i waited a year for this?

I only watched the last ten minutes of the game so these will all be highly intelligent thoughts:

1. Where you going on that first goal Hope? You had a defender right in front of you. Do you guys not talk to each other? The video isn't up on nbcolympics.com yet so I can't enjoy that first goal all over again. I understand coming out for the ball but I don't know Hope seemed a little too far out there. Not the way to win your teammates back after that big talk. Just saying.

2. In the final 10 mins or so I watched I am still a big fan of Natasha Kai. The girl kills it.

3. I don't really watch women's soccer. At all. It's a bit of a snooze fest for me because everything is so much weaker. Sad but true. In the little bit of play I saw today, though, there was a lot of ball movement and attempts at being creative with the ball. If women play the game like that, it would be interesting. Realizing your limits isn't about playing long balls. It's about keeping the ball on the ground, the headers I saw weren't really anything productive, and using your head (not for headers, though). Even at the end when A Rod tried something cute on the sideline and ended up getting the ball dispossessed, I wasn't even mad. She tried something different. Maybe this has been the norm in women's soccer under Pia, I don't know. But despite the 2-0 scoreline, I'd watch it again. Ladies you impressed me.

On the other hand, the men's team who didn't score a goal in their pre-tournament games, are taking on Japan in their Olympic debut tomorrow morning. That should be a thriller. ;) Remember, I'm rooting for this team to do a damn thing. Brian McBride said if they're outed in the first round he would be back for the Fire game on August 16th. While coach Dennis Hamlet said he wouldn't start him that first game back, he'll be there. And wouldn't you know, I just so happen to have off on that day and will be there as well! Granted, I'll also be at the last game of the season against Juan Carlos Osorio and the New York Red Bull, but McBride could be injured by then so I'd like to see him sooner rather than later. BTW, that NYRB game is going to be off the hook! Section 8 isn't going forget that Osorio up and left us for an uglier women in the middle of the night last offseason or that he wanted to take our beloved Conde with him so they'll be ripping him a new one. But I digress...

In basketball news I decided I won't be rooting for the USA team (man, get ready to ship me out of the country). They're just too showboaty and what not. Besides, I hate Michael Redd which, despite the fact that I bitched about Redd for entire 07-08 Milwaukee Bucks season and bashed his bobblehead etc., came as a surprise to The Boyfriend. While I was watching the Australia/USA game yesterday Fran Frachilla (who is my new idol) was asked if Redd was the best shooter in the world. I laughed out loud. Fran stated that Redd is a great shooter...when there isn't anyone on him. Great, when he doesn't have a defense in front of him, he's a great shooter. How often does that happen? But yeah, I don't really like any of the players on the USA team, maybe just Deron Williams and Kobe...oh and Tayshaun Prince but he's not getting any time which is just bogus. So I have two picks for this basketball tournament: Australia and Spain. First, Australia really held their own in two games against Argentina and the States WITHOUT my boy Andrew Bogut, who has a sprained ankle. While they ended up losing those games, they really put up a fight against teams stocked with NBA stars while theirs was out. And I'm picking Spain because they're really good and it's been a Spain kind of summer. Plus, I appreciate another country who values basketball as much as the States do.

Yep, I'm getting Olympic fever! Women's gymnastics start tomorrow! Out of all of the things I just discussed, that's my favorite part of the entire tournament. I totally wanted to be one of those bitches. Although, I'm glad I'm not because being 5'4" is short enough for my liking.

remember me?

I bring you pictures of Carlos Bocanegra's time with his new French team because that's all I can understand. And really, when it's Carlos Bocanegra do you need anything besides pictures? Not so much! These were taken over the past few days at training (duh). In the preview to the set of pictures they pointed out that the American flag was there for our boy Los. Don't you love it?

In actual game news, according to the info I translated using Babel Fish (does anyone have any other suggestions?) Carlos wasn't qualified (that's the word they used) to play in Rennais' last Intertoto Cup game, a penalty kick win against SC Tavriya Simferopol on the 26th. This win allowed Rennais to go on to the next round. I tried to find some info on their opponents but I didn't see any info. Maybe if I dedicated some time to it instead of throwing a post together while wearing a towel because I just got out of the shower, I might be able to deliver some info. Anyways, does anyone know how you're not qualified to play a game after playing 60 mins of the last one? Did he get a yellow card suspension that quick? If anyone would do it that fast it would be Carlos.

But that's all I have to offer you on the Carlos Bocanegra front. Rennais' Ligue 1 season starts Saturday August 9th against Olympique de Marseille. I'll try to catch it on the internet but I make no promises.

Time out: I found out some more info on the Intertoto Cup. It's amazing what you find when you click random links on the Stade Rennais home page (where I got all of these amazing pictures from). Apparently, they have been drawn to take on Stabæk IF of Norway. The first game is August 14 in Norway and the return game in France is August 28th. If they pass this round they will officially be in the wannabe Champions League aka UEFA Cup. That would be pretty sweet for Carlos and might actually make his move to France worthwhile as I don't think Fulham's qualifying for any tournaments anytime soon. Maybe that Carlos thought ahead? No, I'm betting someone did that for him.

australian gold

So that might not be totally legal there, Drew, but I understand. How the heck else are you going to handle Yao. Australia played China yesterday? this morning? this evening? (this time difference is going to really do a number on me) and won! Good for the Australian team! I don't really know what their chances are in this Olympics but Andrew doesn't want you to count them out. They play the United States team next week which will obviously be a good game to measure themselves. The last time they played the US team in the World Championships, Andrew stole the show for the first five minutes and then the US team woke up and it was all over. I hate watching shut outs but what are you going to do. Andrew's a better player now and hopefully a better leader so I'm looking for the team to do well. I just hope he doesn't come back to Milwaukee totally disappointed because I'm looking forward to this coming up season for the Bucks and he needs to play a big part of getting this team to the playoffs again!

And because you can't have enough Andrew in your life, here's a video where Andrew says the sport he would most like to watch while in Bejing would be soccer. A man after my own heart.

my trash is better than your trash

The Boyfriend and I had a discussion on Monday about the Cubs/Brewers matchups. For those not from Milwaukee or Chicago, these games are a pretty big deal even when they're not battling each other for first place. Chicago fans won't want to admit it, but they do take these series a bit seriously otherwise they wouldn't make the trip up to The Good Land every chance they get to watch one of the games. The Boyfriend is a Cubs fan and was saying that he'd rather go down to Wrigley Field to watch the game because people are better behaved down there. I pointed out that as a Cubs fans, he probably doesn't notice all the douchebag behavior because he's not under fire from anyone. He didn't agree. All around the fans are douchebags when it comes to these games. I remember one game up here when two guys were getting into it in the cheap seats(I try not to pay a lot for baseball tickets) and a White Sox fan had to get up in front of everyone and tell them to shut up because neither of their teams were close to being World Champions and pointed to his couple year old White Sox World Series t-shirt. It was pretty funny and I had to give it to the guy for putting himself out there to cut the tension like that. Everyone gets all drunk and starts picking fights with anyone that moves that's not wearing their shade of blue. Zach pointed out that the Cub fans usually leave the women out of it and I reminded him of the time he was in the bathroom at the McDonald's near Wrigley and I was standing around by myself waiting for him and some dude started to give me crap. Not like good natured ribbing, which is to be expected if you're wearing the other teams jersey, but shit talking. When I told The Boyfriend about this when he got out of the bathroom he asked what I expected wearing a Brewers jersey down there. The Boyfriend had no recollection on Monday of this when we were having this discussion, of course.

These games bring out the trash from both cities and make the games less enjoyable. Yesterday's game actually would have been a baseball game I would have watched. Zambrano against Sheets. Thankfully tickets cost an arm and a leg and I didn't go because it was just more of the same last night. This is kind of a perfect story, except for the women getting knocked out by the Cubs fans for trying to break up the fight, because it just proves my point. There aren't any better fans in this series. They all get drunk and get stupid and I don't want to hear anyone, including The Boyfriend, try to stick up for their team. See, I hate baseball so I don't really care about either of the teams. Brewer fans kind of annoy me, but I always think I should go for the hometown team. On the other hand, Cubs stuff is always so cute. I usually am the antagonist and wear whatever is going to cause a stir with the people I'm with.

And no, Ryan Braun didn't really have anything to do with this story but couldn't you just lick him?

hallelujah!!!

McBride In, Barrett out!!!

That's all that needs to be said from me. I couldn't think of any news that would make me happier this morning!

the legend

My local paper, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a nice little article talking about Brian McBride making the Olympic team and being at least 12 years older than the rest of the players on the team. McBride isn't such a shocking choice as an overage player, in my opinion. Typically, aren't the overage players actually overage? My boy Guzan, another overage player, just barely missed on being an age qualified player and Michael Parkhurst isn't exactly collecting his AARP membership. But McBride goes on to say he doesn't feel old at all and is ready for this challenge. I'm glad he'll get to spend in August in Bejing since Toronto and Chicago haven't really come to any kind of terms to get him playing in MLS just yet.

Another funny, but kind of sad, note from the article. McBride talks about how joining the Olympics team just kind of came up in conversation with Jonathan Spector and now it's a reality. It's sad because Spector is the one who isn't on the team due to injury.

blog diarrhea

Pleasant thought, I know. But due to my not like ever posting I have a lot of random stuff to discuss.

First, my boy Carlos Bocanegra got a job. Woop woop! Unfortunately, it's in France. I don't know anything about the French league and pretty much any bit of the French language that I know is summed up in this song:



But from the little bit of info I did get I heard that Rennes is a decent team and I can find a jersey somewhere. Since I don't know anything about this team, that's pretty much all I have to say about that. Unless anyone knows of any French league blogs that are in English. That would be amazing.

Next, apparently the breaking news is that Aston Villa are ready to sign Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson. This is notable because last night they were all about signing Robert Green from West Ham. Still don't see the importance? Well, sounds like I'll be seeing Brad Guzan at the Superclasico later this summer as he is apparently no longer in Martin O'Neill's thoughts. Brad hasn't really had a stellar season so I was always going to be surprised if Villa actually picked him up. He is a great keeper and I think he's definitely the keeper of the future for the National team, but he hasn't been bringing it every week for Chivas. Maybe once he doesn't get picked up he'll get all that other crap off his mind and play like everyone knows he can. The January transfer window isn't too far away.

Next topic: Chad Barrett still sucks! Watching that game against San Jose Saturday was only amusing because I don't live and die for the Fire anymore and it cracked me up to see how horrible Chad Barrett really is. Bonus was he did start his ass on the bench in favor of Andy Herron. ha ha. Unfortunately, Herron was injured early and on came Chad to everyone's dismay, I'm sure.

On a positive Fire note, though, I'm pretty sure if I watch another one of these "My Wish" segments I'm going to cry. Last night it was a kid from Vegas who has cancer whose little league team was named the Indians so he became a huge Indians fan. He got to ride a limo to the game and was greeted by the mascot, whose name the kid knew so considering he had never been to a game the kid really was a big fan. He also got his own locker, got a personalized jersey, took batting practice, threw out the first pitch and got to take the lineup cards to the umpires. The Indians went ahead and thanked him for all he did by breaking their 7 game losing streak that day. I want to cry just writing this all out. But a kid who wanted to meet Blanco is on tonight. It will be cool to see how this kid and his parents react to Blanco, because I don't think Americans could ever understand how big Blanco is, and just to see them make some kid's day.



In a completely unrelated note, remember Arrested Development the band? Well, their head guy, Speech, is from Milwaukee. Here's a pretty cool article about how he comes back to Milwaukee every summer for Summerfest to run his father's corn stand. It talks about how last year he literally went from performing on one of the stages to running to check on the stand. Way to remember where you come from and what's important. I still haven't been to Summerfest yet and I don't miss it, although now I kind of want to go to see if Speech is at the corn stand. I think I might wind up there Saturday to see Cheap Trick with The Boyfriend and his friend. The Roots are there Friday night but I don't have anyone to go with me as The Boyfriend and aforementioned friend are going to see Stone Temple Pilots. But I digress...

The NBA Draft has come and gone this year and the entertainment value certainly didn't disappoint. Although, I was pretty upset that Stephen A. Smith's role was relegated to interviewing the guys after they got drafted. I don't think he screamed once during the Draft. It's not really the draft until Stephen A is screaming about something. Also, Spike Lee wasn't there. What on earth could he possibly have been doing that was more important the going to the Draft? This has to be the first draft in a long time that he hasn't been there for. Despite all of that, the draft was still top rate! The Bucks tried as they could to trade away both Mo Williams AND Michael Redd to Miami for their pick so they could grab OJ Mayo but it didn't happen. We did end up making a trade to get rid of Bobby Simmons' contract and Yi Jianlian for Richard Jefferson. Yi hadn't really proved himself last year so I'm not too sad to see him go. The Bucks wound up draft Joe Alexander from West Virginia University. The story behind this kid is that he grew up in China and didn't start playing organized basketball until his Junior year of high school. With that said, considering he came out of college early, I don't see much wrong with the pick. He'll back up Richard Jefferson for a while and when Jefferson gets old and more expensive than he already is, in steps in Joe. It works out for everyone.

I'm counting down the days until July 9th when Andrew Bogut can sign his new contract. The word on the street has always been that he wants to get this done before the Olympics where he'll be representing Australia. Going into the draft everyone always thought Yi and Bogut were untouchable and weren't going to be traded. Obviously, that turned out to not be the case for Yi as he's now vacationing on the Jersey Shore. But I did hear that Bogut's name never came up once as a trade option. That's awesome! He doesn't get the respect he deserves, really. I'm sure his new deal with be pretty respectful, though. While it won't be Deron and Chris Paul money, it should be good.

And finally...this thing is epic...let's all give it up for Cesc Fabregas and Spain for pulling it all off and winning Euro 2008. I don't think I mentioned my allegiance to Spain in this thing but my love for the team was all over the place since the day the tournament started. Hello, Cesc plays for them.







And speaking of pulling it all off, I believe the best part of the tournament was the celebration...



Based on celebration alone, the best team won!!! Holy moses! Even with all the nakedness in the video, my favorite was the fully dressed David Villa. What a stud! Oh, Euro 2008....I'll miss you.

chad barrett sucks!

Recently I feel like I should have like made t-shirt or started a facebook group about the hatred because everyone is jumping on that bandwagon now. I have never liked the guy. I will never like the guy. I always thought he was horrible and now it's gotten to the point where I don't even like the Fire because they employ this douchebag. Everybody wanted to get on Blanco's case when he would yell at Chad while on the field like Blanco was being too mean to him or something. I think it's mean of Chad to be on the same field as Blanco and not finish some of the great chances Blanco creates for him so it's kind of a two way street there.

It's finally out in the open. Chad Barrett is horrible. Everyone agrees on it finally. If he's on the Olympic roster...well I guess it wouldn't surprised me but I would be just as angry with the decision as I was him being chosen to be on the qualifying roster. I guess I can go without the recognition as being one of the first to completely hate this guy as long as everyone is on board with that idea finally.

BTW, http://usasoccer.blogspot.com/ makes the greatest MLS videos ever!

i love Euro 2008!

Because they didn't play this song after Cesc scored the PK to send the Italians home, here it is.



I love this stuff!

friday football five

In lieu of the last post this is an all Brian McBride Friday Football Fire. I did a quick search on youtube to end the last post with and there were plenty of tribute videos already up. Again, he's a legend over there.











Bocanegra assist. McBride goal.

Okay, I think that's about as melodramatic as I can get this morning.

fulhamerica no mas

Above is the soundtrack to this post.



With Carlos getting released and McBride officially leaving to come back to MLS it's a little bit of a sad time for an American Fulham fan. These are the reasons half of us got into Fulham in the first place. I only know of Fulham with Carlos and Brian and 32 other Americans being involved. I'm not saying I'm not going to be a fan anymore, but there's going to be a little hole in my Fulham heart that won't ever be filled.

Brian's departure is a little harder to take than Carlos'. I knew Los wasn't going to be around. I had the entire second half of the season to get used to the fact that Carlos wasn't going to be a Cottager next season. Brian, though, he's Captain America. To me, he made his name as a Cottager. He has Londoners all around calling him a ledge. It's like the Brian that played in MLS and the Brian who played for Fulham are two different guys. I didn't really give him the respect he deserved when he was playing for the Crew, because he was playing for the Crew. Gross. He crossed the pond and even though he still remained plagued my injuries, he became the go to guy for Fulham. At the end of this up and down season the guys who got us through were Brian McBride and Jimmy Bullard. Players who were like the poster guys for Fulham. It's just hard for me to let that idea go, even if McBride does come and play for the Fire. If he's going to come to an MLS team I'm glad he's pretty much only going to play for the Fire, but he's just going to be former Crew player Brian McBride now playing for the Fire to me. It's hard to explain so I'll just stop. I can't wait for the day he comes out in a Fire uniform, though. I'll be one of those tools at the Fire game who are wearing the jersey of a team that's not playing of a guy that's not playing. But I'll totally be showing the FFC love in my red and black Fulham jersey. Maybe I'll put tape over Dempsey's name in the back. heh.

All this makes the Fulham off season pretty interesting. What are they going to make of Eddie? Will Duece step up and be the new Captain America? Will they sign Brad Guzan to be their keeper of the future. Okay, there are no facts backing up the possibility of that last line, but it would totally be cool if it happened.



It's the end of an era. Thanks guys!

i miss jose!

Most reports about him recently have him texting others to let them know of his future plans. Among all the other things I love about Jose, using texting to communicate is just another one. As someone who has used 1,334 texts since the 12th, I totally know how that goes. Is that really a lot, though? Anyways, let's just take a moment to appreciate Jose today.

nsr: public service announcement

As I discussed in my poorly edited post yesterday, I went to the Lupe, n.e.r.d., Rhianna and Kanye Glow in the Dark tour and I have a few points I want to bring to your attention before you get to the show a half an hour late.

1.The Chicago show started at 7 and at 7:01 Lupe was on the stage performing his entire set. I thought he might just be out there to get the crowd warmed up for a few songs, but no, he ran through his entire set. Everyone around us got there late and were pissed when we told them they already missed Lupe. The most common thing heard, "The only reason I'm at this show is to see Lupe." I thought it was a complete disgrace that Lupe had to open up this show to a half full arena in his hometown. Lame!

2.If you're a fan of Lupe or n.e.r.d. don't expect to hear you favorite song. They blow through their sets, which is to be expected with so many acts. n.e.r.d. got the crowd bumping but they only performed like five songs. I'm sure you could guess what five songs they were too. At this point in the show I was upset that I didn't hear "Sunshine" or much off of Lupe's first album or "Maybe" by n.e.r.d.

3.n.e.r.d. will get you all pumped to sit through a 20 minute set change for lame ass Rhianna. No one was amped up to see her and she didn't even bring Chris Brown out there to sing "Umbrella" with her. He was there because he came out and danced to "Spazz" with n.e.r.d. During her set change we had enough time to get a beer, and there were hella lines, and for The Boyfriend to meet up and talk to the blogger who wishes The Boyfriend ate more salad. By the time her show started, I was ready for another beer. She also covers "Paper Planes" by M.I.A and a Lauryn Hill song. Absolute disgrace! As The Boyfriend said, he felt like he was at the Enormobowl during Karaoke Revolution.

4.All this craziness and disappointment will be completely worth while though when Kanye takes the stage. Don't even bother looking for clips on youtube because they most definitely don't do any justice to his show! He performs almost every song you would want him to(including the song I'm petitioning as the new anthem of the United States "Don't Stop Believing") and he does it all on his own. And all the Lupe fans who missed him were at least a little happier when he came out during "Touch The Sky". There's an entire story involved with the show and you have to see it all come together to really get the goosebumps experience.

5.You ain't cool unless you get a pair of Kanye glasses! For real. I held off on the temptation the entire night but there was one last guy selling them on the street we were parked on and I gave in. I'm sure the countless beers I drank all night had something to do with my impulse. But even this morning, it was a great buy. They're only ten dollars!

friday football five

Life's kind of hectic right now between dealing with car dealerships (I hate this whole process) and going to Kanye, Lupe and n.e.r.d. tonight in Chicago(I do not hate this process at all!) so this is going to be a quick five.

1.It's official! My boy Bocanegra is no longer a Cottager. It's kind of an end of an era. Hate to say it, but this will really test my fandom, especially if he happens upon another EPL team. PSV and some Spanish team is interested. That would be amazing if he could get some Champions Leage time with PSV. Crazy! I'm hella anxious to see where he's going to go. He better not wait all summer.



2.Another US Soccer commercial. This one features Duece. My lone Fulham American left (Kasey's basically out the door, McBride might be coming to the Fire in August and well we've already discussed Carlos and I try to forget that Eddie Johnson is a player for the US National team and for Fulham). I just got a black and red Fulham jersey with his name on the back so he better no go anywhere. Love him!

3.When did Shaka Hislop become an authority on soccer? He was on the Champions League broadcast this past Tuesday and he writes each week about MLS for the Guardian's website. I only read one of his articles as it was full of basis MLS errors and I pretty much discredited him at that point. I didn't hear what he had to say during the Champions League broadcast as I was busy trying to gather all the Newcastles I could before they ran out. I'm just not a fan but maybe he was better with European soccer.


4. The Cesc Fabregas Show debuted in jolly ol England this week. I downloaded it on Tuesday but still haven't had the chance to get through the entire episode. Currently, this show is bothering me because I'm trying to send it to a friend, but it's not working for me. Because of the debut and the havoc it's caused on my life these past few days, here's a preview of it.

5. I don't know whose least shameless in their promotion of their team. Chivas USA with their making guys strip on morning TV or US Soccer with their constant barrage of pictures of Carlos in a pool. I don't really care who wins this battle, just that it continues for a long, long time!

hottest foot EVER!

I've never been more excited about friendlies in my life. I don't if it's because they should be good games or because I haven't seen Carlos play in forever or because it means qualifying is right around the corner or because I'll be seeing Carlos and Cesc on the same field at the SAME TIME! Worlds are colliding! These commercials are amping me up for this summer. Although, at this point you could just mention the world soccer and I'd be like "yeah! world cup qualifying! I can't wait!"

I can't even start thinking of the game I'll be going to at Toyota Park in September. I'll die from anticipation.

not sports related

Yesterday all of my dreams came true! Jon has taken the place as my number one favorite New Kid on the Block. I am counting down the days until I get to see them live. If I don't get tickets for this show you might see me on the evening news with a shot gun or something.

the original winger

Back in the time of html and soccerboards.com I developed an affinity for Brian Dunseth. Okay, if I'm going to admit some stuff I might as well admit it all and start from the very beginning. I used to be a New England Revolution fan. Gasp! Shock! The horror! I know. Given everything that's happened in the past ten years between the Revs and my now beloved Chicago Fire I can't I'm believe I'm admitting this in a public forum. (although, if you knew me on bigsoccer, my user name kind of gave my former allegiance away) But you have to remember, there was a point in time when the Chicago Fire didn't exist and I had to find a team to root for. I hate to think about those dark ages, too, but they really did exist. My New England fandom came from my obsession with Boston when I was in high school. I really thought I was going to spend the rest of my life there. Wow, I'm glad that dream never came true(Celtics? Red Sox? YUCK). But yeah, I used to totally love them.

What does this have to do with Brian Dunseth and why am I bringing it up on a Friday night? Well, probably on a boring Friday night similar to this one (in my defense I just worked a full day, went out for drinks with the coworkers and made a stop at Target with the boyfriend so the evening wasn't a complete waste) I made a website for Brian Dunseth. Yep, I was THAT cool. It was basic html at it's finest! It was full of pictures and useless info and all sorts of crap. If I had to pick a few words to describe it those words would be OUT OF CONTROL. I don't know why I picked Brian Dunseth to make a website for, okay I thought he was hot, but it's come to haunt me ever since.

First, everytime Brian Dunseth is on FSC The Boyfriend likes to look at me and laugh thinking about the website, he doesn't even have to say anything. I then like to kick him in the face. It's a fun exchange. Second, it was actually brought up to ol Brian a few years ago during an interview with 90 minutes magazine. My bio page was quoted and everything. I would have remained blissfully unaware of this but a friend in Salt Lake, who is actually friends with Brian, found the need to point it out to me. Cringe and cringe.

Again, why do I bring this up? Due to my five minute love affair with him being documented on the internet forever and ever I've kind of kept an eye on his career. I have to say, Brian Dunseth is like on a one man mission to make soccer cool and acceptable in America. Between his clothing company, blog and day job dude is really trying to represent the sport we all love on all levels. It's like every where I turn someone's giving him love over one of his sweet tees or linking to his blog. After journeying throughout the MLS he's having an even bigger influence on the game in America. As a soccer fan all you want to do is convince everyone you encounter how much you love the game and how they should love it too. The difference between him and myself (and there are plenty. heh) is that people actually listen to him. He has a great influence on the game and despite all the crap I've taken over the years for that stupid website I couldn't think of a better guy to have given props to.

All of this was really just to link to this great post from Chivas USA's Justin Braun about his turn from college student to pro athlete. It's just refreshing to hear one of the young guys talk about how amazing of an opportunity it is to get his foot in MLS instead of justifiably bitching about how little he's getting paid.

friday football five

I'm putting too much pressure on myself to write something equally epic regarding the greatest recovery to a season in all of sports history, but something good will come. I'll make sure of it. In the meantime, I bring you my Friday football five.

1.Chad, Chris and Cuauhtemoc do Wrigley The boys did well and I'm sure they couldn't have done it without Blanco's conducting! When The Boyfriend text me to tell me Blanco was up in the booth, I didn't know what to think. I'm glad he recognized his English limitations. Considering The Boyfriend saw Rolfe in line for a beer before the game and Blanco acting a fool I'm sure they had plenty of alcohol in them at this point. Can't say that I blame any of them.

(I also can't believe I just went through that entire paragraph without anything negative to say about Chad Barrett...weird)



2.Blanco won goal of the week for his golazo against DC United last week. I love Blanco so much. It's not even because I'm Mexican and I'm like supposed to, I just really do. He's amazing!



3.My favorite soccer player from Green Bay (I can't say Wisconsin because that would include Jesse Marsch and I don't know if I could pick a fave between the two) is featured in one of the US Soccer commercials. Love it! He got mins in the first Championship play off game and started the second play off but that did nothing to turn the tide for Watford. They're still going to remain a Championship team. I think they could have definintely been one of the three to get promoted but they've just been in a funk for the entire second half of the season(coincidentally the same amount of time Jay's been on the bench) so they really didn't deserve it. Jay's been whining for the past month about the lack of playing time so we'll see if the coach goes or Jay goes.

Probably the only reason I'm glad the end of the English season is here is because I'm anxious to see what happens with Jay and Carlos. As much as it pains me, Carlos needs to find somewhere else to play ball. I don't think Roy will ever make him a starter no matter who comes and goes from the Fulham defensive unit this offseason. Jay and Carlos are both too good to be sitting the bench. I'd like to see Jay stick it out at Watford if only because I just got a Watford jersey with his name on the back and was only able to wear it once this spring. Carlos, though, well his time in the SW6 seems done for.

4.No UEFA cup for Fulham Fulham could have qualified for the UEFA cup via the Fair Play table. The rest of the teams in front of them on this Fair Play table have already qualified for Europe so the next fair play team available would have been Fulham. They could have gone from relegation to Europe in 60 seconds, but their Hollywood ending wasn't meant to be. Man City, despite getting a red during their last game, is the team who is going to qualify with that spot. That's right, the same Man City who has been talking about firing Sven for the past month because he didn't deliver Europe to them, is going to Europe. Who would have thought? Their owner is a nitwit! Anyone who doesn't think Man City was tanking it in their 8-1 loss this past weekend needs to watch the highlights again. I've never seen professional athletes care so little about being scored on and I'm a fan of the Bucks. I've seen tanking at it's finest up close and in person. Man City did tanking proud.

5. US Roster announced for their tripleheader of pain coming up Okay, that England game won't be that bad but they're playing Spain a few days before they start Euro and Argentina which is just bad on anyday. Anyways, if you can get through the list of a bajillion goalkeepers they're taking (really, Brad Guzan? Bob-o have you seen our homeboy play lately? ;)) you'll see the return of one DAMARCUS BEASLEY!! I didn't realize how much I missed him until I saw his name on the list. Yeah, D Beas! I know they're only friendlies, but I can't wait for these games! Maybe because I'll be able to see Carlos for the first time this millenium.

friday football five

I made the trip out to DC this week to catch the Fire/DC game. In all the trips I've made out to DC, I've never seen the Fire win. I was kind of worried that this would be the weekend that DC shook out of their slump and sent me home disappointed again, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. Don't stop living in the red, yo! A few observations from the trip and then some.

1.WV really knows how to make an entrance. The first thing that took me aback was the fact that they had the jerseys in the team store already. Pretty cool considering there are still Fire fans who don't know where you can find a Best Buy Fire jersey. (BTW, they're it that little shack when you walk in from the parking lot on the Section 8 side of the stadium and I'm sure other places but I've never sat any place other than Section 8. Also, can I mention how our little shack of Fire gear doesn't even compare to the official team store DC has? Their stadium is still a dump so there!) The second thing that caught my attention was the fact that they were comping parking for everyone for this game. Hey guys, you get the beer, I'll get the parking for this game! Sneet. I walked into RFK and was immediatly given a WV poncho! How brilliant! There was rain in the forecast and they were sure to not have people's brand new DC jerseys with their fancy logo on it covered it by rain gear so they supplied it for you. This was also a welcome freebie to The Boyfriend's sister who was less than pleased she couldn't bring her umbrella-ella. They weren't cheap ponchos either. WV had me at hello at that point, but that wasn't all. They had a TALKING BUG!!! (I think it was supposed to be talking in a German accent, but can't say for sure;)) and have already supplied to the Barra Brava their own big ass WV jersey. Section 8 is still loving the Puma days when we toss our big ass jersey up so I was in awe. All in all, WV had their stuff together and I was highly impressed...and a little jealous.

2.Bakary Soumare, Diego Gutierrez, Brandon Prideaux and Gonzalo Segares are an F-IN WALL!!! You can't beat these guys! Every time I thought DC had a chance, these guys would be there to sniff it out and in tough fashion! Diego, Brandon and Gonzalo are just true defenders in that they do their job and it's not in flashy fashion or anything. Bakary is just running all over the field, tearing stuff up! I love it! I mean, they're making Jon Busch look like an all-star. Jon Busch! I never thought I would get so turned on by a defensive unit that didn't include Carlos Bocanegra but here I am. Love em!

3.Side note about Bakary...he's pretty much earned a spot into the hearts all of his Fire fan Facebook friends. While on the prowl on Facebook, I had seen where he had gotten into convos with other Fire fans. So this morning I thought I would let him know I appreciated his efforts in last night's game and what not. Then, just a few hours later, I got a response from him. What a dude! I might have to start a Facebook group called "Bakary Soumare is my favorite Facebook friend" or something. How many pro athletes take the time to even reply a line to their fans and treat them like a real friend? I don't care that he's "just an MLS player", that's still pretty cool in my book.

4. Day of Destiny

Fulham is all about getting their fans pumped up for these final games!!! I totally buy into this kind of stuff. At the beginning, though, when they said something about "don't stop believing" I thought they should have totally bust into that song. Hello, there are 5 Americans(even if 2 of them are m.i.a.) on this team. It's like our National Anthem (name me someone who doesn't love that song when they're drunk! You can't!) It's inspirational nonetheless. This is the final game of the season and I can't believe it's all going to come down to this. I call another Clint Dempsey franchise saving goal.

5.



Cesc + "Move Bitch" = GREATEST VIDEO EVER!!! There is even a special appearance by both The Special One and The Voyeur! I can't put into words how amazing this video is so just enjoy it.

"young and successful, sex symbol. bitches want me to f*ck em. true true" I can't think of a better soundtrack for young Cesc.

Off to watch the game from last night. I hear Blanco blew kisses to the crowd. I love that man.

crazier things have happened

1.Fulham rescued themselves from the relegation zone for the first time since Boxing Day. In semi-related news, Boxing Day was the last time I spent the day drunk at The Highbury. See the connection there?

2.One week after jumping off the Brad Guzan bandwagon he went ahead and delivered his first clean sheet of the season against Houston. That's good to see Brad. Maybe I wasn't totally off of that bandwagon just yet.

3.Speaking of bandwagons I'm jumping on...that Cesc Fabregas is quite a stud. And not too bad at my favorite game either. Before the Birmingham City game, and after a couple bloody marys, I declared my love and devotion to Arsenal and said I was getting a Fabregas jersey. That was before my boys reminded me they were staying in the Premier League. Anyways, I still might get his jersey because dude is cookoo bananas!



4.Also this weekend, Martin Truex Jr. got 6th for his first top ten of the season, I think. Hallelujah! It's about damn time Martin. He thought his breaks were going early in the race, but he persevered, kept himself out of trouble and got a good finish. Now onto Darlington!

That was quite a lot of good things to go down in one weekend. I'm not used to being happy with all my teams and what not. Hopefully I didn't just jinx them!

friday fulham five

I'm already nervous for this game. I need to just give in and come to terms with them not winning right now. I don't think they've won any relegatio six pointers all season long and I don't really feel like crying at the bar. But just cause, I'm posting five videos to get you all pumped up for the game of the century.;)

1.

2.

The unbelievable game from last week! To come from two goals down to win away!! Insane!

3.

Carlos scores a goal in this video! I miss him!

4.

A video made after the exciting come from behind to tie game against Tottenham in the early part of the season. I was at the bar watching this game live and it was pretty incredible! And I'm a fan of this video because they use the same music that was used in the last scene of "Sex and the City". (I can't wait to see that movie!)

5.

Lastly, do it for Billy. Do you really think he'll be able to keep his job if Fulham's down in the Championship? I'm thinking he wouldn't make it past the first round of budget cuts. Don't let him become another E! True SW6 story!

For those of you not keeping track of Fulham's position, they absolutely have to win their next two games, and I think get some help, to stay up! They can do it!

COME ON YOU WHITES!

how quickly things change

Who would have thought that by the end of this week I would be talking about not being a Bucks fan anymore? I was all encouraged, excited and hopeful on what the angry little bald guy would bring to the table. I said only one thing could make me turn on the Bucks in an instant. I should have said one and a half things...

Kelvin Sampson is likely to be signed as an assistant coach

I'm going to give as basic as a background story on this as possibly. Mainly because I don't feel like digging up an thesaurus to find out a different way to say I hate this piece of crap.

1.Kelvin Sampson most recently was the coach at the University of Indiana.
2.Kelvin Sampson had recruited Eric Gordon AFTER GORDON HAD VERBALLY COMMITTED TO MY BELOVED ILLINOIS by sneaky, voyeuristic, illegal tactics most of which included a cell phone.
3.The NCAA finally had enough dirt to address Sampson at which point Indiana decided to show him the door right before the tournament.
4.With all this drama, Indiana is likely to lose scholarships and possibly post season tournament time, Gordon has decided to declare for the draft.
5.It's been projected that the Bucks would take Gordon with their top ten draft pick.
6.Sampson's hiring probably will make that even more of a possibility.

I can't say enough how much I hate these two. I spent an entire evening in Champaign, IL screaming my lungs out and booing every time Gordon got the ball. The thing is, all the boos and all the hate effected him, a bit. Even if I thought Gordon was ready for the NBA and didn't hate him, I don't think he's a good fit on the Bucks. Granted, I wasn't happy when they drafted Yi last year, but it hasn't been 100% proven as a good pick yet.

The boyfriend has already contacted his season ticket rep and told him the second Eric Gordon is drafted by the Bucks we're canceling our season tickets and disputing any charges the Bucks have already posted to The Boyfriend's credit card. Our ticket rep's response? He's from Rockford, IL and knows exactly how we feel so he can't blame us if that happens.

I shouldn't be getting upset before any of this happens. I don't agree with Sampson's hiring but I'm more forgiving of that, I guess, than I would be if they draft Gordon. It's not like Sampson is in charge. And it's not illegal to call players anymore, but I still just don't like the guy. Let's just say, come draft day, there's a point guard in Utah whose team I would be happy to root for all season long, more than I already do.

donde esta el guzano??

Does this guy look familiar? For the past two years I watched this dude mimic a brick wall. PK's...he would stop them. Thinking about winning at the HDC...not if el Guzano could help it. I had been hyping him the entire 2007 season saying Timmy Howard better watch his step. For the first part of the EPL season had had been rumored to go to Arsenal and I wasn't surprised. I figured it was due time for my boy to show his stuff on an international stage. Then came January and he almost sealed the deal. It would have been a great opportunity for him at Aston Villa. He went to England to finalize the deal, and the large transfer fee, but it just wasn't meant to be. Stupid work permit got in his way. Oh well, he knew the interest was there and I was beyond certain he wouldn't be around in August when I make my way out to LA for the final Superclasico of the season.

Then the 2008 season started and, well, he's not exactly looking like a guy who is ready to move onto the biggest stage of his career. With his 2.00 GAA, which statistically puts him as the third worst goalkeeper in the league behind Toronto's Greg Sutton and LA's Steve Cronin, he's looking pretty pathetic. Is this his sophomore slump a year late? Are his bags already packed for what, supposibly, lies ahead this summer? I'm not sure what it is but he quite literally doesn't look like he's involved with these games at all. I didn't catch much of the Chivas/Dallas game this past weekend but I saw all of the misery that was the Crew/Chivas game two weekends ago. He looked lost. He looked like he had forgotten everything that was involved with being a goalkeeper. He just didn't look like he was into the game at all. Sure it's still early in the season, but you've got to wonder where his head is at? He knew, well before the preseason started, that he was coming back to Chivas. Him coming back to Chivas had nothing to do with his talent or ability, he just couldn't get his work permit this time around. Now it's like all of his confidence has been taken from him.

I like too many crap teams that I don't need to follow a crap goalkeeper around his entire career so I'm giving him one more game to save himself. He needs to deliver a clean sheet during the Superclasico this weekend or else it's over for Brad and me. I hate to be that way but I have plenty of things to consider, like my fantasy team. Thankfully with the fantasy game on ESPN they don't really take away points when your goalkeeper gives up ridiculously easy goals that they should have saved and would have saved a few months ago, otherwise my team would be sitting in the basement. It's time for some tough love for Brad. You've got to pull yourself together!

This is one of the many reasons I'm looking forward to the first Superclasico of the season!

he's a jose imposter, sneet!

Jose really owes a ton to that little Puppet on Setanta. Sure, this video would have gotten a little bit of attention as there are big name guys hanging out with kids. That's a cute enough concept. But in all the blogs I've read, the only reason this is of note to anyone is because Jose is in it. The real Jose. How many people can go unemployed for an entire year and wind up being more popular than when he had a job. Only Jose.

For this reason, I think Jose needs to make a guest appearance on "I'm on Setanta Sports". Yep, I said. He needs to make that a reality. Or at least call in. Or at least tell people he's fantastic in interviews. He needs to do something to show that he's aware of the show. People, worldwide, would go nutso for it! I can't even think straight just thinking of him doing something like that. I can't think of any clever ideas of how to get him on the show, but that's not my job. The Setanta folks need to get on that.

My other issue with this clip...where is Ameobi like?

tony, tony, tony has done it again

Word on the street has Tony Stewart leaving Gibbs after this season, which would be a season earlier than his contract lets him. Of all the things Tony has done in his career I think this would have to garner the most "huhs?" Not only because he's leaving a proven winner in Gibbs, but because he is rumored to be going to Hass/CNC racing. I bet you can't name who is currently driving for them without googling it? There's my point.

First, Tony Stewart is getting the best Toyota equipment out there. I don't think it's any coincidence that both of his teammates have won races this season and all three of them are sitting at the top of the Championship table. They're getting awesome equipment. The only direction I see Toyota going is up, despite the protests from all the ignorant fans of NASCAR. Why would you leave that? To come fourth in Chevy's hierarchy? This is how is looks at Chevy: 1.Junior 2.Junior's teammates 3.RCR 4. Tony. I don't care how good you think Tony is or how much money he might bring to the table, it wouldn't be any comparison to what the spotlite that the Hendricks boys bring to the table. So he's leaving a proven team who is definitely getting the best equipment the manufacturer has to offer to go to an unproven team with not the highest equipment for what? To own a piece of the pie? To have some kind of connection to Hendrick (CNC is a Hendrick satellite team)? For a challenge? That last reason would be the only one I would buy because if he's just looking to go back to Chevy he's dumber than I thought.

Plus, would Home Depot go with him? This has been the first season Home Depot has ever let anyone else take primary sponsorship of his car for a race? Are they fazing themselves out? With the economy are their priorities some place else? I'm not a fan of multiple sponsors so if Tony had to find another sponsor I'm sure he'd wind up with two or three primary sponsors which I personally think is stupid.

One of the articles I linked said the fact that teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are doing so well and winning races have nothing to do with it. I can't believe that's totally the case. Tony's been the big dog at Gibbs for so long that I can't imagine it's easy handing over the title to a 22 yr old. Kyle and Denny are fantastic young drivers who have every ability to carry the reins of JGR without breaking a sweat. Maybe it's better to leave and be replaced than to stay and be replaced.

Coincidentally enough, this news all came out around the same time people started speculating about my boy Martin Truex Jr's future. The boy has talent. That's undeniable. He did the right thing with sticking with DEI for the 2008 season. It showed that he's just not Junior's boy and that he was willing to take on the challenge of being the number one driver on a team. Unfortunately, his team wasn't willing to meet him half way. They're still giving him crap equipment and it just seems like business as usual at DEI. You can't blame the boy for wanting to look elsewhere. He did his time and didn't abandon the team that gave him his start in racing, but he deserves better. Rumors have him going to RCR as the fourth car. Considering RCR is currently the number one car in the Sprint Cup table, I can't see that as a bad thing. All three teams made it into the chase last season and they're just quality up and down. What I would like to see, though, is for Martin to jump on board a team who looks like they're going down to a two car team....that's right. I would be besides myself if Martin went to Gibbs. What a fleet of young talent they would have. As I've already stated, I'm a fan of Toyota and think highly of what they're doing. For Martin to get involved with that would be amazing. Whatever Martin does, though, it's only going to be for the better of his career because I don't really think he can go down with the options that will be available to him. Unless he joins that CNC/Hass racing team.;)

Silly Season starts earlier and earlier each season!

In "that's a bummer" news, Kyle Busch isn't going to run the truck race this week. It makes sense because the truck race and the Nationwide/Sprint races are in two different states. I think that's quite unfortunate because I was kind of really looking forward to seeing Kyle contend for all three titles. The thing is, I don't think him not showing up to a race is going to take him out of contention. We'll see. I don't know when I became such a fan of Kyle, but I've certainly come around on him. It seems like he's been getting on my nerves for years now but he's only 22! I think that's the reason I'm so high on him. He is STILL so young and he has so much experience already and is just now coming into the peak of his career. It's going to be incredible to watch his career because I think he's going to be a major force.

Talladega this weekend! I'm excited! Who would have thought a week off would cause so much commotion?

top 10 American footballers on facebook

I don't know how we all got through life, minding their own business, before facebook came around. People apparently managed, but I'm glad I'm not a part of that time. So I'm going to go ahead a steal a page from epltalk and list my top ten American soccer players. It was going to be a list of only MLS player, but pretty much every MLS players under 24 has a page and I didn't really feel like going through all of those. :)

The pages are valid as most of them passed the "are they friends with Sacha" test. If you're not friends with Sacha you may be one of the few in this world.

BTW, you have to be logged in to see the search results. Don't have a facebook? Get out of my face with that crazy talk!

1. Jozy Altidore - This is like major proof of how non-celebrity soccer players are. How many athletes who are on the cover of a major video game have a regular ol facebook page?
2. Freddy Adu - Good thing he has this or else we all might have thought he had fallen off the face of the planet.
3. Michael Bradley - Baby Brads making an appearance with a U of I network. Who would have thought? I didn't even think homeboy finished high school.
4. Sacha Kljestan - Mr. Popularity of the U-23 set.
5. Benny Feilhaber - If he doesn't make major career changes over the summer he will fall off this list. Just like Bob, if you're not getting major time with your club you're dunzo!
6. Steve Cherundolo - Cherundolo is kind of one of those guys who are just there. But he did go to a World Cup so he does deserve to be on this list.
7. Maurice Edu - Don't even TRY friending our boy Mo here. Facebook won't let you. It says "this user has too many friends". I tried... twice. Hey facebook, don't hate on the Rookie of the Year. Mo should be a bit higher on the list only because he broke facebook.
8. Heath Pearce - Creepiest picture EVER!
9. Chris Rolfe - I had to represent with the Chicago Fire love.
10. Jonathan Bornstein - Jonny B is quality. He even went to one of his facebook groups and was like "holla Jonny B in the house". That's precious!

Those are just some personal faves of mine. Feel free to spend an afternoon at work stalking discovering some pages of your own. I couldn't imagine having all the random friends they do. Can you imagine all the stupid application request they receive? I have one person on my friends list who is constantly sending me that crap and it drives me crazy getting those e-mails on the blackberry all day long. Unless it's an application that will get me a date with Carlos, I pass!

welcome to Milwaukee!

Oh thank you Jesus! I don't need to know anything else about this man except that he puts idiots in their place. We have plenty of idiots who need to be put in their place...and that place doesn't include Milwaukee. I'm riding high on the Bucks decisions as of late. When Larry Harris was fired in March I didn't really think of it. I wasn't like, "ooh great, now we'll really get someone in here to turn things around." I just thought the Senator would hire some other idiot who would sign a player like Dan Gadzuric to a 6-yr insane amount of money contract.

When he brought John Hammond in from Detroit I was slightly impressed. Herb Kohl said he wasn't going to hire from within and he didn't. Good job. Way to not disappoint. Then Hammond mentioned the coaches that he wanted to bring in and I really got anxious. Most of the names mentioned were no-nonsense, defense minded coaches. Yep, I said it DEFENSE!!! To a Milwaukee fan you may as well be speaking Chinese because we have long forgotten the concept of defense.

Today, Scott Skiles was brought in. A man who doesn't take any crap from anyone. There's a thread on real GM with quotes from all the players who don't like him. Good. This team needs an asshole to lead them. There are very few players I like on the Bucks. Of course Andrew Bogut is one of those guys because he kept the pouting to a minimum this season and really understands the concept of team basketball. Yi, I can't write him off just yet. Ramon Sessions showed well in garbage games at the end of the season. That's about it. The rest of the starters can go jump off a cliff and Scott Skiles will be the one telling them what cliff they can jump off of. I almost want Mo Williams (I hate him the most) to stick around just so I can watch him try to battle with Skiles all season. I don't mind if Redd sticks around, but he's going to get an attitude adjustment as well. All these lazy ass, wanna be elite players are going to have to check themselves and it's going to be great. Okay, maybe my head is a little large with ideas and hope, but it's definitely not going to be business as usual.

I understand he may not be the long term answer given his track record with teams and that he may not lead us to the promise land (second round of the playoffs??) but he's a large step in the right direction of changing the attitude of this team. They need to start playing like they belong in the NBA.

A personal benefit to this hire, I don't see Skiles drafting Eric Gordon. As an Illini fan (another losing team), drafting Eric Gordon would be like closing all the Qdoba's down. You better be ready for some hell to pay. But yeah, I don't see Skiles drafting some small, mentally weak 12 yr old. I hate that kid and I'm glad he's not coming here! Phew!

What a wonderful day today. The sun was shining. I hit golf balls for the first time this season. I won tickets to sit 4 rows behind the plate of the STL/MKE game tomorrow. More importantly that game is a day game so I get to partake in one of my favorite past times, drinking during the day. And hope was born in the form a bald headed angry white man.

god bless mother nature, she's a single woman too!

Originally I had wanted this blog to kind of be my journey into the EPL world. I didn't lose interest in the EPL world, but I started a job where I worked Saturday morning and therefore couldn't sit at the bar all morning watching EPL games. Kind of took all the fun away from it. Besides, now following the EPL isn't really fun, it's depressing. Relegation is fun when you know you can get yourself out of the bottom three. Fulham has officially been lumped with Derby as the sure bids for relegation and it's just not something I can think about without getting all verklempt.

David James doesn't really put perspective on the whole relegation thing, he just reminds us how sucky it is. Thanks, that's what the boys need to read Monday morning as reality is setting in.

Anyways, I'm going to use this blog more as a venting spot for all my sports thoughts. There are a lot of them, believe it or not. I've been using my personal journal for that but I figure they deserve a better subject to read about: me. So Let me give you a heads up on what I'll be going off about in the coming weeks(I'm trying to keep my goals low and hope I can keep this going for at least a couple weeks): The Bucks rebuilding, the lack of Chicago Fire offense and Carlos Bocanegra sightings(just not when he gets in a game for once, just all sightings...I'm a bit of a fan.)

I think there is only one thing that can really give you a great idea of the direction this blog is headed and it's this video:



I remember Boxing Day of this year, listening to Jesse Marsch make fun of Ante Razov's "Extra" TV spot where he was looking for a wife. I'm glad this came out now instead of before that conversation because it could have turned ugly. heh.

My ringtone this week has been "It's Raining Men". I can't think of anymore appropriate of a song.

I'll be back with more later, hopefully.

post boxing day hangover

I created this blog soon after Boxing Day because I was all about documenting my journey of my first season of following the EPL. But I got lost along the way.



Thankfully a dancing badger and fucking Jimmy Bullard got me back into the swing of things.