Good Day!

Birmingham City captured their first major trophy since 1963 yesterday by defeating Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley. Although massive underdogs, the Blues showed more heart and desire than the Gunners and came away deserved winners. And although six years without a trophy is hardly a drought for the vast majority of clubs, Arsene Wenger will receive deserved criticism for another display from his side that outlined yet again the frailties that continue to plague Arsenal.

Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Wigan eventually capitulated to Manchester United, West Ham rolled over Liverpool and Mark Hughes returned to Eastlands and his Fulham side earned a draw with Manchester City. The two dropped points put the nail in any title hopes for City. Once again, the media is having a field day with a handshake incident. Sparky's undies got all bunched up because Mancini didn't look him in the eye upon the clasping of the hands. Really? Who the fuck cares? The whole post-match handshake thing is great but not worthy of any debate or discussion. If a manager want to shake hands then fine. If not, then fine. Fist bump? Great. Whatever.

Ashley Cole brought some sort of pellet gun to Chelsea's training complex and shot an innocent bystander. You can't make it up with Cashley -- he's in a league by himself. Also, Louis Saha wrecked his Ferrari.

In Spain, Lionel Messi scored his 1,425th goal of the campaign as Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga. Since Real Madrid couldn't score one goal (Karim Benzema anyone?) at Deportivo La Coruña that title looks to be settled before March. Also settled is the Bundesliga where Dortmund went to Bayern Munich and came away 3-1 winners, their first win in Munich since 1991. It leaves them 13 points ahead of their nearest challengers.

There's a big match in Italy this afternoon as Napoli head to San Siro to face AC Milan. A win for Napoli would put them on level terms with Milan at the top of Serie A. You can catch that one at 2:45pm EST on FSC.

The Fifth Official's usual Monday column, Wayne Rooney's elbow and a tribute to Dean Richards -- who passed away at the age of 36 -- round out today's big stories.

Onward!!