i really used to like eto'o. i remember when cameroon came out with the sleeveless jerseys, lauren, the old song, i thought they were badass.
now, i saw the article, 5 men who have to carry their teams on their backs. ronaldo, steven pineear, and i kind of smirked at drogba's name mentioned, but at least those 3 were somewhat justified. but Eto'o? that made me laugh out loud. i guess he used to be pretty good at barca, but hell, i'd be pretty good with that front line too. but he was atrocious for cameroon in the cup of nations. he isn't carrying that team anywhere fast. and his reaction to this mila's comments show how sensitive a character he is, and why else would he be so defensive unless it were true? remember when cameroon didnt qualify for last world cup? because eto'o was afraid to take the penalty? so sorry sammy, you should be the one keeping your mouth shut and enjoy whatever career you've got left over there as a european champion before you find yourself in the MLS w/ titi and becks.
watch out for chile.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
world cup run up
So you say you want to play Germany huh?
You want to taste the sweet nectar of Ballack's tears as he watches helplessly from the sideline as we make amends for that 2002 handball?
well then, you might want to hope to god for a 0-0 algeria slovenia scoreline. nothing could help us advance out of our group more.
lets face it, england are going to boss us, they might have some trouble with algeria, but i see them taking all 9 points quite easily, assuming they dont take their foot off the gas in their last game against the slovenians.
so it doesnt really matter who makes the squad. we all know what our lineup is going to look like with maybe the exception of edu/ricardo clark. im not so sure about leaving poor jozy up there on his own though. if we're going to play counterattack (cough cough) then we need a charlie davies to go run some stuff down. nobody we have is faster than glen johnson out there, so 4-5-1 kind of makes sense, but not with jozy, who isn't the best at holding up the ball.
usa czech republic kicks off at 2am local time, so i had to settle for england mexico tonight.
i really dont see how we beat england. its actually terrible luck that we have to play them first. they look damn good. and so did arjen robben, and sneijder gosh, they've got some players. but dont jump on the dutch bandwagon just yet, i've got a funny feeling about them...
oh, and in case you need any reminding...
You want to taste the sweet nectar of Ballack's tears as he watches helplessly from the sideline as we make amends for that 2002 handball?
well then, you might want to hope to god for a 0-0 algeria slovenia scoreline. nothing could help us advance out of our group more.
lets face it, england are going to boss us, they might have some trouble with algeria, but i see them taking all 9 points quite easily, assuming they dont take their foot off the gas in their last game against the slovenians.
so it doesnt really matter who makes the squad. we all know what our lineup is going to look like with maybe the exception of edu/ricardo clark. im not so sure about leaving poor jozy up there on his own though. if we're going to play counterattack (cough cough) then we need a charlie davies to go run some stuff down. nobody we have is faster than glen johnson out there, so 4-5-1 kind of makes sense, but not with jozy, who isn't the best at holding up the ball.
usa czech republic kicks off at 2am local time, so i had to settle for england mexico tonight.
i really dont see how we beat england. its actually terrible luck that we have to play them first. they look damn good. and so did arjen robben, and sneijder gosh, they've got some players. but dont jump on the dutch bandwagon just yet, i've got a funny feeling about them...
oh, and in case you need any reminding...
Sunday, May 16, 2010
head to toe
this guy's pretty awesome, it sounds like the indians and o's have shared pretty similar starts to the season, wait until this guy starts going on peralta..
Friday, May 14, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
East meets West
Has there been a more overlooked, underappreciated man in baseball in the past decade than Ichiro? Well, probably, but lets just assume its him for the moment. He's probably one of the happier victims of that East Coast Bias, neatly tucked away in his little northwest cubby of Safeco field with the fairly toothless Mariners. And you can't help but get the feeling that he likes it that way. But if you enjoy baseball, or any sport for that matter, you can't help but appreciate the man for all that he brings to the field. What I'm sure is more commonplace in Japan, Ichiro has countless nuances and a completely different personality than any other major American star I can recollect. More insights into this and others in this interview here.
I think because Ichiro was the first of his kind, we kind of assumed that all Japanese players would be like him. But there may not be a more truly unique player in the league. Let's savor him while he's still around.
And I'll never forget that Terrance Long throw. Back when the A's were at the height of their Moneyball run.
I think because Ichiro was the first of his kind, we kind of assumed that all Japanese players would be like him. But there may not be a more truly unique player in the league. Let's savor him while he's still around.
And I'll never forget that Terrance Long throw. Back when the A's were at the height of their Moneyball run.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Bear Hug Heard Round Mecholoupy
I'm posting the match report I wrote for yesterday's league game. i wouldn't normally put this here, but this wasn't just any old match, enjoy.
It would be a memorable Saturday morning mostly for the wrong reasons on match day 20 in the PFL. Partisan would have remembered their 3-2 loss at the hands of Bohemians earlier this season, so we knew not to take these wily elder statesmen lightly. There were some notable absentees from the decorated veterans. The fabled “grey fox”, who singlehandedly beat partisan with his hat trick back in the fall was traded in for a humpty-dumpty version of a striker (more on him later), and a certain one armed right back also didn’t make the trip out east.
Partisan were looking sharp early, creating a couple of chances through some nice passing through the middle. Pj, Shaz, Dave and myself all had decent shooting opportunities, but none of us could make it count. It was an encouraging start and once Partisan were able to slow themselves down and play disciplined, it would only be a matter of time before the breakthrough would come. Radek and the rest of the defense didn’t have much to do in the first half, and Bohemians weren’t giving Partisan much trouble at all with the center back pairing of Garrett and Theo looking especially comfortable. There was one nice diagonal ball played through which gave humpty half a chance to lob the keeper, but Radek made himself big and saved well and humpty went down in a heap as if he’d been knifed by Radek’s flailing hand.
The opening goal finally came around 30 minutes with Dave sending a nice through ball for Dammy who showed his teammates how to finish, rifling his low left footed shot just inside the far post from a tough angle. 1-0 Partisan.
Just before half time the entire complexion of the game was changed. After the referee had given a few yellow cards for some fairly innocuous looking fouls, Partisan were shocked to find themselves on the right end of a controversial decision. PJ and their big capitan of a centerback were both going for a ball inside the Bohemians’ penalty area, when PJ got there first and was shoved off the ball illegally so deemed the referee. Despite a certain number 8’s best effort to put Garrett off by moving the ball after he had already placed it, (stay classy praha) old man parker coolly dispatched the penalty into the top left hand corner leaving the magenta-flowered clad keeper no chance, (his shirt was never going to escape this match report) 2-0 halftime.
The second half started similar to the first, and just 5 minutes in partisan had their third. After taking countless goal kicks short, their center back decided to go for the long one and kind of scuffed a low line drive, which Dammy headed straight to Shaz who was left unmarked right at the top of the box. He had more than enough time to pick his spot and deposit his shot safely into the bottom left-hand corner, the third in a trio of excellent finishes on the day. Unfortunately there wouldn’t be any more finishing or anything for that matter, because what would come next would be a footballing or should I say sporting first for everyone in attendance.
After a fairly routine contest between Shaz and their center back trying to see the ball out for a corner, the ball went out for a goal kick. There were some protests perhaps as to whether Shaz committed a foul, should have been booked, or what have you. Humpty who was now the active linesman had seen enough, and threw in the proverbial towel for his team, by flinging his linesman’s flag in the general direction of the referee. On humpty’s nonchalant stroll back to the bench he uttered a no-no word, to which the ref told him to hit the showers, showed him a red card. Humpty didn’t take very kindly to that. Before we knew it, the supposed former Olympic bronze medalist weightlifter champion (maybe special Olympics because Wikipedia disagrees) had cling-jerked the poor ref into a bear hug and hoisted him high over his head and was calculating his next move. When he first picked him up, it almost seemed comical, but the look on the ref’s face told a different story as he went limp as a fish and was making a concerted effort to not fight back presumably as he’d been trained to do in such circumstances. Anyway, much to Christos’ disappointment, the ref wasn’t suplexed, but rather placed carefully into the undersized waste bin, and sort of shoved into the netting there.
Understandably, the match was immediately abandoned with little protest, especially from the bohemians players who seemed relatively amused by the entire episode.
This was a new low, even for this sorry excuse of a league. Things like this make me glad that I grew up with proper coaches and role models who taught me how to play the game the right way. Where the Prague league can go from here is anyone’s guess.
Special mention to Endre who went above and beyond the call of duty and escorted/drove the ref back to his home where could only try to get on with his day.
It would be a memorable Saturday morning mostly for the wrong reasons on match day 20 in the PFL. Partisan would have remembered their 3-2 loss at the hands of Bohemians earlier this season, so we knew not to take these wily elder statesmen lightly. There were some notable absentees from the decorated veterans. The fabled “grey fox”, who singlehandedly beat partisan with his hat trick back in the fall was traded in for a humpty-dumpty version of a striker (more on him later), and a certain one armed right back also didn’t make the trip out east.
Partisan were looking sharp early, creating a couple of chances through some nice passing through the middle. Pj, Shaz, Dave and myself all had decent shooting opportunities, but none of us could make it count. It was an encouraging start and once Partisan were able to slow themselves down and play disciplined, it would only be a matter of time before the breakthrough would come. Radek and the rest of the defense didn’t have much to do in the first half, and Bohemians weren’t giving Partisan much trouble at all with the center back pairing of Garrett and Theo looking especially comfortable. There was one nice diagonal ball played through which gave humpty half a chance to lob the keeper, but Radek made himself big and saved well and humpty went down in a heap as if he’d been knifed by Radek’s flailing hand.
The opening goal finally came around 30 minutes with Dave sending a nice through ball for Dammy who showed his teammates how to finish, rifling his low left footed shot just inside the far post from a tough angle. 1-0 Partisan.
Just before half time the entire complexion of the game was changed. After the referee had given a few yellow cards for some fairly innocuous looking fouls, Partisan were shocked to find themselves on the right end of a controversial decision. PJ and their big capitan of a centerback were both going for a ball inside the Bohemians’ penalty area, when PJ got there first and was shoved off the ball illegally so deemed the referee. Despite a certain number 8’s best effort to put Garrett off by moving the ball after he had already placed it, (stay classy praha) old man parker coolly dispatched the penalty into the top left hand corner leaving the magenta-flowered clad keeper no chance, (his shirt was never going to escape this match report) 2-0 halftime.
The second half started similar to the first, and just 5 minutes in partisan had their third. After taking countless goal kicks short, their center back decided to go for the long one and kind of scuffed a low line drive, which Dammy headed straight to Shaz who was left unmarked right at the top of the box. He had more than enough time to pick his spot and deposit his shot safely into the bottom left-hand corner, the third in a trio of excellent finishes on the day. Unfortunately there wouldn’t be any more finishing or anything for that matter, because what would come next would be a footballing or should I say sporting first for everyone in attendance.
After a fairly routine contest between Shaz and their center back trying to see the ball out for a corner, the ball went out for a goal kick. There were some protests perhaps as to whether Shaz committed a foul, should have been booked, or what have you. Humpty who was now the active linesman had seen enough, and threw in the proverbial towel for his team, by flinging his linesman’s flag in the general direction of the referee. On humpty’s nonchalant stroll back to the bench he uttered a no-no word, to which the ref told him to hit the showers, showed him a red card. Humpty didn’t take very kindly to that. Before we knew it, the supposed former Olympic bronze medalist weightlifter champion (maybe special Olympics because Wikipedia disagrees) had cling-jerked the poor ref into a bear hug and hoisted him high over his head and was calculating his next move. When he first picked him up, it almost seemed comical, but the look on the ref’s face told a different story as he went limp as a fish and was making a concerted effort to not fight back presumably as he’d been trained to do in such circumstances. Anyway, much to Christos’ disappointment, the ref wasn’t suplexed, but rather placed carefully into the undersized waste bin, and sort of shoved into the netting there.
Understandably, the match was immediately abandoned with little protest, especially from the bohemians players who seemed relatively amused by the entire episode.
This was a new low, even for this sorry excuse of a league. Things like this make me glad that I grew up with proper coaches and role models who taught me how to play the game the right way. Where the Prague league can go from here is anyone’s guess.
Special mention to Endre who went above and beyond the call of duty and escorted/drove the ref back to his home where could only try to get on with his day.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
i lold at these eric byrnes .gifs
lets not forget he was an oriole for an unbearable stretch of what? 2 months? And then he somehow had a nice year for the d-backs. after this debacle of a weekend the M's are turning him loose. stay the hell in the NL byrnsie.
buster olney said he left the clubhouse on his beach cruiser bike after he was released. pshycho
and try watching him lay down a suicide squeeze before they take it off youtube, point shaving anyone?
buster olney said he left the clubhouse on his beach cruiser bike after he was released. pshycho
and try watching him lay down a suicide squeeze before they take it off youtube, point shaving anyone?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)