Soccer By Ives

You write the caption: The Beckham-Donovan edition

While nobody ever accused Landon Donovan and David Beckham of being best friends, their already awkward relationship isn't likely to ever blossom into BFF status after Donovan's revelations in Grant Wahl's soon-to-be-released book, the Beckham Experiment.

We will have to wait a few weeks before Beckham returns to the Galaxy and the awkwardness reaches record heights at Home Depot Center, there is no reason we can't begin to have some fun with it now.

With that in mind, here is the newest You Write the Caption: The Donovan-Beckham Edition:

You Write the Caption: Best of the Ballack-Referee entries

It took forever, but we FINALLY got around to the last You Write the Caption contest. How could you forget this image of an enraged Michael Ballack chasing down Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo during Chelsea's Champions League semifinal loss to Barcelona (yes, it's been that long).

It may have been more than a month ago, but this image is still funny, and so are the top entries from the contest.

Now, without any further delay, here are the best entries for the last You Write the Caption contest:

You Write the Caption: The Ballack-Referee Edition

Good afternoon and welcome to the latest installment of You Write the Caption, the contest where we ask readers to submit their funniest captions to go with the humorous soccer-related photos we find.

Congratulations to SBI reader Blake for winning the last YWTC contest, the Liverpool Lovebirds edition. For his win, Blake will receive a free Navy SBI Mafia t-shirt, courtesy of Objectivo Apparel.

The latest installment of YWTC brings us back to Barcelona's thrilling tie vs. Chelsea last week, and specifically the photo is taken from Michael Ballack's enthusiastic complaints to Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.

Here is the photo, along with our own caption suggestion:

You Write the Caption: Best of the Liverpool Lovebirds Edition

Welcome to the latest edition of You Write the Caption. We received more than 70 entries for this photo of Tom Hicks and George Gillet making nice during a recent Liverpool match and some of YWTC entries were very good (and some were great, but not quite family friendly if you know what I mean).

SBI has chosen the best seven entries, and will let you, the SBI readers, vote for which caption you think is the best. The person whose caption is chosen as the best will receive a free limited edition SBI T-Shirt from Objectivo Apparel. Order your SBI T-Shirt today if you haven't already.

Now, onto the captions:

You Write the Caption: The Liverpool Lovebirds edition

Welcome to the latest installment of You Write the Caption, where we provide readers with a comedy-inducing photo and see what sort of genius SBI readers can come up with.

Congratulations go out to Kevin Anderson, a University of Michigan student, for submitting the winning entry to the Sven-Nery edition of YWTC. Kevin's prize for winning the contest is one of our SBI Mafia t-shirts. If you are an SBI regular then you should pick up your own SBI Mafia t-shirt at Objectivo.com.

Now, onto the newest contest, which features Liverpool co-owners and fellow American billionaires Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who have apparently kissed and made up after months of feuding (or have simply decided they have no choice but to work together).

Enjoy the photo:

You Write the Caption: Best of the Nery-Sven entries

 

Just a few hours before the axe finally fell on Sven Goran Eriksson's tenure as Mexican national  team manager, we here at SBI were able to have fun with one of his final moments in charge of 'El Tri' courtesy an image taken from Mexico's 3-1 loss to Honduras.

The picture shows Sven having words with Mexican striker Nery Castillo, who Sven also coached at Manchester City. The words didn't help much as the Mexicans suffered their second loss in three Hexagonal qualifiers, leading the Mexican federation to fire Eriksson and hire Javier Aguirre.

More than 160 entries were submitted for this You Write the Caption, but only 10 could make the final cut. Now it will be up to SBI readers to select the winning caption, which will receive one of our new SBI Mafia T-Shirts (Didn't make the final 10? Don't fret. You can order own t-shirt today).

Here are the Top Ten captions:

You Write the Caption: The 'El Tri' edition

Chances are that in the midst of your celebrating the U.S. team's rousing 3-0 victory against Trinidad & Tobago you might have missed Mexico's meltdown in Honduras.

Our neighbors to the south had a terrible time in San Pedro Sula, falling 3-1 to a Honduran team that has leapfrogged them in the CONCACAF qualifying standings. The defeat has Sven Goran Eriksson in danger of losing his job (again) and has Mexican fans nervous heading into a difficult summer.

We here at SBI never miss a chance to focus on the Mexican national team's struggles (we are, after all, an American soccer website) so we thought it was a good time to bring back You Write the Caption. We have a photo of Sven and everybody's favorite Uruguayan Mexican striker, Nery Castillo, for you to consider. The best caption submitted for the contest will win one of our new SBI Mafia t-shirts by Objectivo.

Enjoy.

YWTC: The Best of the Donovan Voodoo Doll captions

 

                                                                                      Photo by Soccer By Ives

As you know by now, the voodoo dolls that Mexican fans were supposed to use to try and help Mexico beat the United States did not work. That's something that makes the most recent installment of You Write the Caption that more entertaining and satisfying for U.S. fans.

The above photo was taken before Wednesday night's game, and it showed Landon Donovan being shown one of the voodoo dolls. There were more than 200 entries for this YWTC but these were the ten I thought were the best.

Check them out and then vote on which you like the best. The winner will receive a free t-shirt courtesy of SBI sponsor Objectivo Apparel. Please remember to use the Promo Code IVES to get free shipping on all Objectivo orders.

Now, onto the Top 10 YWTC entries for the Landon Voodoo installment:

You Write the Caption: The Donovan Voodoo edition

 

                                                                                 Photo by Soccer By Ives

Remember the voodoo doll that caused such a stir down in Mexico? The one that Mexican fans were supposed to poke with pins to help Mexico beat the United States?

Today, the doll met Landon Donovan.

Yes, that is a picture of Donovan from Tuesday's press conference, being shown the voodoo doll by a Mexican journalist (who happened to be from the Mexican newspaper that sponsored the doll giveaway. I know, shocking). Donovan held the doll, observed it, and when asked to pose with it, he declined and chose instead to toss it aside playfully. He isn't a big believer in voodoo.

So there is the picture. Now it's your turn to write the caption to go with this photo. The best caption submitted will earn the entrant a free t-shirt from SBI Sponsor Objectivo Apparel. And no, I didn't forge about the Beckham YWTC, that one is coming, but I had to do this one.

Fire away folks. Let's hear some good ones.

You Write the Caption: The Beckham-Arab Edition

Good morning folks. It has been a while since the last installment of You Write the Caption but it is time bring the contest back. We at SBI will be looking to keep it in the weekly rotation for those of you who think you are talented enough to provide some comedy on a regular basis.

This week's contest is brought to you by Objectivo Apparel, which will reward the winning caption writer with a t-shirt from it's collection.

This week's installment of YWTC features none other than David Beckham, who watched his AC Milan teammate Kaka turn down a monstrous transfer bid from Manchester City. We can all assume that Beckham would have turned down a similar offer, what with him being a lifelong Manchester United fan and all, but then again you can't help but wonder whether he might have considered the offer if Man City's Arab owners had come calling with their vast amounts of oil money.

With that in mind, here is this week's YWTC:

You Write the Caption: Best of the Freddie Ljungberg Edition

   

Hello all. It's time to pick the best entries from the Freddie Ljungberg Edition of You Write the Caption. With the MLS Expansion Draft having brought the 2009 Sounders closer into focus, what better time to poke fun at the new franchise's star player than now?

There were plenty of quality entries for this contest, but here are the ten I thought were the best. enjoy:

You Write the Caption: Best of the Wolyniec/Thriller entries

Just when you thought I forgot about the John Wolyniec edition of You Write the Caption, here it is.

With Wolyniec and the Red Bulls preparing to play in MLS Cup this weekend, what better time than to take a look at the very best caption submissions for the above photo, which caught Wolyniec celebrating his goal in the Red Bulls 3-0 playoff win against Houston.

There were a bunch of hilarious captions, but I have narrowed the field down to the following 10 captions. Check them out and give us your vote on which you think is the best:

You Write the Caption: John Wolyniec edition

Good afternoon all. It is time for a special MLS playoff edition of You Write the Caption. I know I haven't gotten around to picking the Top 10 captions from the Freddie Ljungberg edition of YWTC but I promise to have that up this week.

The new You Write the Caption comes courtesy of Red Bulls striker John Wolyniec, who scored his first goal of 2008 in dramatic fashion, to help seal his team's 3-0 upset win against Houston. After waiting all year to score a goal, Wolyniec pulled out the Thriller Dance as his goal celebration. The dance selection was surprising, but the terrible form in executing the dance made the moment a classic.

Wolyniec laughed when asked about the dance and admit

"I wouldn’t say I’ve been practicing," Wolyniec admitted. "If you watch the tape you probably notice I haven’t been practicing, but it was a good feeling.

"It always seems like teams that make runs in playoffs always have a little gimmick inside the locker room. Maybe that’s ours and I just hope it’s something we can piggyback off of and use going forward."

Now, onto the YWTC, and Wolyniec's awful rendition of a classic dance move:

You Write the Caption: The Freddie Ljungberg edition

Welcome to the latest installment of You Write the Captions. This week's contest features a photo of Major League Soccer's newest millionaire, Seattle Sounders FC signing Freddie Ljungberg, who already has fans in Seattle buzzing about the impact he could make on and off the field.

The photo in question isn't necessarily a funny one, but it does leave plenty of room for creativity on the caption front. It's up to you to deliver the humor.

Before we get to the photo, congratulations are in order to Dave (whichever Dave he may be) for the winning entry in the Ronaldo Rehab edition of YWTC. His submission was voted the top choice, edging out my favorite, from Pablo Chicago, 33 percent to 25 percent.

Now, on to the Ljungberg photo:

You Write the Caption: Best of the Ronaldo Entries

It is that time again people, time to enjoy the funniest caption entries for the most recent You Write the Caption Contest. The latest photo to be chosen for captioning was of Brazilian striker Ronaldo as he took a break from him intensive rehabilitation from knee surgery.

There were plenty of funny entries, including some that weren't quite family friendly enough for this site, but funny nonetheless. Here is the photo (the Top 10 caption entries are after the jump):

You Write the Caption: Ronaldo Rehab edition

Good afternoon folks. It is time for the latest installment of You Write the Caption.

Before we get to the new photo, I want to congratulate Darwin for winning the previous YWTC: The Josh Wicks edition.

Now, onto this week's edition. The subject is none other than Brazilian legend Ronaldo, who is in Brazil rehabilitating from his most recent knee surgery. Here is a picture of him resting between workouts: