What makes the Glasgow derby stand out from the others is that the rivalry is based not just on economics (such as the Flamengo and Fluminense derby) or political (right-wing Lazio against left-wing Roma) or cultural (CSKA Sofia, the team of the intellectuals against Levski, the team of the working man), but a combination of some of those, with a dash of religion thrown in. Celtic, the team with the poor Irish, Catholic and republican background, against the rich Scots of Rangers, proudly protestant and nationalistic. East Glasgow against West Glasgow. Two successful teams in a large city, in a league they dominate alternately make for an extra bit of tension: getting one over the other side.

Its hard to believe that from the very first fixture, played in 1888 in such good spirit that one commentator at the time was inspired to write that the teams "got on so well that you would believe that they were old firm friends", the game has somehow mutated into the game it is now. The teams certainly started out with quite a close relationship playing many friendlies in front of huge gates. But like all good things, this relationship came to an end as the games became bitter, hard-fought encounters with pitch invasions, mass brawls, arrests and even deaths. An activist group that monitors sectarian activity in Glasgow has reported that on Old Firm weekends, admissions to hospital emergency rooms increase nine-fold over normal levels, and journalist Franklin Foer* noted that in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches.

With both of the sides back on top of the table, it's business as usual. Celtic won 3:0 last week against Falkirk while Rangers where unlucky to come away with only 1 point against Aberdeen on Saturday. Neither team is playing particularly well - Celtic's season only really got of to a start last week, while Rangers are grinding out results against teams they'd normally not have had too much bother with last season. Todays game is the 380th game between the two sides. Overall, Rangers have more wins (151) than Celtic (136), and last seasons games ended with two wins and two losses each with the wins coming for the home side on each occasion.

There's always something to make each game unique, and this one is no exception. In tomorrows game there will be two players on the pitch will be sure to get both sets of fans going. For Rangers, striker Kenny Miller will be expecting a tough time from the Celtic fans. Miller, a former Celtic as well as Rangers player is back in his second spell at the Gers. He is the first player to play for both sides of the Old Firm. Celtic will have Glenn Loovens playing for them today, a player that Rangers had been courting as a replacement for the departed Carlos Cuellar, but the 21-year-old Dutch defender decided to sign for Celtic in the aftermath of Rangers' exit from Europe, much to the annoyance of Walter Smith.

Old Firm games are not really noted for the quality of the football - rather, the games are physical and scrappy, with hard tackling and end-to-end excitement. Expect the usual flurry of yellow (and possibly the odd red) cards. It's hard to predict a winner, so we'll leave that to you. Leave a comment with your score prediction; we'll have a full review of the game on Monday.

Celtic vs Rangers
Celtic Park, Glasgow
Sunday, 31 August Kick-off: 1230

* Source: Wikipedia

PLAYERS: ARASHEN (Rio) | ENDAERION (Lid)

IC DATE: 18th of September, 3044 TA (Elendor Year)
SETTING: Lebennin: South Road - Ford of the Erui

SYNOPSIS: En route to Minas Tirith, Arashen is mistaken as one of the bandits the Ranger Endaerion hunts for.

READ THE LOG - Submitted by Rio

PLAYERS:  GONDOR:  ARASHEN (Rio) | ARATHIS (Nimp) | BARSAPHAD (Radar) | ENDAERION (Lid) | TARACHIM (Arthen)  || MORDOR: GROX (Yawns)

IC DATE:  8th of October, 3044 TA (Elendor Year)
SETTING:  OSGILIATH: The Great Bridge - Center Section

SYNOPSIS: Gondorian Hostmen, Knights, and defenders of Ithilien hold the bridge of Osgiliath against an attacking Troll from Mordor.

READ THE LOG

just to prove it!!

Anorthosis Famagusta are champions of Cyprus, a title they have won twice under Ketsbaia's leadership. Ketsbaia first joined them as a player in 1992, before he moved on to AEK Athens and most famously Newcastle. He returned to them in 2002 after brief spells with Wolves and Dundee. The last anyone heard from him and his club was probably when they got past Trabzonspor to get to the last round of qualifications for the CL in 2005, falling to Rangers 4-1 on aggregate.

Some interesting facts about Anorthosis Famagusta:

• They are actually not currently located in Famagusta, which is in the Turkish part on the East coast of Cyprus, but in Lacarna, on the South coast. They relocated there in 1974 after the Turkish invasion (forgive me if this is not the politically correct term for the conflict). They still have a home stadium in Famagusta, but it is abandoned and is "in a bad condition."
• They play their home games in Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, which holds about 10 000 supporters.
• The Cypriot League is called the Marfin Laiki League (sponsored by the Marfin Popular bank). There are 14 teams in the league. APOEL and Omonia are the biggest clubs with 19 league titles each, Anorthosis Famagusta has 13 titles, including five titles in six seasons between 1994 and 2000.
• The population of Cyprus is about 800 000. It's a fairly rich nation with a GDP per capita of about 27 thousand dollars, which is slightly more than South Korea, Israel and New Zealand, but slightly less than Italy, Greece and Spain (source: World Bank).
• The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on July 20, 1974, was a Turkish military operation against a coup which had been staged by the Cypriot National Guard against president Makarios III with the intention of annexing the island to Greece, but the invasion ended up with Turkey occupying a considerable area on the north part of it and establishing a government on it that only Turkey recognizes (copy/paste from Wikipedia).

Anorthosis Famagusta knocked out Rapid Wien (4-3 on aggregate, 3-0 at home and 1-3 away) and Olympiacos (3-1 on aggregate, 3-0 at home and 0-1 away) in the qualification rounds, so they thorougly deserve their place. It's the first time a Cypriot team has qualified for the group stages, so congratulations to them! Here's a video clip from their 3-0 win at home, complete with some ridiculously bad local music.

1:15	Spector -  THE RANGERS AREN'T MOVING GOMEZ!!!!!

1:16

Spector -

About 15 minutes before I got to the party, and the reason Spector put on his angry face when I asked, Wyshynski and Spector answered my question.

And here's some Bruins talk from the trio of bloggers for my Bruins fan friend:

Will this be the year the Devils capture a fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history? That is the question every Devils fan asks him or her-self before the NHL season commences every October. While it would be another dream-come-true for myself to witness my fourth, this season does not look like the one. Here are my predictions for the 2008-09 Atlantic Division:

1st: Philadelphia - After signing coach John Stevens to a 2-year extension, to go along with the four year extension to Joffrey Lupul and the monster twelve-year deal for Mike Richards, the Philadelphia Flyers have had a relatively quiet offseason. With two capable goaltenders in Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki and a healthy Simon Gagne, the Flyers will once again capture the Atlantic Division crown.

2nd: New York Rangers - As hard as it is for me to write this, I believe it is true. After acquiring the services of veterans Wade Redden, Markus Naslund, and Dmitri Kalinin, the Rangers look poised challenge for the division and make a deep playoff run.

3rd: New Jersey - After creating an old-school appearance by resigning sniper Brian Rolston and workhorse Bobby Holik the Devils have added some much-needed offense to their roster. Patrik Elias will have much-improved scoring numbers after Rolston take pressure of the former Devils' captain. Iron-man Martin Brodeur will once again anchor the team as they mature and once again contend for the division.

4th: Pittsburgh - Call me crazy but the Penguins will finish 4th in the division and will miss the playoffs one year removed from their Eastern Conference Championship. Their all-or-nothing deadline deal to acquire Marian Hossa last season was a failed effort which saw them say goodbye to a great deal of young talent. Their defense will prove shaky and their downfall.

5th: New York Islanders - The struggling Islanders will dwell in the cellar for at least one more year. They are in the middle of a rebuilding phase which will limit their performance this year. Their focus is on the future and not the present after signing new coach Scott Gordon.

Don't agree? Leave your rebuttal in the comments section.

Check back again later for predictions from the rest of the NHL.

By Alexander Lawrie
 
CELTIC star Derek Riordan has been banned from every nightclub in Edinburgh.
 
The former Hibernian forward was initially handed a one year ban under the Unight scheme after he allegedly abused staff at the city’s Berlin club when they refused him entry.
 
But within weeks of the ban, Riordan, 25, was spotted by bar staff at the Espionage nightclub in the city’s Victoria Street, causing his ban to be doubled to two years.
 
Bosses at Celtic have refused to comment on the situation, calling it a “personal matter”.
 
The police constable who has helped set up the Unight scheme has confirmed the footballer is among those handed with banning orders from all of Edinburgh’s nightspots.
 
PC Mark Pickavance said: “Riordan was banned for a year after an altercation outside Berlin. That was increased to two years after he tried to get into Espionage.”
 
Riordan was originally banned after an altercation outside the Berlin club in May this year.
 
Steven McLaren, a manager at Espionage, said: “Riordan managed to get into the club at about 11pm, but one of the bar staff saw him and knew he was banned.
 
“Our door stewards approached him to ask him to leave and they got a mouthful of abuse.
 
“He was going on about how they thought they were “big men” because they wanted him out. He claimed the ban had been served but we knew this wasn’t the case.
 
“It went on for a few minutes but he left before he had to be ejected. We don’t want him in Espionage.
 
“We stick very strictly to the Unight scheme for the protection of our staff and customers. It’s a great scheme.”
 
Riordan, who signed for Celtic in 2006 but has failed to make any impact, has been involved in a number of incidents in the past couple of years, some of which have led to him appearing in court.
 
He was found not guilty of involvement after a mass brawl involving up to 30 people erupted outside a pub in the Grassmarket in December, 2006.
 
He was also charged with breach of the peace two years earlier after he allegedly swore at police who were breaking up a fight in the city’s infamous Lothian Road area.
 
Again, the Scottish internationalist was found not guilty.
 
Riordan could not be contacted to comment, but his grandmother May Riordan said she did not believe he had been banned.
 
She said: “I could be wrong, as grandmothers only hear the good stuff, but that’s not like him.
 
“He’s a quiet lad and not a fighter. I’ve not heard anything about this.
 
“You always hear about trouble in nightclubs, but he wouldn’t be part of that.”
 
The Unight scheme, which can ban people from three months to life, has been branded “a great success” after 130 people have been prohibited from entering any of the city’s nighclubs.
 
The number of crimes reported in clubs from October 2007 to July has dropped from 1185 reported crimes to 936.
 
PC Pickavance said: “Unight has been a great success. We’ve seen a significant drop in crimes reported inside clubs and we’re keeping troublemakers out.”