Excitement builds for 2010 World Cup ticket sales

Per Sowetan in South Africa, "Friday's eagerly-awaited opening of ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup is a milestone, once more confirming that the event is definitely coming to South Africa."

Twitter users in South Africa have generated a significant buzz in recent hours about the sale of these tickets.

@guznuname (Cape Town, South Africa): The FIFA 2010 World Cup tickets are going on sale this week! Amazing!



A man in Johannesburg tweeted from a unique perspective leading up to the sales date.

@ChrisOnderstall (Johannesburg, South Africa): Busy busy working on a video outlining the 2010 World Cup ticketing process.. Watch out for it on Friday on Shine 2010


The official Twitter account for the 2010 World Cup announced that a certain number of tickets will be held exclusively for locals.

@Shine2010 (Johannesburg, South Africa): 11% of all 2010 World Cup tickets will be exclusively held for South African residents



But not all tweets were upbeat. A global marketing organization with an affiliate in the nation calmed the news a bit.

@PalmerstonSAF (Cape Town, South Africa): would like to be the first to let you know that organizers fear that the global recession will impact ticket sales for the world cup 2010.


South Africans weren't the only ones on Twitter with an eye on tickets.

@alexkess (Sydney, Australia): Ticketing process for the 2010 World Cup is starting tomorrow. I think I'll be there! Who else is going? http://tinyurl.com/bb2hoj


@clayco (San Francisco, Calif.): planning a trip and rounding up a crew for S. Africa World Cup in 2010. You down? You Going? Let me know

Excitement builds for 2010 World Cup ticket sales

Israeli athlete denied visa for Dubai Tournament

Per the Jerusalem Post, "Israeli tennis star Shahar Pe'er has been denied a visa for this week's WTA tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates."

A man in the UAE seemed confused by the news.

@tomsp (Abu Dhabi, UAE): If Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer can play in Qatar, I don;t really see why she can;t play in the UAE http://tinyurl.com/acj9j7


The news sparked reaction from other parts of the world.

@Yael_80 (Glasgow, Scotland): I really can't believe that 46% of people polled on cnn.com believe the UAE had a right to refuse an entry visa for Shahar Peer. WTF.


@magzalez (Gainesville, Fla.): UUGGH, can't believe the UAE denied Shahar Peer (Israeli female tennis player) a visa to play in Dubai this week! WTA needs to take action.


@PDMojo (St. Louis, Mo.): Weak, WTA. Very weak. Clearly the reason they didn't cancel is because Dubai is rolling in cash. If this were Serena, story would be huge.


@JodiEchakowitz (Toronto, Canada): UAE denied a visa to an Israeli tennis player. Someone needs a good lesson on separating church (sports) from state (politics).

Israeli athlete denied visa for Dubai Tournament

Reaction to Rodriguez mainly negative

Per ESPN, the University of Miami renamed its baseball field in honor of New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez on Friday night.

Rodriguez spoke publicly for the first time since admitting he used banned performance-enhancing drugs while playing with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. Rodriguez admitted he has made mistakes and implored the Miami baseball team to play with integrity and immediately correct any errors made.

Across Twitter, Rodriguez's mistakes have been met with disgust and anger.

@pandawife: I knew I had a reason to not be a fan of Alex Rodriguez. Makes me angry that all of those records are tainted.




@thingsannoyme (New York): Alex Rodriguez makes me depressed about following baseball. Thanks.




There were the occasional messages of support for the sports star.

@ryancurry: I support Alex Rodriguez during these difficult times.

Reaction to Rodriguez mainly negative

Adebayor wins prestigious football award

Per NEXT in Nigeria, Nigerian native Emmanuel Adebayor won the top prize in the Confederation of Africa Football Awards as Player of the Year. "As we know, 2010 (World Cup) is coming to Africa and we have to help each other as a family, and as a unit we can do something," he said in his acceptance speech in Lagos, according to NEXT.

@ekobaba was the only Nigerian twitterer to note the news:

@ekobaba (Nigeria): adebayor's king of african football of the year



An Irishman living in Mexico, per his bio, was surprised to hear Adebayor had won the award.

@mexicanpaddy (Mexico): Adebayor African player of the year?????? Eboue must have come in second. I don't care what he does in Africa cos he's not doing in london



A man in London was equally surprised.

@Paddy76 (London): still struggling to get my head around the Adebayor news



Media outlets across Europe tweeted about the announcement.

@sport1_news (München, Germany): Premier League - Adebayor ist Fußballer des Jahres http://tinyurl.com/caflo2 (Premier League - Adebayor is Footballer of the Year http://tinyurl.com/caflo2)


@Lequipe_fr_Actu (Paris, France): Foot - Afrique Adebayor, joueur de l'année http://tinyurl.com/cj4f2x (Foot - African Adebayor, player of the year http://tinyurl.com/cj4f2x)


@RTEsoccer (Dublin, Ireland): Adebayor scoops African honour: Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor was crowned 2008 Africa Player of the Year at a g.. http://tinyurl.com/c79v2n


@telegraaf (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Adebayor beste van Afrika http://tinyurl.com/b7br9j (Adebayor best of Africa http://tinyurl.com/b7br9j)

Adebayor wins prestigious football award

Beckham plans to stay in Milan

Per BBC, "David Beckham has confirmed he wants to secure a permanent move to AC Milan from his American club LA Galaxy."

The news has sparked interest across Europe.

@mitschmackes (Stuttgart, Germany): Ich kann verstehen, dass Beckham in Mailand bleiben will. Sein Ausflug nach LA ist ja nur eine peinlicher Marketing-Gag. (I can understand that Beckham wants to remain in Milan. His trip to LA is only an embarrassing marketing gimmick.)

Though not all are fond of his decision.

@BenTrebilcook (London, U.K.): I don't think Beckham truly understands the whole "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" environment in Milan.


@matt_holmes (London, U.K.): Let Beckham rot in LA with his £125m. Ah. That felt cathartic. Night



As of this post, there was not yet any reaction from Los Angeles or Milan area twitterers.

Beckham plans to stay in Milan

Favorites win American Super Bowl

Per ESPN, a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santantonio Holmes with 35 seconds remaining lifted the Pittsburgh Steelers to victory over the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, in Tampa Bay, Fla., in "what may have been the most exciting Super Bowl ever."

Loyal fans tweeted throughout the game. The differing viewpoints as the game ended were staggering.

@damer1 (Phoenix, Ariz.): Heartbreaker.




@dpbkmb (Pittsburgh, Pa.): Pop! Fizzzzzzzz... Asti. What a relief.



Some tweeted from the game itself, such as @mattbacak.

@mattbacak (Atlanta, Ga.): @drkenny it's not the best pic but it is one -> http://twitpic.com/1aiep



Then there were the celebrities, like M.C. Hammer (@MCHammer), who tweeted from his second-row seats, and Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk), who had tweeting troubles.

@MCHammer (Bay Area, Calif.): SB Pics http://twitpic.com/1aicr



@aplusk (Los Angeles, Calif.): We r here! I'm in a dead zone no wifi bummer

Favorites win American Super Bowl

Nadal downs Federer in five sets

Per the Brisbane Times, Rafael Nadal of Spain is the "undisputed king of tennis" after he ousted Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Australian Open men's finals in five sets, 7-5, 3-6, 7-3 (7-3), 3-6, 6-2. The 22-year-old won his sixth major and became the first Spaniard to win the Aussie Open.

The epic match forced some to lose sleep.

@marragem (Brisbane): Want to/need to go to bed but how can I miss this great fight between Federer & Nadal


The event was number one in trending on Twitter for some time, as @kinshasha pointed out.

@kinshasha (Brisbane): Even with the SuperBowl countdown well underway, Aussies are leading twitter-trends w/ Federer, Nadal, Australian Open, #ausopen, Rafa, etc

The culmination of the tournament was emotional for some, such as @djmattyg007, who was live twittering the match.

@djmattyg007 (Melbourne): and there goes yet another year of tennis. really am gonna miss it, can't recall ever watching so much of it before, especially over cricket

Nadal downs Federer in five sets