Plus de football! Bordeaux

Bordeaux took another match today blowing past Lorient with a 4-1 victory, and earned the French league's unofficial title of winter champion today as the undisputed leader at the halfway point.

With one more round left to reach midway, defending champion Bordeaux topped the standings with 40 points from 18 matches, eight clear of Marseille which had a game in hand.

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le Football

A lot of big news for soccer in France with Bordeaux and Lyons advancing in the Champions League. The top two teams from each UEFA Champions League group go into the first knockout round in the spring, with the third-placed clubs to enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32. That means that Lyons (#2 in Group E) and Bordeaux ( #1 in Group A) have a chance at the big one. Marseille (#3 in Group C) didn't make the cut for the Champions League, but will enter the Europa League Rounds. Pas mal du tout.

Our very own Corry Cropper runs the blog,The Sports Academic. He commented on the recent Henry handball fiasco, shedding interesting cultural light on the apparently loaded issue. Dr. Cropper states, "in the wake of a financial meltdown and political scandal, Henry, dubbed 'Le Cheat' in Ireland, is being viewed as a symbol of France's decline." France's embarrassment over the whole thing is somewhat revealing of France's declining sense of national pride. To read more, click here!