Bend it down under

Moves are underway to bring former England and Manchester United star David Beckham to play in the A-League. The Australian understands there have been tentative discussions with Beckham’s management for him to play in the A-League when his contract with US Major League club LA Galaxy ends next month. He has already visited Australia three times during his tenure at Galaxy. During said visits, he played against Sydney FC in 2007, Newcastle Jets in 2009, and Melbourne Victory last year. He is one of the biggest names in world football and I'm sure his presence in the A-League along with Italian superstar Alessandro Del Piero would take the national competition to another level. But what I'm more concerned about is whether or not the club he plays his first A-League game for will have the vast sums of money needed to bring this great man to their starting eleven.

Speaking of eleven, BP have blood on their hands. But what does that have to do with the number eleven? Well let me tell you: a list has just been released. The list in question is a list of the eleven workers who died after a blast on the BP-leased drilling rig Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010 (Central Daylight Time) about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig was owned by the Swiss firm Transocean Ltd. It was drilling the Macondo well, in which BP was the majority owner. On the morning of April 22 — after burning for about a day and a half — the Deepwater Horizon sank. It rests on the bottom about a mile below the Gulf surface. None of the men worked directly for BP. Two were employed by M-I Swaco (a division of oil field services company Schlumberger) and the other nine worked for Transocean. The men were:

• Jason Anderson, 35, of Midfield, TX. A father of two. His wife, Shelley, said Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday. Anderson began preparing a will in February 2010 and kept it in a spiral notebook. It sank with the rig.
• Aaron Dale "Bubba" Burkeen, 37, of Philadelphia, MS. His death at the Deepwater Horizon came on his wedding anniversary and four days before his birthday. He was married with two children.
• Donald Clark, 49, of Newellton, LA. He was scheduled to leave the rig on April 21, the day after the blast.
• Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, of Georgetown, LA., Curtis was married and had two teenagers.
• Gordon Jones, 28, of Baton Rouge, LA. Jones arrived on the rig the day before the explosion. He died three days before his sixth wedding anniversary and 10 minutes after talking to his pregnant wife, Michelle Jones. Their son, Max, was born three weeks later.
• Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, LA. Kemp was married. His daughter's birthday was 3 days before the explosion. Kemp was scheduled to leave the rig on April 21.
• Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, of Natchez, MS. Kleppinger was a veteran of the first Gulf War and the father of one child.
• Keith Blair Manuel, 56, of Gonzales, LA. Manuel had three daughters. He was a fan of LSU athletics and had football and basketball season tickets.
• Dewey A. Revette, 48, of State Line, MS. Revette had been married to his wife, Sherri, for 26 years when the rig exploded. He was scheduled to leave the rig on April 21.
• Shane M. Roshto, 22, of Liberty, MS. His wife, Natalie, filed a lawsuit April 21, 2010, saying she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after her husband was killed in the explosion. He was set to leave the rig on April 21.
• Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, TX. Weise drove 10 hours to Louisiana every three weeks to work on the rig. A high school football star, he spent off- time hunting and fishing. He was scheduled to leave the rig on April 21.

In other news, Katy Perry was horrified when a romantic meal with boyfriend John Mayer at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills almost turned into a confrontation with her ex husband and she ducked under her table to avoid him.