The Beckhams head for Milan

So David Beckham, entourage on-tow, will be returning to Europe in January with AC Milan in an attempt to prolong his England career.

With the MLS season now over, Beckham has made the move to Italy to stay in the thoughts of England boss Fabio Capello.

But is Beckham good enough still to be at the highest level?

On one hand yes. Beckham was famed for his excellent dead-ball skills, something he has never lost, and even in his brief cameo appearances for England in recent months, he's managed to cause a few chances from wide out.

But is this something AC Milan require? With Ronaldinho, Kaka, Pirlo and more in the side? It's hard to see what Beckham offers that the aforementioned trio alone don't provide.

Ah, I forgot, £££. It may be unfair to Beckham to suggest the move is entirely marketing based, but Milan have some fans to appease, after failing to qualify for the Champions League last season, and they will probably rake in plenty of money through merchandise, however brief Beckham's stay is.

It is perhaps cynical to justify the move in this way, as suggested in this opinion poll. After all, not many players can boast a CV that includes playing for three of the biggest clubs in the world - Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan; playing for a host of world class managers - Sir Alex Ferguson, Fabio Capello, Sven Goran Eriksson, and soon Carlo Ancelotti; and of course captaining his country.

There is no doubting Beckham's passion for the game. After the relative failings of the England side in recent years, his commitment to prolonging his career with the national team has to be admired. He lost his place after the World Cup, won it back again, then found himself forced out of the line up by a few young pretenders - Walcott, Bentley, Wright-Phillips and Lennon.

A stark contrast to players such as Jamie Carragher, who retired from international football bemoaning the lack of opportunities, rather than fighting for a place.

Some have criticised the validity of some of the caps won by Beckham in recent months, but according to Capello, his contribution to the side goes far beyond what happens on the pitch.

For now, Beckham remains 107 not out.

Long may his innings continue.

The NFL experience

The National Football League returned to Wembley for only the second ever regular season game to be held outside of North America, in an attempt to sell its product to a wider market.

It was my first live experience of the NFL, with my only previous experience being endless nights/mornings of watching Channel Five coverage and many wasted hours playing EA Sports' Madden series.

American Football is big in the States, but it hasn't caught on successfully elsewhere, with the failed NFL Europe closing down just a couple of years ago. There was even a Scottish NFL Europe team some years ago.

But there's no doubting that the sport has a UK fan base. London was full of a wide range of replica shirts - not just a handful of teams, but every team. We reckon we saw at least one person wearing a shirt for every NFL team. In fact, we even bumped in to a group of lads who were on a mission to get a photo with someone in every teams' shirt. I filled their Carolina Panthers void.

I'm not a Panthers fan, but a Viking. You might ask why I'm a Minnesota Vikings fan? Well put simply, when I was looking for an NFL team to follow, I simply picked the team with the same nickname as my first love, Widnes Vikings RLFC. It would be interesting to know how other people got supporting the team they do. So comment, and let me know.

The game itself was far more exciting than last year, ending 37-32 to the New Orleans Saints over the San Diego Chargers. It was full of action, and included two rarities of the game - a failed point after attempt and a safety (where the offensive team concedes two points by going out of their own endzone).

It was a home game for the Saints, and they always had the upper hand, despite a brave late fightback from the Chargers, which took the game right to the wire. There were some great plays in that comeback by Chargers QB Phillip Rivers, but he was outshone by Drew Brees, who guided the Saints to what turned out to be an unassailable lead. Charger LaDanian Tomlinson showed just how good a player he is, it was just a shame that on the Saints side, Reggie Bush was missing, having picked up an injury last week.

However, I often found myself bemused by the long pauses throughout the game, particularly in the first half. Obviously having watched football before I knew that was the case, but at times, it's hard to imagine how any new fans could get in to the game at such a slow pace. It wasn't helped either by a number of penalties - the referees were throwing in yellow flags (to signify a penalty) left, right and centre.

On the face of it, American Football is a complex game. Who does what, what role does that guy play, why does only the quarterback pass the ball etc etc. But if you give it a little time, you understand that really it's not that hard, unless of course you get in to the intricacies of everything.

I don't confess to be an NFL nut, in fact I'm far from it, I learnt plenty from last night's game. I had quite a few people text me asking what the hell was going on, and it's that sort of thing that probably puts off potential new fans. The NFL has perhaps struggled to attract new fans because it is so complex. The likelihood is that most people at Wembley last night were UK-based NFL fans, who follow the game on television and online.

There have now been calls for a London NFL team. Whether that would be a success is open to mass debate. Will the novelty of the NFL wear off in a few years? Will a London team attract as many fans as a regular NFL game? There were fans of every NFL club there last night, most of whom were neutral. Could a London side attract those fans for 8, maybe even 9, regular season home games.

And following the success of the last two years, other cities want to get involved. The Scottish Rugby Union is believed to be interested at bringing a game to Murrayfield, whilst Cardiff's Millennium Stadium has also been mooted as a possible venue.

Despite my gripes with the length of the game, and the amount of time spent waiting for something to happen, there's a beauty to the NFL that I just can't put my finger on. There's something about it that creates a buzz. Whether it was the fact that every other person in the stadium was wearing a different NFL shirt, or whether it was the fact that the big show had come to London, I don't know.

One things for sure though, I'll be there next year.

There's a Rugby League World Cup don't you know

How many people are aware that the Rugby League World Cup is just two days away?

Not many. Rugby League continues to face an uphill struggle to emerge from the shadow of the other rugby code, perhaps not in the quality of their product, but in the exposure it receives.

Five years ago, England's Rugby Union side lifted the Rugby (sic) World Cup after Jonny Wilkinson's dramatic extra time drop goal sealed a win over the hosts, Australia. This ultimately led to the knighthood of coach Clive Woodward.

And last year, Wilkinson and co captured the hearts of the nation once again with a run that took them to the 2007 final, which ended in defeat to hot favourites South Africa.

But if Tony Smith's rugby league boys did the same thing, would the country sit up and take notice? Sadly, probably not. Although rugby league itself is hardly doing anything to detract the doubters.

Paul Fletcher's blog on the BBC questions the point of the World Cup, pointing out the various issues that are overshadowing the competition - eligibility for multiple countries, the bizarre format, the presence of Australians in almost every squad Down Under.

As a man from the rugby league heartland of Warrington, it pains me to admit that the fact is, countries such as Ireland, Scotland, Samoa and Tonga have to turn to players not necessarily born in their country to compete. But to me, that effects the credibility of the competition. Would an Irish fan be more excited to see Ronan O'Gara or Brian O'Driscoll cross the line for an unlikely semi final triumph over England in rugby union, or see someone like English-born Scott Grix do the same in rugby league.

Rugby league is only played professionally in five countries - Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Wales, with the only Welsh professional team being the heavily "Australianised" Celtic Crusaders. So realistically, is there any scope for a 10 team World Cup? Particularly when the winners are going to come from the big three - England, Australia and New Zealand. I'll eat my hat if one of those three aren't lifting the trophy come November 22.

Andy Wilson of the Guardian says we should enjoy the rugby league world cup for what it is, but even as a die-hard league fan, it's hard not to be cynical. League is making slow, if steady, progress in development terms, but is it trying to run before it can walk? Is it paying the price for failing to capitalise on the early success of the competition?

It's worth noting that the rugby league world cup was around some two decades plus before its rugby union counterpart. But whereas the union leaders have been celebrating its success, the league competition remains overshadowed by the embarrassing turn up of 2000, the last time the RLWC was held.

The 2008 World Cup will be worth watching, and it will undoubtedly produce some great moments. But just how many people will be aware of these moments is a question that remains to be answered.