By Tim Stannard

2012 leaked recording causes more uncomfortable conversations for the Real Madrid president

Normally the high brow, issues-driven Sports Burst would not sully itself with these kind of sensationalist stories, not once but two times in a row... but it's fairly slow out there today. 

So, The Florentino Tapes is back for Day 2. This time we are spinning forward in time to hear the gripes and groans from the Real Madrid president. Tuesday saw the preoccupation of Perez back in 2006 which was the apparent fraudulent existence of Iker Casillas and Raul - both of whom are currently part of today's Real Madrid setup. Such insults were taken "out of context" explained the Real Madrid president. 

A new reported audio recording from 2012 has Florentino going after a really big cheese - Cristiano Ronaldo. At the time of the diatribe, CR7 had been at Real Madrid for three years - long enough apparently for the Real Madrid head honcho to describe Ronaldo as "an idiot, a sick man. You think this guy is normal but he’s not normal." So far we have not had any evidence to support this idiocy claim, but with a bit of luck that could be coming in Day 3 of the Florentino Tapes. 

Caribbean paradise of Qatar makes Gold Cup debut 

The Caribbean super power of Qatar made its debut in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Tuesday night. Well, to be honest, the country is not lying hidden somewhere of the north coast of South America but is a 'guest' in the Gold Cup. 

Qatar picked up a 3-3 draw against Panama and were the guests to go on and win the Gold Cup, then that would see the 2022 World Cup hosts being the champions of two regions at the same time, having won the AFC Asian Cup in 2019. 

Mexico are in action on Wednesday night with supporters in the stands in Dallas, Texas. There was a rumor to the contrary after anti-gay chants were heard from the Mexico supporters in Sunday's 0-0 against Trinidad and Tobago. Instead, Powers That Be have issued stern statements in an attempt to quell the unpleasantness. "CONCACAF will continue to operate its What's Wrong Is Wrong anti-discrimination campaign." said the region's governing body of soccer. 

Barcelona back in action in Argentina 

Wednesday sees a second night of top-class international soccer on beIN SPORTS with more Copa Libertadores action. The competition is at the Last 16, first-leg stages. Tuesday night saw Argentina v Brazil ties between Boca Juniors and Atletico Mineiro and Sao Paulo and Racing Club ending up as stalemates with two draws. 

Barcelona lead the way on Wednesday on beIN SPORTS  - Barcelona of Ecuador - with a clash against Velez Sarsfield at 6:05PM ET / 3:05PM PT. That is followed by a heavyweight clash between Defensa y Justicia against Flamengo. Catch all the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana matches across the beIN SPORTS network. 

Team USA back on path to ultimate basketball glory 

Team USA's destiny to win the men's basketball Olympics title is back on track with glory all but confirmed. A 108-80 win over Argentina on Tuesday night put an end to back-to-back defeats against Nigeria and Australia. 

Head coach, Gregg Popovich, said it was all down to stamina and conditioning with a lot of the players returning from lengthy breaks. Team USA returns on Friday with a rematch against Australia.