First of all, if you are reading this and you didn't get an email about football pickem, let me know, its because I dont have your email address...
Draws are always fun. There are limitless possiblities and almost completely unpredictable.
Two groups are much softer than the rest to me, and it really just has to do with the "two seeds" or teams from the second pot in those groups. Sporting Lisbon and Werder Bremen. I'd play either of those two before I played Fiorentina or Atletico (four seeds) any day of the week. The two relatively lucky of the bigger teams were Barca and Inter. Basel Exposition? Shaktar Donetsk? They sound primed for a 4-1 thumping. Sporting and Barca cruise.
Inter may need their luck if they play anything like they did last year in CL. But you can't ask for a much easier group. Bremen, Panathinakos, and some Cyprian team starring Ephrim and Co. At least Greece has a representative, more than the Czechs can say.
And how about the Ukranians and Romanians, each sending 2 teams, not to mention the Belorussian team. The soviet bloc is well represented.
There are some tricky groups but two stand out to me. That being Liverpool's and Lyon's. If Real Madrid are the class that they think they are, then they shouldn't have any problems with either Juventus or a depleted Zenit. But these two groups I speak of are dictated by the aforementioned four seeds. All four teams, Lyon, Bayern, Steaua, and Fiorentina are tough. But Liverpool, Marseille, PSV, and Atletico...yikes.
Just quickly I'll predict.
Chelsea&Roma
Inter&Bremen
Barca&Sporting
Liverpool&PSV
Man U&Celtic
Bayern&Lyon
Arsenal&Fenerbeche
Real Madrid&Juve all to advance
Everyone's favorite AL east matchup tonight, O's Rays. And conveniently enough the rays need just one more win to ensure they have their first winning season ever.
Nothing like playing the spoiler, right Ramon?
And lastly all you crystal castles fans out there, we all remember the Black Panther video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNiL-w4fwS4
but here's my fav song's fan retort, Air War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDbPmqKoSko&watch_response
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
glass half empty
No posts in a while. I've been kind of busy with this whole apartment search. What a hassle. All the apts are the same anyway. No wonder they just used to divie them all out accordingly. (If that's how communism worked).
But anyway, with a mere four or so days left in the transfer market there may still be a flurry of late action. But none that would concern me more than the acquisition of another player by the Arsenal, which almost HAS to be a strong central midfield player. Someone to plug the gaping leak that Flamini has left. But Pavluychenko, Arshavin, Robinho, Berbatov, all big names, still possibly on the move.
But when Wenger said he was going to add one more player, I don't think anyone thought he was referring to Mikael Silvestre, (which isn't a bad signing at all). And its also a nice loan out of Senderos to Milan. But surely Wenger cannot be done? Can he? Its true Arsenal tends to bring out the best in the opposition, but Fulham!? (yes, Fulham) just plain dominated the gunners. Clearly the central midfield pairing of Denilson and Eboue isn't going to get it done. I'd like to see Eboue on a loan out somewhere...maybe to the Richmond Kickers.
But anyway, with a mere four or so days left in the transfer market there may still be a flurry of late action. But none that would concern me more than the acquisition of another player by the Arsenal, which almost HAS to be a strong central midfield player. Someone to plug the gaping leak that Flamini has left. But Pavluychenko, Arshavin, Robinho, Berbatov, all big names, still possibly on the move.
But when Wenger said he was going to add one more player, I don't think anyone thought he was referring to Mikael Silvestre, (which isn't a bad signing at all). And its also a nice loan out of Senderos to Milan. But surely Wenger cannot be done? Can he? Its true Arsenal tends to bring out the best in the opposition, but Fulham!? (yes, Fulham) just plain dominated the gunners. Clearly the central midfield pairing of Denilson and Eboue isn't going to get it done. I'd like to see Eboue on a loan out somewhere...maybe to the Richmond Kickers.
Friday, August 22, 2008
olympic wind down
after a night of heavy drinking I was hoping for something relatively soothing on my 2 olympic channels. It didn't look good with the first showing that damn equestrian, (and people say golf is hard to watch) but things picked up with France vs. Croatia in the handball semis. Sure, we've all seen handball before, but not like this...
Two countries going all out, beating the crap out of each other, bloody noses, closelines, and alley oops were just a few of the happenings in this match. France pulled off the relative upset with Croatia being the 04 medalists, but the French were the better team.
I think boxing just edges out its competitors, (judo, shooting, whitewater rafting) for most irrelevant and boring. I swear there's boxing everday all day. But one thing i haven't seen is a baseball game. Oh well, I guess I've seen plenty of those.
Go USA volleyball. This site is sweet too for the olympics. http://www.eurovisionsports.tv/olympics/
Two countries going all out, beating the crap out of each other, bloody noses, closelines, and alley oops were just a few of the happenings in this match. France pulled off the relative upset with Croatia being the 04 medalists, but the French were the better team.
I think boxing just edges out its competitors, (judo, shooting, whitewater rafting) for most irrelevant and boring. I swear there's boxing everday all day. But one thing i haven't seen is a baseball game. Oh well, I guess I've seen plenty of those.
Go USA volleyball. This site is sweet too for the olympics. http://www.eurovisionsports.tv/olympics/
Thursday, August 21, 2008
nice to see guatemala's keeping it classy
I'm assuming some of yall out there watched this match. I only can find a replay of the goal. While the guy is tempting Onyewu into pushing him and conning the ref into giving a foul, they forgot to mark old Charlie Blackmouth and he buries it. Classic US goal. But did you see the Guat try and kick him after he scored...nice. And I read in the match report what Howard had to say about Ruiz, nice squad they've got down there.
Quite a chokejob for our 4x100 teams. Shouldn't the exchange be the top priority? Especially when you are ahead by like 2 seconds? In a qualifying heat? Tyson Gay has had a pretty rough Olympics. That's ok, there's always 2012..ugh.
By the way, its amazing to me how all these world records are always broken at the olympics. It makes me wonder. Are they just not running their hardest the rest of the time? Is it the adrenaline? Or is the modern athlete just getting stronger and faster? Perhaps a combination of all 3...
spell check doesn't work in prague for some reason.
Quite a chokejob for our 4x100 teams. Shouldn't the exchange be the top priority? Especially when you are ahead by like 2 seconds? In a qualifying heat? Tyson Gay has had a pretty rough Olympics. That's ok, there's always 2012..ugh.
By the way, its amazing to me how all these world records are always broken at the olympics. It makes me wonder. Are they just not running their hardest the rest of the time? Is it the adrenaline? Or is the modern athlete just getting stronger and faster? Perhaps a combination of all 3...
spell check doesn't work in prague for some reason.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
only O's fan in prague?
So the Orioles will welcome their 50 millionth fan through the turnstiles of Camden Yards, and it will go down in history, (for the moment) as the stadium to reach this milestone the fastest. Incidently, this is likely to happen during one of the upcoming two series which conviently happen to be against the Red Sox and Yankees. Most legitimate O's fans hope that their worst fears aren't realized and a Yankee & or Red Sox fan claims the honor. This is unlikely to happen, as the PR people say that there will be some discretion involved as to who they give the prize package to for this reason exactly. So Ted, if you don't have anything better to do, hop on old 95, pull out the old Jimmy Key jersey and hope for the best.
I almost want them to give it to some NY guido jackass. It would only be fitting to describe what has transpired at the Yard for the past five sesaons or so with an O's fan playing second fiddle in their own city. The Yard is transformed into Fenway Jr when the Sox come to town, and I have to say, they've become far worse than Yankee fans. Its like they are still on that high after winning in 04, they need to calm down and realize that their club has money, a good GM, and that they are going to have some success. None the less, Red Sox fans omnipresence does affect the Orioles, and dare I say it, the outcome of the game. It might not seem like it, but I am absolutely positive that the O's are a little tenative when its New York or Boston. The crowd just causes your Freddy Bynums, Alex Cintrons, and Danys Baez (oh you forgot about him) to tighten up a bit. The entire affair is just awkward, I almost sense that most of the guys would rather be playing in the Bronx or Boston, where the crowd is supposed to be against you. It makes a difference, you can tell by the way that the guys play.
Melvin's series in Detroit was incredible. I'll take our 1-4 hitters over anyone's. Yeah, I said it, ANYONE'S. But Guthrie is my MVP. Cintron wins LVP, just edging out Jamie Walker. Well, maybe we should give them a little more time to settle it.
How fast is Usain Bolt? He's just jogging out there. And who has a better flag than Estonia? I'm sure there some good ones, but I just like those badass colors.
I'd heard about Panda Bear's "Person Pitch" but never listened until now. A little trippy but well worth while.
I almost want them to give it to some NY guido jackass. It would only be fitting to describe what has transpired at the Yard for the past five sesaons or so with an O's fan playing second fiddle in their own city. The Yard is transformed into Fenway Jr when the Sox come to town, and I have to say, they've become far worse than Yankee fans. Its like they are still on that high after winning in 04, they need to calm down and realize that their club has money, a good GM, and that they are going to have some success. None the less, Red Sox fans omnipresence does affect the Orioles, and dare I say it, the outcome of the game. It might not seem like it, but I am absolutely positive that the O's are a little tenative when its New York or Boston. The crowd just causes your Freddy Bynums, Alex Cintrons, and Danys Baez (oh you forgot about him) to tighten up a bit. The entire affair is just awkward, I almost sense that most of the guys would rather be playing in the Bronx or Boston, where the crowd is supposed to be against you. It makes a difference, you can tell by the way that the guys play.
Melvin's series in Detroit was incredible. I'll take our 1-4 hitters over anyone's. Yeah, I said it, ANYONE'S. But Guthrie is my MVP. Cintron wins LVP, just edging out Jamie Walker. Well, maybe we should give them a little more time to settle it.
How fast is Usain Bolt? He's just jogging out there. And who has a better flag than Estonia? I'm sure there some good ones, but I just like those badass colors.
I'd heard about Panda Bear's "Person Pitch" but never listened until now. A little trippy but well worth while.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Arsenal West Brom Wrap
First of all, I found this site for highlights, hopefully its like this all season.
http://blog.soccerslave.com/
It wasn't the most convincing performance, but Arsenal got their season off on the right foot (of Samir Nasri) with a 1-0 win at home to West Brom. I'll just take a moment to list the Arsenal Players in the order of their performance.
Nasri- Sometimes the goalscorer is just random or fortunate, but not this one. Nasri was the best player on the field and man of the match in my opinion. People want to compare him to Hleb, but I don't see it. He's more like somewhere in between Fabregas and Rosicky. A midfield with those three is a scary thought, only who is going to get them the ball?
Clichy- He continues to amaze with those barnstorming runs he makes from his own penalty area all the way to the opposing team's. There's not another left back in the world like him.
Djourou- Great performance from Johan, that will surely boost his confidence even more, being his second good game in a row. Him and Phillipe will be fighting it out now for 3rd choice center back.
Sagna- You can tell a lot about a team from its full backs. Sagna continues to provide good service and do a decent job in getting back when Arsenal are caught out upfield.
Almunia- He had one save to make and he made it.
Denilson- Pretty much non-influential, but for the second straight game he's provided the telling pass for the assist of the all important goal. He has good instincts in the area, something that could come in handy this year.
Gallas- This "new" Gallas still looks as volataile as ever, but you can't criticize as long as he performs. He seems to enjoy yelling at anyone who will listen whenever he gets the chance.
Eboue- I guess that was a decent game for him, although he made every Arsenal fan chuckle on four occasions when he "shot." Maybe he's better in the middle, but he still shoudln't be playing when we're at full strength.
Bendtner- Undeniable skill, but man is he selfish. I think he's much more effective off the bench, and he doesn't really fit the Arsenal mould, but he is always an aerial threat, something Arsenal lack. Way too flashy when the ball is on the ground too, he has a long way to go.
Adebayor- I said I wouldn't make any pre-season predictions but I did make one to myself. Emmanuel Adebayor will be flagged for offside more than any other player in the Prem this season, and not the good kind of offside.
Walcott- Much like Adebayor, he is far too obvious with the ball at times. I have a bit more faith in him now, but its clear he still suffers from rushes of blood to the head and he still is too wreckless.
Van Persie had a small injury, I guess that is why he did not start, the same is true for Toure. Both of them need to stay on the pitch for Arsenal to be themselves, that is no secret. Without Van Persie, Arsenal somehow have no one that can score off a free kick.
The addition of Nasri is a huge bonus. But it will take a lot to convince me that it makes up for the loss of Flamini. Arsenal are soft and vulnerable in the middle of the field, as Twente exposed. But that isn't that huge of a concern for me, at least at the moment. Who knows what Song or Diaby will be able to bring once they get back. But Arsenal should still be able to pass their way around smaller sides like West Brom, its only once we run into the big boys that we'll have problems. Stay tuned.
http://blog.soccerslave.com/
It wasn't the most convincing performance, but Arsenal got their season off on the right foot (of Samir Nasri) with a 1-0 win at home to West Brom. I'll just take a moment to list the Arsenal Players in the order of their performance.
Nasri- Sometimes the goalscorer is just random or fortunate, but not this one. Nasri was the best player on the field and man of the match in my opinion. People want to compare him to Hleb, but I don't see it. He's more like somewhere in between Fabregas and Rosicky. A midfield with those three is a scary thought, only who is going to get them the ball?
Clichy- He continues to amaze with those barnstorming runs he makes from his own penalty area all the way to the opposing team's. There's not another left back in the world like him.
Djourou- Great performance from Johan, that will surely boost his confidence even more, being his second good game in a row. Him and Phillipe will be fighting it out now for 3rd choice center back.
Sagna- You can tell a lot about a team from its full backs. Sagna continues to provide good service and do a decent job in getting back when Arsenal are caught out upfield.
Almunia- He had one save to make and he made it.
Denilson- Pretty much non-influential, but for the second straight game he's provided the telling pass for the assist of the all important goal. He has good instincts in the area, something that could come in handy this year.
Gallas- This "new" Gallas still looks as volataile as ever, but you can't criticize as long as he performs. He seems to enjoy yelling at anyone who will listen whenever he gets the chance.
Eboue- I guess that was a decent game for him, although he made every Arsenal fan chuckle on four occasions when he "shot." Maybe he's better in the middle, but he still shoudln't be playing when we're at full strength.
Bendtner- Undeniable skill, but man is he selfish. I think he's much more effective off the bench, and he doesn't really fit the Arsenal mould, but he is always an aerial threat, something Arsenal lack. Way too flashy when the ball is on the ground too, he has a long way to go.
Adebayor- I said I wouldn't make any pre-season predictions but I did make one to myself. Emmanuel Adebayor will be flagged for offside more than any other player in the Prem this season, and not the good kind of offside.
Walcott- Much like Adebayor, he is far too obvious with the ball at times. I have a bit more faith in him now, but its clear he still suffers from rushes of blood to the head and he still is too wreckless.
Van Persie had a small injury, I guess that is why he did not start, the same is true for Toure. Both of them need to stay on the pitch for Arsenal to be themselves, that is no secret. Without Van Persie, Arsenal somehow have no one that can score off a free kick.
The addition of Nasri is a huge bonus. But it will take a lot to convince me that it makes up for the loss of Flamini. Arsenal are soft and vulnerable in the middle of the field, as Twente exposed. But that isn't that huge of a concern for me, at least at the moment. Who knows what Song or Diaby will be able to bring once they get back. But Arsenal should still be able to pass their way around smaller sides like West Brom, its only once we run into the big boys that we'll have problems. Stay tuned.
Friday, August 15, 2008
nobody likes a whiner
Is it just me or is there a lot of whining going on at these Olympics? I won't even get into the whole gymnast thing. But I would think that it shouldn't be any easier for twelve year olds to beat sixteen year olds in much of anything. So they are less developed...fine. All I know is that I would be pissed if a twelve year old beat me when I was sixteen in a spelling bee, but I guess that happens too.
But the real whiner today is James Blake. First of all I really like Blake, much more than Roddick, (for whatever that's worth). And it was a hell of a match he lost today to the Chilean dark horse that's become a prominent figure on the ATP in Fernando Gonzales. Blake had three match points as he got up 0-40 in a Gonzo serving game, and couldn't convert. He then heroically saved three match points, down 40-0, but couldn't pull out the duece game, and served out the third set to win 11-9 I think.
Anyway, the first point in the game, at 8-7, right after Blake failed to convert on those match points ther was a somewhat dubois incident. Blake hit a passing shot that clearly knicked off Gonzo, but it was missed. Blake then said after the game how Gonzo should have called it on himself. Really? Do you really expect a Chilean tennis player to do such a thing? I think 80% of the tour does the same thing and pleads ignorance til the day they die.
Too bad though, because it was otherwise a great match. I can only assume Nadal Djokovic was just as good, but I missed that one. They were too busy showing the replay of the Czech women destroy new zeland in basketball. I really wanted to get in there and help out the Kiwis, they were hapless. But besides women's basketball, I don't think theres any other sport that I could compete with these girls in. The lightest weight lifter...? maybe?
But the real whiner today is James Blake. First of all I really like Blake, much more than Roddick, (for whatever that's worth). And it was a hell of a match he lost today to the Chilean dark horse that's become a prominent figure on the ATP in Fernando Gonzales. Blake had three match points as he got up 0-40 in a Gonzo serving game, and couldn't convert. He then heroically saved three match points, down 40-0, but couldn't pull out the duece game, and served out the third set to win 11-9 I think.
Anyway, the first point in the game, at 8-7, right after Blake failed to convert on those match points ther was a somewhat dubois incident. Blake hit a passing shot that clearly knicked off Gonzo, but it was missed. Blake then said after the game how Gonzo should have called it on himself. Really? Do you really expect a Chilean tennis player to do such a thing? I think 80% of the tour does the same thing and pleads ignorance til the day they die.
Too bad though, because it was otherwise a great match. I can only assume Nadal Djokovic was just as good, but I missed that one. They were too busy showing the replay of the Czech women destroy new zeland in basketball. I really wanted to get in there and help out the Kiwis, they were hapless. But besides women's basketball, I don't think theres any other sport that I could compete with these girls in. The lightest weight lifter...? maybe?
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