised but impressed at the way the Danes won it", Richt continued. The chairman of the Swedish FA Lars-Åke Lagrell was woken from his sleep by a Aftonbladets journalist to let him know the result.

The chairman wasn't disappointed to be disturbed in his sleep when he heard the result.
"What did you say? Denmark won? When I went to sleep, Portugal were winning", was his response to the news. "Its all good, I will always accept good news", was the response to the journalist's apology for disturbing his sleep.

This win means Denmark are joint leaders of Group One on four points with Sweden and Albania, who both claimed home victories on Wednesday.

Remember Ara Abrahamian, the Swedish wrestler who threw a tantrum in the Olympics? 

He claimed that he had been cheated out of the gold medal because of a bad call by the judges. In anger, at the medal ceremony he threw down his bronze medal, and stormed out of the arena. In the aftermath, the IOC stripped him of his bronze medal.

Turns out, the Court of Arbritration for Sport (CAS) declared that he was right.

Abrahamian complained to the CAS that a penalty in the second round of his bout on August 14th against Italian Andrea Minguzzi wasn't properly assessed.

Ultimately, his complaint was overruled and he lost the match. Minguzzi went on to win the gold medal.

Abrahamian’s coach was then denied a request for a video review, then the wrestling federation—the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, or FILA—refused to consider a protest.

After the match, Abrahamian had to be restrained from going after officials. He instead stormed off to his dressing room.

The Armenian-born Abrahamian—who also lost a 2004 Olympic semifinal match on a disputed call—initially wanted judges in the bout tossed out and his medal restored. But in the end, he only wanted CAS to verify that the lack of an immediate appeals process is a loophole that needs to be fixed. It was also referred to as a violation of “the Olympic Charter and FILA’s own rules about fair play.”

Judges said Abrahamian was right:

“We limit ourselves to ruling that FILA must, consistently with the (Olympic) Charter and general principles of fairness, establish for the future a jury of appeal to determine the validity or otherwise of complaints of the kind ventilated by (Abrahamian),” the judges wrote.

Elsewhere in the 20-page ruling, judges noted several times that FILA did not appear at a hearing.

Fidel Castro has defended Angel Matos, the Cuban Taekwondo athlete who kicked a referee in the head at the Beijing Olympics. Castro feels that Matos was right to be indignant over his disqualification during the bronze medal match.

Olympic officials want Matos and his coach banned from the sport for life for his controversial actions after he was eliminated from the tournament. But Castro has declared his "total solidarity" for his fellow countrymen.

Matos was actually winning 3-2 in the second round when he fell to the mat after being caught with a blow from his Kazakhstan opponent. He was then disqualified when he took more than the one minute he was allocated to recover from an injury.

Matos questioned the call immediately, angrily pushing the judge before turning his attentions to the referee who disqualified him. The referee, Chakir Chelbat from Sweden needed medical attention after the altercation, requiring stitches in a split lip. Matos walked off spitting on the ring in disgust.

His behavior has been described as disgraceful by officials, and Matos' counter claims that the match was fixed have fallen on deaf ears. Matos coach then waded in defending his protege, adding that the Kazakh's also tried to bribe them. These claims have also been unfounded.

Fidel feels that the bribery attempt gave his athletes good reason to expect biased judging. Castro added that Cuban boxers were also cheated in their semi-final bouts during the Olympics.

Castro then said: "Our fighters had hopes of winning, despite the judges. But it was useless, they were condemned beforehand."

Judging in many of the contact sports during the Olympics, especially boxing, has been called into question in many corners.

Two Irish boxers complained bitterly of their treatment at the hands of the judges when facing Chinese boxers. Light heavyweight Ken Egan who won the silver, was beaten 11-7 in the final by a Chinese boxer. Egan only conceded five points through four bouts on the way to the final.

Fellow Irishman Paddy Barnes was beaten an incredible 15-0, and while Irish officials did not feel he won the fight they felt the young boxer should have lost by a score of 12-6. And the fact he went four rounds without landing a punch show that something was wrong with the judging system.

So maybe Castro has a point. China and Kazakhstan recently announced a massive oil deal...but fixing doesn't happen in sports...does it?

You'd think if an athlete just won bronze in the Olympics that he'd be happy; right?  Apparently, that's not the case for Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian.  During the medal ceremony of the 84kg Greco-Roman wrestiling event, Ara took off his medal and threw it into the middle of the wrestling mat before storming off. 

Like you, I am asking myself why.  Why would a guy who at least won a medal in possibly the biggest sporting event in the world be so upset that it made him quit?  Initially, Ara didn't want to talk to reporters, but later he gave the reason for his action and announced that he would be quitting wrestling.  He said:  "I don't care about this medal.  I wanted gold....This will be my last match. I wanted to take gold, so I consider this Olympics a failure.

As it turns out, Ara had a difficult night.  At the start of the competition, Ara didn't want to compete.  However, at the begging of his teammates, 20 minutes before the competition, he went out and eventually competed.  While talking with reporters he said, "I decided that I had come this far and didn’t want to let them down, so I wrestled,” he said. 

People always find someone to blame for their troubles.  This time was no different.  Ara believes that the judges ruined his chance of winning the gold medal by making mistakes in their judgement.  During the semi-final match against Andrea Minguzzi of Italy, Ara ran at the judges and started yelling at them for making a bad call.  He had to be restrained by teammates and officials.  As the judges left after the match, Swedish fans in the arena started booing and yelling at the judges. 

So the whole reason why Ara Abrahamian threw a tantrum and left in anger was because the judges made a bad call and gave him the bronze.  According to Ara's coach, Leo Myllari, it's all about politics.  Call it politics or whatever you want, Ara shouldn't have acted like that.  He can be disappointed about the outcome, sure; but don't show your anger in front of millions.  That's just unprofessional.  Myllari has not yet decided if he will lodge a formal complaint to the IOC over the judges' decision.

Early favorites in the wrestling event, such as Karam Gaber of Egypt and Aleski Mishin of Russia failed to reach the semi-finals.  Andrea Minguzzi of Italy won gold and Zolton Fodor of Hungary won silver in this event..

No I'm not over six feet tall, blond, or have blue eyes. I wasn't born in Sweden—in fact, I've never been there. But yet I find myself attracted to the imports that grace the National Hockey League. This may shock you—I'm actually Canadian!

We're supposed to love our players and always remind other hockey-playing nations that we are the greatest. I like to think—no, wait, I know I do my part. That being said, over the last decade or more I can't help notice the Swedes are Europe's "Canucks."

The Swedes have won their share of International titles—including Gold at the last Olympics. But this article is not based on that country's success. It about the overall observations I've made with all the individuals in the NHL.

First and foremost, they are humble. Even the superstars. A trait similar to Canadian superstar hockey players—imagine that!

Players like Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson, and Nick Lidstrom are captains of their respective teams—an honour usually bestowed on the heart and soul of a team (or at least that's traditionally what we Canadians like to think).

Think how many top-notch players in the NHL have been Swedes over the last 15 years or so. There are the three mentioned above. Add Forsberg—the best-ever to come over from that country, in my humble opinion. Zetterberg, Naslund—and the list goes on.

Now stop and think about the last time a Swedish player held out on his NHL team. Any one of the players I mentioned could/can demand top dollar yet seldom have. That's a sign of loyalty and integrity—whadda ya know, just like Canadian players.

Although not really, in the case of Curtis Joseph fleeing to Las Vegas because of contract issues with Edmonton in 1995-96.

The skill level of their players matches up to all other hockey powers, yet many Swedes arrive in the NHL as solid two-way players. This is mainly due to the fact that many of them, no matter how high they are drafted remain, loyal to the club team they were developed by, and remain for at least a season in the Eliterserien (The Swedish Elite League).

Hey, hold the phone! That's not a trait all Canadians possess—but in all fairness many of our best players go straight from Junior hockey to the show.

They're adaptable. You can see the transformation in the playing style of a Swedish player in pretty much their first season. They seem to correct any area of weakness in their game quickly. Again, I believe this is a testament to their development and humble nature.

Granted, Tomas Holmstrom did not make his living in the crease in his days in Sweden. Niklas Kronwall is all of a sudden one of the best open-ice hitters in the league. Imagine that—a Swedish defensemen you need to have your head up for when he is on the ice!

Like most players in the NHL, they were all stars at one point in their lives, but the Swedes can go from being a scorer to being a checker and they'll be elite at their role. Sami Pahlsson comes to mind, as does PJ Axelsson. Whadda ya know—another Canadian-like trait. 

My final reason why I love the Swedes? Well, look no further than the 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Led by a Swedish captai—the first European to hoist the Cup wearing a "C"—and guided along by Swedish Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg, the Wings proved a few things along their journey.

First, that a team with a European captain can win hockey's most coveted prize. Second, that toughness needed to the win the Cup is not shown by who drops the gloves the most, or who lays the most hits—it's mental toughness that wins Cups.

Can you take a glove to the face after a whistle and skate away? Can you "take one for the team?" as they say. Can you suck it up and overcome? This group of Swedes did just that.

Funny—that seems to be the phrases you here the good ol' Canucks spew during the on-ice interviews after any international championship. Boy, the similarities are uncanny.

One final note. Many people ask, what is Detroit's secret to success? Do they have a secret formula? No, I don't think they do. They simply spend a lot of time watching hockey games in Sweden!

In one of the most bizarre happenings of these spectacular 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic games, Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian tossed his bronze medal to the floor in the middle of the ceremony and walked out.

In what has been easily the best Olympic games in my lifetime of 20 years, this puts a rather dark cloud on an otherwise Phoenix-esque sun parade.

Heading to the weekend, K.J. Choi leads the British Open by one stroke over...

Greg Norman?

Yes my friends, the Shark is back. And what a tournament it would be if the aging Aussie could pull off an old-timer's comeback remniscent of Jack Nicklaus' 1986 Masters (in which Norman placed second).

If not Norman, there are still many players in contention who would be very intriguing and deserving champions.

In fact, this 2008 Open features one of the coolest leader boards ever seen in a major championship.

Choi Leads the Way

First, there's K.J. Choi-- the very talented Korean who, despite his astute playing prowess, has not seriously contested for a major. He leads at 1-under. It would be a very deserving moment for Choi to lift the Claret Jug, and I'm sure knowledgable golf fans will be rooting for him over the weekend.

Shark in Second

Then at level par, it's the man who's most famous for collapsing by the 15th green at Augusta as Nick Faldo snatched his green jacket away. People often forget that he's a 2-time British Open winner.

Of course, we're talking about Greg Norman (this time, without the goofy black straw hat.) And, wouldn't it be sweet for Norman to shut up his constantly-lamenting critics by pulling out one of the most unexpected victories in golf history?

However, (and I hate to bring this next word up, really it kills me to write it; in fact, I'm going to censor it) let's not forget about Norman's unfortunate habit of chok*ng in big moments. Will he be able to survive Saturday, and live to contend in the final round?

The Cool Kids

Right behind Norman are Camillo Villegas and Graeme McDowell-- two young but extremely promising players. Villegas fired a blazing 65 on Friday and sits two strokes back; McDowell is three behind at +2.

Villegas, with his loud apparel and unique putting analyzation skills, would be a marketing dream if he can grasp major success.

McDowell, who's fresh off a Scottish Open victory, will gain some well-deserved recognition across the Atlantic should he find himself atop the yellow scoreboard on Sunday.

Both would be quite deserving first-time major winners. And, beings that we haven't seen a twenty-something major champion in quite some time, I'm sure the PGA wouldn't mind a bit of youth in the winners' circle.

The Underdogs

Rocco Mediate (a.k.a. America's Sweetheart), fresh off his duel with Tiger Woods in the greatest U.S. Open ever played, finished up Friday with a score of +2.

The man who captivated the nation (and probably the entire golfing world, for that matter) has a new legion of fans who'll be cheering his every move on Saturday. And, the path to a Claret Jug will surely be easier without the world's #1 player in the way.

Then at +3 (get ready for this) is none other than David Duval

I hear you at home: "David Duval? He's still alive?"

Alive and well, and just four strokes off the lead. Remember, it was at this very event, the British Open, where Duval was last seen by society.

How ironic would be for Duval to take home the Claret Jug for his first win in exactly seven years?

Other Contenders

Not to be outdone, U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk stands at +2. His second major title is long overdue.

Defending champ Padraig Harrington is in the +2 pack as well. Back-to-back British Opens could push his legend a bit closer to Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros in European golf lore.

Robert Allenby, yet another player at +2, has been a decent contender in regular-season tournaments over the years. Could a major push him to new heights?

At +3 sits a group of good, solid players: Appleby, Ames, Jacobson, and Poulter.

The Oddities

Sweden's Noren Alexander, at +2, is your quintessential no-name British Open contender. There's always at least one in every championship, but surprisingly, they often do quite well on the weekend. We'll have to see if Alexander mirrors Ben Curtis and stuns the world, or Greg Owen and collapses under the pressure.

And then, lurking back at +4, dare I say it, is Jean Van de Velde. Enough said.

Preparing for Saturday

If you read one of my previous articles, you know that I'm not the biggest fan of the British Open: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/36856-golfs-worst-major-championship-the-british-open.

However, after glancing at the second round scores, I'm planning on pouring a bowl of cereal and feasting on every minute of coverage tomorrow morning.

We're going to get a unique look into a world where golfers don't have to fear a last-minute charge from Tiger Woods.

The world shuddered when Tiger announced his one-year retirement. But: with Choi, Norman, Duval, Mediate, Villegas, McDowell, and even Jean Van de Velde in the running to win a major-- Tiger's absence won't be missed quite as much as expected.

Notes from Friday's Second Round

• Could the TNT/BBC cameramen please wipe the raindrops off their camera lenses for God's sake?!
• How about the players who look like they're about to go on a slalom run rather than walk around 18 holes? Some players are dressed in what looks to be gigantic goose-feather stuffed coats. And, here I am thinking it's hard to swing a club wearing a windbreaker!
• John Daly missed the cut-- shooting +29 and finishing in dead last place. It's like watching a trainwreck. Still, you have to feel for him. He's got such talent, yet washes it all away with booze and gambling.