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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
