WebSports: Ready, Set - Duck!

Links to Fútbol Mundial '98:

Paris:- Sunday, 8. June 1998:- A couple of new links have been added and the Web site in Issy with its young reporters is supposed to be operational. Issy and the France 3 TV site I didn't check, but I looked at the cartoon site - but I can't remember anything about it now. I shifted the listings around too, so you'll think it's all new - but it's mostly a repeat of last week's.

Below you will also find Metropole's long-standing links from the 'Au Bistro' column. These are followed by a link to Libération's steadily updated 'Mondial 98' page and its associated links. What I turned up for Fútbol links are here somewhere too. Linda Thalman 'found' Cameroon's team and it got added as well.

This page will be updated during the World Cup Championship matches in France if I think it is absolutely necessary. To ease access to it, this page will be added to each weekly issue until there is a winner. After that, Metropole will have non-Sports News about France's 'Tour de France' until the end of July.

While real SportsFans are in traffic jams heading for the stadiums on Saturdays, those at the SportsBar, known as the Football Café simply fill up their popcorn bowls while waiting for the World Cup championship to begin. Their wives go too, especially if it is raining and they think the matches will be cancelled. After the game or non-game - all retire to the SportsBar to drink ice cold World Cup SportsTea. Three cheers and a huge rumba-rumba! for the Football Café and for the single-mindedness of the SportsFans!' This is the graddaddy of them all: more than 10,000 pages!

Less uplifting are the 'official' Web sites: represented by the FIFA - which stands for Federation International - and which will be choosing a new leader any minute now - and of course, the French Organizing Committee, known to all far and wide as the CFO. I don't what the initials stand for, just like RATP does not sound like métro to me.

The Paris suburb, next to Paris-Expo, of Issy-les-Moulineaux has had 11 youngsters, aged between 17 and 25, in training for six months, to be 'cyber-reporters.' With a little help from Issy and France Télécom, they have formed a 'Cyber Team' of Web reporters to 'cover' the World Cup '98.

Their reports from Issy are to appear on a city-sponsored Web site, starting Wednesday, 10. June.

What's Issy got that's worth covering? Well, there's the WC'98 International Press Centre at Paris-Expo, the Eurosport TV headquarters, the editorial offices of 'L'Equipe' - the daily sports paper - and TVRS 98, the outfit that will be sending out all worldwide TV coverage.

Libération - Mondial 98 - follow this link for constant updates and fair commentary. For example, there is a site called 'Stade de France,' which Libération says is a 'heavy loader.' Extensive links also point to African sites and even to a religious site, for those whose team is in trouble.

Of the two state-TV channels, France 3 has traditionally handled the bigger Sports Events - with extensive reports on the Paris-Dakar and the Tour de France. Now they take on the World Cup, playing in France for the first time since 1938. For daily reports, tune your Web dial to France 3 TV.

• SoccerNet - easy to navigate; even has Cameroon. Linda's choice.
• Gillette's Search Football WC'98
• Weltmeistershaft 98
• Kicker Online
• Yahoo's World Cup in Japanese - note: some characters may not display correctly if they are not in your computer's system.

• El Pais - Madrid
• Mexico
• Rumbo a Francia
• - seems to be 'Under Construction'
• Fútbol Chileno
• Yahoo's Fútbol
• Copa do Mondo
• - Brazil
• Another Brazil
• More Brazil
• Links Fútbol
• - Internet Soccer Fans Association

• 'Down With Football Madness' Site - recommends pouring 1O,000 litres of de-grass on the pitch on the eve of the opening game at the Stade de France. Boo! Also proposes, in French, the idea of dropping 80,022 cream pies from hot-air balloons on hardcore SportsFans. Double-Boo! Linda Thalman, who only champions the Cameroon team, doesn't like this site at all.The BHV was the only department store I saw with exterior World Cup decor last week.

• Scorbut is for those for whom 1998 'c'est déjà demi-footue,' and offers cartoons by Cabu, Kerleroux, Wozniak, Luz et Charb - all of whom are well-known lefties and dangerous guys with pencils. Like all of us raving red, commie, cartoonists.