The end of any year always provides the opportunity to waste valuable time by compiling pointless lists and charts and the "FIFA Puskas Award 2010" for the best goal of the year are no exception.. You can see the videos of the goals, and vote for them, here.

A quick click through all ten of the goals will tell you three things;

1) Listening to the short burst of intro music before each video will eventually drive you insane.

2) No matter what the merits of any particular goal, FIFA will always select a representative from each continent.

3) FIFA overvalues the merits of running passed a series of static defenders.

Still there are some worthy nominees and my selection would be to give an honourable mention to Linus Hallenius for a great effort, but the overall winner would have to be Matthew Burrows. I'm willing to bet that if Burrows tried to replicate that goal at every hour of every day for the rest of his life he would never do it again, but that doesn't matter. He may not be a household name in the way that Lionel Messi is, but how many times has Messi scored a back-heel volley from the edge of the area on a windy night in Northern Ireland?

There can be little debate though about who takes the award for the worst miss of the year.

Away from the football, hopefully I can give a quick plug to an upcoming event for "The United Way" charity that does great work in the local community and beyond. The "Robson Square Rodeo" takes place on November 25 at The Bourbon Country Bar in Gastown. A $15 ticket will get you a buffet meal, one free drink, an entry into a raffle for 19" flatscreen TV and a ride on Vancouver's only mechanical bull (although this is not mandatory).  It takes place between 5:00pm and 7:00pm so it's a great way to start an evening or, if you are like me, end a long day of drinking with some desperately needed nutrition. Either way it's a win-win.

More details, and how to buy tickets, are here.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem astride a simple donkey, the adoring crowds were struck by the powerful imagery of both His humility and His dignity. Yet how much more powerful would the whole scene have been if He had been clinging miraculously to the back of a mechanical bull? A lot more powerful I think we can all agree.

Now you have the chance to create what might have been (minus Jesus and the adoring crowds) and it's all in a good cause!

The Robson Square Rodeo on November 25 is raising funds for the The United Way charity, which does great work in the local community and beyond. A $15 ticket gets you a buffet meal, one drink and a raffle ticket to win a 19" flatscreen TV (and you can ride Vancouver's only mechanical bull!). The whole thing takes place at The Bourbon Country Bar in Gastown and runs from 5:00-7:00pm, so it's a great way to start the evening. Other prizes will be on offer too. 

Details of the event are here.

I don't claim to speak for Jesus (not since the new medication started to take effect) but I'm pretty sure He'd be okay with you buying tickets for this.

There can be no doubt that the recent poor run of form will cost the Diamondbacks in terms of attendance. That's why I have taken the time out to give the Front Office a few ideas on how to bring the fans back into Chase Field.

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