- Maxi Rodriguez
In the days of my grandfather, men were, well, men. Hands were rough, the whiskey strong, and
the morning walk to work often entailed a three-mile hike through snow to avoid enemy encampments.
Shifts may have been long and the labors exhausting, but as long as a warm meal awaited once the
rain-soaked boots were slipped off, life could be endured, if not savored.
- Maxi Rodriguez
Working for the weekend, just like Loverboy or your local omnipotent deity, implies a rest
period. Which makes it even more absurd that I willingly set my alarm for 4:15 most Saturday and
Sunday mornings in anticipation of European soccer.
- Maxi Rodriguez
Everything unraveled in the 35th minute.
After a volatile season which ebbed between 12-game streaks without conceding, and disastrous
6-nil defeats at the Emirates, my Arsenal side were 55 minutes away from an appearance in the 2012
Champions League final.
- Maxi Rodriguez
With news of Fabio Capello's departure from the England post yesterday came the expected flood
of "experts" speculating on potential replacements based on nothing more than years' old rumors.
With names ranging from the seemingly pre-agreed upon alternate Harry Redknapp, to Ian Holloway,
Stuart Pearce and Guus Hiddink, there was a disturbing trend towards the English manager.
- Maxi Rodriguez
An athletic career, like the human body in general, is subject to a law of diminishing returns.
At some point the bargain with fate turns and a fuse is lit. Each step comes slower than the last.
Each minute more draining than the preceding.
- Maxi Rodriguez
On the eve of one of the most universally celebrated days of the year, the English Football
Association released a stunning 115-page document explaining their decision on the Suarez case.
Within minutes, a legion of the brightest legal minds across the world yet to pursue law as a
profession, took to the internet in a massive orgy of self-righteousness and ignorance, cascading
their uninformed opinions over a technology originally meant for collaboration and academic
study.
- Maxi Rodriguez
It's a cliche, especially in the sports world, to describe a certain "electricity in the air"
surrounding a sporting event. Used to describe everything ranging from the enthusiasm that precedes
a Vegas title fight, to the excitement that surrounds certain sports memorabilia conventions, the
idiom is a crutch for the generic sportswriter in the face of stifling deadlines.
- Maxi Rodriguez
A broken thermometer near the grandstand reads 78°, but the truth of the matter is that games
were always played nearer the century mark, our very own Qatari World Cup matches on a windswept
field in Central California. The team, the Bakersfield Brigade, is long gone, victim to a downturn
in local fortunes as much as misplaced presumptions about the local fan base.
- Tom Thomas
Arsène Wenger will be feeling very sad tonight. Not just the sadness you feel when you're
disappointed with yourself, but a certain sadness trailed by the desperation and helplessness of
knowing you're in a corner and you may well have put yourself there.
- Tom Thomas
Arsène Wenger will be feeling very sad tonight. Not just the sadness you feel when you're
disappointed with yourself, but a certain sadness trailed by the desperation and helplessness of
knowing you're in a corner and you may well have put yourself there.
- Maxi Rodriguez
It happened again on Saturday.
It was about half past nine, and I was wrapped in an imitation Snuggie that gives you a bit of
insight into how I spend my weekends. An exhausting marathon of football continued with kickoff
between West Brom and Chelsea, and I reached for the remote, wondering whether I should pull the
sheets over my eyes and call the whole thing off.
- Maxi Rodriguez
In the midst of Champions League matches and the Spanish Super Copa, many fans missed a
quiet moment between two friends. Thanks to our European sources, we have a transcript.
INT. EMIRATES STADIUM TUNNEL NIGHT
Andrei Asharvin exits the Arsenal team bus, to be met by his lifelong friend,
Gunnersaurus.
- Tom Thomas
And without a moment to spare, the new Premier League season is upon us with all the hope and
aspirations of millions looking forward to a fresh campaign from their home sides. With a mediocre
level of activity in the transfer markets, we pick up many of the same story lines from the EPL
where we left them at the beginning of the summer.
- Maxi Rodriguez
I've had a reoccurring dream for a few months now.
I'm standing in a dimly lit corn field, and I can't make out much more than the shadows of
downed power-lines and a golden hue in the distance. Naturally, as a god-fearing man, I head
towards the light, expecting some sort of fortune-cookie divine guidance about which path my life
should take, but just as my uncertain steps settle, I stumble over a shadow in the corn field.
- Maxi Rodriguez
There's a certain attraction most people feel towards the Summer months. The heady smell of a
just-lit barbeque, the weekend trips to undiscovered nooks of coastline, the sun dresses. The sun
dresses! While I certainly enjoy a freshly grilled hotdog while listening to "Blackbird" in front
of a dangerously swelling pit fire, the arrival of Summer always brings a rash of unwanted
anxieties into my life.
