Whether you think bespoke luxury gadgets are true indicators of accomplishment or simply tacky, the truth is, someone would have fashioned Apple’s iPhone 4 out of gold and diamonds sooner or later. And for the sooner, UK luxury bespoke gadget maker, Stuart Hughes, have already rendered the new iPhone 4 in 24ct gold. Why wait for the white one and tap your feet impatiently on Apple’s indecisive release dates? Provided if you have approximately 30 grand to spare, these can be yours soon. Also, if you are interested, there is also a diamond encrusted version.

From Dirty Tackle:

Things have not been going so great for Portsmouth FC. Coming off an embarrassment-plagued season that resulted in getting relegated from the Premier League and going into administration (yet still making an improbable run to the FA Cup final!), the club decided to mount a summer North American tour as a way to prepare for the Championship and help get their finances in order. Well, that proved to be a big fat mistake. Here’s why:
-The tour started with a 42-hour journey from England to San Diego because of a cancelled connecting flight.
-Midfielder Tom Kilbey and goalkeeper Jon Stewart (not that Jon Stewart) suffered injuries during the second game of the tour against Edmonton.
-The trip from Edmonton to Washington, DC left the team in stranded in Chicago for nearly 28 hours because of a lightening storm. “The time it took us to get here, we could have flown to Australia,” new Pompey manager Steve Cotterill told Reuters.
-All of the club’s luggage was left outside in the rain during the storm and 14 bags never made it to their destination, including the kit bag.
-The team had to play DC United in 100-degree heat after just four hours of sleep and without training for three days.
-Since Portsmouth had no kits of their own, they had to wear DC United’s away strip.
-They ended up losing 4-0 and had three players sent off and saw goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown go off with an injury. And because of the extreme heat, “the lads all lost 4kgs (8.8 lbs)” midfielder Michael Brown told the club’s official website.
As awful as it was, that brought a merciful end to the summer tour that makes Dante’s Inferno look like a delightful romp. Now Portsmouth return to England, where they will play AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday. They will probably be forced to wear underpants containing fire ants and all of the music on their iPods will be erased and replaced with the sound of their loved ones crying.
Photo: AP

Defending German Bundesliga champions FC Bayern Munich (or Bayern München in German) unveiled their 2010/11 home kit all the way back in February. Now the Bavarian giants’ adidas 2010/11 away kit has hit the streets.

Already available at World Soccer Shop, the Bayern Munich 2010/11 adidas away kit uses an fashion.org/wordpress/2010/02/25/france-adidas-world-cup-2010-away-kit-maillot/”>adidas 1980s-inspired design similar to that used for the France World Cup 2010 jersey.

FC Bayern opens its 10/11 Bundesliga campaign on August 20th against VfL Wolfsburg. Pre-season matches against FC Köln and Real Madrid are scheduled for early August along with the German SuperCup match against FC Schalke 04 on August 7th and a DFB Pokal meeting with TSV Germania Windeck on August 16th. The new Bayern Munich away kit should see action in at least one of these matches.

Just days after betting was suspended on Joe Cole joining Liverpool before a move was completed, bookmakers Paddy Power have closed the market on Fernando Torres’ proposed move to Chelsea. The Spanish striker’s reluctance to commit his future to Liverpool has also led to interest from would-be kings Manchester City. However, after a flurry of bets backing the player to move to London it appears that if he is to leave Anfield, it will be to join bitter rivals Chelsea.
“We re-opened the market on Fernando’s next club due to the speculation and interest from punters following comments from the City boss Roberto Mancini,” said Paddy Power spokesman Roberto Coladangelo.
“However, it became clear today that the punters now believe in the rumours linking the Spaniard to west London, forcing us to reassess the market.”
Radio station Talksport also revealed that they heard on good authority from two reliable sources that a move was imminent. (Kop Source)

I am worried. First Roy Hodgson openly admits that Fernando Torres is not happy at the club. Then a number of reliable sources state that there is actually a price on the Spaniard’s head and its around £70m. Now I have no reason to think that El Nino would leave the club for Manchester City because he doesn’t strike me as the type of person who would forsake ambition for a quick buck.

However a move to Chelsea would at least make sense from a playing perspective, even though it would anger me greatly for a number of other reasons. If the former Atletico Madrid man felt that the club were going backwards then perhaps he would push for an exit.

Then add into the equation a bookmaker closing the market on this deal. They did the same hours before Joe Cole agreed to join us and a similar announcement was made before Michael Owen went to Manchester United last summer, a deal that no one would have predicted.

I would put nothing past Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Torres’s anger relates to broken promises relating to the amount invested in new playing talent and he has a point. We haven’t exactly brought in world class talents have we. Look at those who we have signed in his three years at the club, how many could you honestly say were top notch purchases? How many have proved to be successes? You could count them on the fingers of a hand with less fingers than it surely usually have.

The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today that it has traded midfielder Justin Mapp to Philadelphia Union in exchange for allocation money. Per MLS and club policy, terms of the trade were not disclosed.

“We would like to thank Justin for his contributions to the Chicago Fire and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors,” said Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas.

Mapp, a nine-year veteran, was drafted by D.C. United as the fourth overall selection in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. Since joining the Fire in 2003, the Brandon, MS product has scored 14 goals and tallied 36 assists in 174 appearances with the Fire. Mapp played an integral role in helping the Fire win the 2003 and 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Mohamed Al Fayed adds Mark Hughes to Fulham’s managerial shopping list
• Fulham chairman may ask Hughes to succeed Roy Hodgson
• Sven-Goran Eriksson moves down the pecking order

Mohamed Al Fayed has sought talks with Mark Hughes over the managerial vacancy at Fulham, as he broadens his search in the wake of the failure to prise Martin Jol from Ajax. The Fulham chairman also has Sven-Goran Eriksson and Ottmar Hitzfeld on the shortlist to succeed Roy Hodgson, who has left for Liverpool, but he is keen to know whether Hughes, the former Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Wales manager, can be tempted before he makes a firm move.
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Barcelona.jpg”>Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has agreed personal terms with Spanish champions Barcelona, according to a report on Sunday.
Catalan sports daily Sport claims that the Spain international agreed his contract should he leave the Gunners for the former European champions. It’s been reported that the 23-year-old will sign a five-year deal and will receive £5.9 million per season.
However, Fabregas’ current club Arsenal are yet to agree on a transfer fee with Barcelona. Manager Arsene Wenger is said to hold a meeting with the World Cup winner this week and a decision on the player’s future will be decided after that. On Sunday Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was quoted as saying that he didn’t expect his international teammate to move to Camp Nou.
Nevertheless, Barcelona are keen on signing Fabregas this summer and had already approached the former English champions earlier, only to be turned down. (Goal.com)
Clearly this is yet another attempt by Barcelona to force Arsenal’s hand. This could well be the Catalan club’s attempt to let Cesc Fabregas know just what they would offer him should he push for a move away from the north London club.
Whether the Spanish international wanted to accept a deal or not there is still the small matter of the Gunners not having any intention of selling, regardless of what fee is offered. The clock is clearly ticking on any plans to snare the Arsenal captain and with that in mind it would probably very useful if the player himself was a little clearer of his own feelings about a potential move back to the Nou Camp.
Many Arsenal fans are unhappy with the player and his mixed messages on the issue. The 23 year old has stated that he wishes to return to his former club at some point and that stance leaves him open to a mountain of speculation and a great deal of unsettling activity from Barcelona themselves who have repeatedly made moves to sign the talented midfielder.

A few days ago we brought you the E3 trailer for Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2011. Now we’ve got a first look at fellow simulation franchise EA Sports FIFA 11 with several newly released screenshots featuring Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Chelsea and Inter Milan along with a game fact sheet from EA Sports. The first official EA Sports FIFA 11 trailer will be released on August 17th.
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