fragile frankie

its a good thing we don't play in asia/africa/europe, or else we wouldn't be able to coast through any joke of a hexagonal without playing anywhere near our best. the performance against el salvador was embarassing. is that really the best back 4 we have to choose from. I'm gradually going from not minding bob bradley, to him kind of getting on my nerves.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4020878

what!?

premiership not everything its cracked up to be

the czech republic, for whatever reason, loves to televise the premiership. i think in the entire time i've been here, there's only been a handful of spanish games, a bit of the french league, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen an Italian one televised. Sure the prem is the biggest market, and it has the biggest names. But lets talk about the quality of the football for a second. You've got your big 4, aside from Barcelona, I'll take any of those 4 clubs with anyone else in the world, no questions asked. But I think the premiership is as top-heavy as ever, evidenced by the middle of the table.

I don't mind the Villas and Evertons, not the flashiest, but really solid sides. And Man City and Spurs might not be the most consistent, but they are attractive enough, and they can compete in Europe which has to be worth something. But its the Fulhams, Wigans, Hull Cities, and Boltons who are enjoying relative success in the league this year that I can live without. I'm sorry, but those sides are shit.

A spanish mid-table game in hand is worth two blackburn boltons in the bush I say.

poorly officiated excitement.

Is it just me? Or has anyone else noticed how referees in this year's NCAA's are a little too fired up. They seem like they are so eager to be a part of the game and make emphatic, game-changing calls, that they want to really blow the whistle as much as possible. I don't have a problem with calling a foul, it needs to be done, but is there anything more disenchanting then the ref waiting that extra second to give an overemphatic hand signal to reinforce the fact that the call he is making is all the more significant? He must be thinking to himself, "yeah, this one's gonna be a game changer, so that's why i'm really gonna thrust forward my hips and kick back my elbows for this blocking call. Which by the way is probably the most difficult call to make in sports, and silliest cop out for a defender who is cleary at a disadvantage only as a last resort to sneak in under an unsuspecting would be layuper.

Would it be giving Aaron Segel's life coach Mike Shushefsky (thats how it sounds isn't it?) too much credit to say that Duke basketball revolutionized the game with the likes of Trajan Langon and Shane Battier taking the charge with the best of them? Maybe the pros were doing it long before that, but the charge really has a special, more visible place in the college game.

Despite all those negatives being thrown out there, I have been able to watch quite a lot of the tournament due to our prolonged daylight savings time for the time being, and the minimized time difference. Although maryland-cal was probably the worst 1st round game i've ever seen. too bad i didn't watch wake forest/florida state. way to go acc, just go on and vindicate the big 10 getting all those teams, minnesota, wisconsin, i'd rather watch them play football, (i think).

Teams that have impressed me: Memphis, Villanova, UConn, W.Kentucky

teams i expected more from: Washington, UCLA, the ACC

My Current All-Awful team

any additions welcome.

And up top, its none other than good old Pippo Inzaghi- people actually own his jersey.

and alongside him donkeyface Didier Drogbaaa- biggest whiner/complainer/egotistic, etc. player in the world, but i will say, he impressed me in WC and he seems to transform when he pulls on the Ivory Coast colors into a real person...

Midfield
Emmanuel Eboue - maybe the worst player in all senses of the word to ever wear an arsenal shirt, and the inspiration for this post.

Darius Vassel- ENGLAND?! he may be over the hill. but how the hell is he taking penalties in world cups?


Defenders
Mexes- a trainwreck waiting to happen, club and country

Paulo Ferreira - "he's playing out of position." so? nobody's making you use him...

Fragile Frankie Hejduk- Just a reminder of all those very,very average americans who have represented us for so long...embarassing.

Keeper-
Victor Valdes- Not quite up to par with the rest of his team. Probably not even in the top half of La Liga.