Al Jazira is an Abu Dhabi club that has been pretty good for most of a decade but hasn’t been particularly good at sealing deals at the end of the UAE soccer season. In 40 years, the club has one league title (2011), two President Cup championships (2011, 2012) and one Arabian Gulf Cup (2010). […]

[Read more →]

As we have noted here in years past, Christmas is surprisingly popular in this part of the Arabian Peninsula. Of course, it is not a religious holiday but, then, it isn’t a very religious holiday in the West, either. And this week, a massive, artificial, 42-foot Christmas tree has gone up in the enormous lobby […]

[Read more →]

One of our British colleagues walked into the sports department of The National today and said: “Johnny Football is a joke!” Referring to the Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, Heisman Trophy winner, first-round draf pick — and a badly beaten man in his first NFL start, a 30-0 victory by the Cincinnati Bengals. He had […]

[Read more →]

A reporter for The National had a look at the food for sale in the cafeterias at three of the biggest government hospitals in Abu Dhabi … And few, if any, healthy choices were available. Eating at the hospital was enough to make people sick. The story started with the findings of our reporter: Prominent […]

[Read more →]

Religions in collision here. Karma, a Hindu/Buddhist concept … as it applies in the home of Islam. Or doesn’t. More likely, we are talking about coincidence. Remember the spitting, head-butting soccer player who plays for Saudi club Al Hilal? Nasser Al Shamrani? He had a very interesting couple of days in Manila a little over […]

[Read more →]

This crime is by far the most sensational in Abu Dhabi since we set foot in the city in October of 2009: An American mother and kindergarten teacher stabbed to death in a restroom at a tower on Reem Island, which is recently developed part of Abu Dhabi. The killing occurred on Monday, and suspicion […]

[Read more →]

Aside from four months in Hong Kong, six years ago, I have never spent any stretch of time in a rainy environment. Abu Dhabi gets maybe two inches of rain a year. Often in the span of a few hours. But something less than two inches over the course of a year is not uncommon. […]

[Read more →]

After 150 miles on Southern California freeways the past two days, following most of two years driving in the UAE, I am fairly confident in writing this: Driving is a lot less scary here than in the UAE — where in 2010 the second-leading cause of death was “road injury”. Some obseverations.

[Read more →]

Day 1 of a Southern California visit. Almost as warm as Abu Dhabi. Not nearly as wet.

[Read more →]

Noted a week or so ago: Too much good sports stuff this week. Specifically, today. Actually, we had even more good stuff than I presented. Add to the list:

[Read more →]