It's finally Friday, and after work today I'll be driving over Hogback to HollyCornblog's house! She says she'll have the chiminea going and some homebrews ready for sampling when I get there!

In soccer news I see that, apparently, a share of the LA Sol is going to be up for grabs soon. Any buyers?

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Yup, it's Mother's Day. Hope yours is a good one, whether you're celebrating someone or being celebrated yourself. The universe has been kind enough to send sun, a steady breeze, and cooler temperatures hopefully making relatively pain free outdoor work a possibility for the hordes of mothers in New Hampshire who will be out there tending gardens and planting, perhaps, Mother's Day flowers.

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I've been remiss in not posting this picture of HollyCornblog's Hop Trellis circa April 2009!

As you can see, she's done an awful lot of work (backbreaking work, I might add) to give these hops a fighting chance at thriving.

I for one am quite interested to see how hops do under the Obama administration.

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With lots of the WPS internationals overseas for friendlies, this should be an interesting stretch for the WPS. Here's a quick preview from Melissa ... and note, the Breakers-Red Stars game will be available for on-line viewing. Cool! 8:30 PM ET ...

The English nationals are tearing up the pitch, defeating Norway 3-0 in the run-up to Euro 2009.

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HollyCornblog probably won't like this post ... but here goes.

First we have an interview with Pia, who talks about the USWNT and her take on the WPS - tough to hear in parts, but interesting. Looking for someone to step into Kate's spot ... among other things. (Sounds pretty tepid about Milbrett there at the end - would love to know the inside scoop on that story)!

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And so, it is done. UConn started a little bit slow, but gained momentum and seriously outplayed Louisville for the 3rd time in as many meetings this year. Louisville looked good at the start, but couldn't sustain momentum against the smooth, efficient, disciplined Connecticut side. So they cap an undefeated season with a National Championship.

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That's what we're doing this morning ... bowing down to UNC, and bowing down to Mo! The Tarheels blew out Michigan State last night in a lop-sided contest that was never in doubt. (And some of us were actually quite thankful for that, as it gave us the opportunity to get to bed early!) As for Mo - after a slow start, he moved up steadily, had one brief glitch, and then took the lead for good in the final rounds of play, leaving Jeff and Gary to fight it out for 2nd and 3rd places.

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First off, our friend Alice (who suffers good-humoredly my unrelenting pressure to become a JordanCornblog contributor) is off to tour Florence today.  Happy travels, Alice! Happily, she will not have to leave before the USWNT faces Iceland in their second game at the Algarve.  She (and the rest of us) will be able to follow it [. Click to continue reading...

Happy Saturday everyone! Looks like it's going to be one beauty of a day. HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew should be on their way in another couple of hours and if I disappear for a while after they arrive, well, you'll know what I'm up to! Let's see what's happening in the world of soccer, first. I see [. Click to continue reading...

Spoken like a true Phillies phan, I know.  There's lots of news this morning on the Boston Breakers front, starting with the fact that an agreement has been reached between the Boston Aztecs and the Boston Breakers. Under the agreement the Aztecs will become the reserve team of the Breakers. Seems like a positive [. Click to continue reading...

How refreshing to write a headline focused on the letter P and not have Sarah Palin come to mind (except as an after thought, just now - like a toothache remembered). So these are heady, miraculous times.  The Hudson River miracle jet has been fished out of the water and Obama is in DC and will [... Click to continue reading...

This is DaddyCornblog back in 1980, rooting for the Ron Jaworski, Dick Vermeil, Wilbert Montgomery version of the Eagles.  We've got the photo by the TV, where Daddy C patiently waits for the game to get underway.  He was disappointed in 1980, sadly. He died on December 19, 1994 - the day after the Giants knocked [. Click to continue reading...

HollyCornblog is back on line and sent along some photos of what it was looking like in her world yesterday. Here's a beauty! In the meantime, I had the occasion to drive over toward the Monadnock region of NH (actually Antrim, Peterborough, Greenfield, etc.) and was absolutely shocked at the devastation. Click to continue reading...

Saturday morning ... and please remind me to not eat handfuls of chocolate-covered cherries while Watching Rachel Maddow ... and before going to bed!  And I don't mean the sweet syrupy kind - but nice tart ones - delicious, for sure - and probably marginally good for me (yes, I do believe I could make [. Click to continue reading...

In a moment or two, I'll be taking our Westie Ruby to the vets to have the plaque and tartar scraped off of her teeth.  She's had a miserable and confusing morning, as she wasn't allowed to go "do her business" on her own but went out on a leash instead.  Then, when she came [...] Click to continue reading...

First off, get well wishes to HollyCornblog who is recovering from a bad ankle sprain sustained in a nasty fall at work.  Keep it iced and raised ... and, as we like to say to Willie (and to Ruby - but with much less effect), "Heel!" [sic] Between HollyCornblog and Hope Solo, things have been a [... Click to continue reading...

It's a warm, foggy Saturday morning here in post-election New Hampshire.  Most of the political signs are put away, and gunshots now ring through the hillsides. Rebellion against the new socialist state?  Post-election right wing despair?  Nah.  Hunting season.  It's more personal this year than some, as the doe and two fawns that we've been watching [. Click to continue reading...

It's day two of what continues to feel like a new era.  Obama faces a plethora of daunting tasks, and we are on notice that for hope to burn bright, we need to roll up our sleeves and help.  That's the difference.  Obama's no white-haired GOP fake Father-Knows-Best, but a competent and inspiring leader who's [. Click to continue reading...

There's lots to be said for symmetry!  Indeed, back in '80, the first time the Phillies won it all, yours truly was about to turn 28 ... and now here we are 28 years later!  Yeah, symmetry!  :)  On a chilly night in Philly, they did it again! That training Scene from Rocky 1 still [...] Click to continue reading...

No baseball to report on.  No debate.  I am forced to move to Plan B.  (Don't try this at home.) What brought me to this?  It began with my morning visit to Woot - a site that HollyCornblog turned me onto some years ago. I check it first thing and sometimes find really good deals.  [...] Click to continue reading...

It wasn't looking good for Chase Utley and crew when yours truly hit the hay last night.  But 40 year old Matt Stairs' 2-run homer put the Phillies in the win column for the 3rd time in the NLCS - and on the brink of their first World Series since 1993. Speaking of 1993 made me [...] Click to continue reading...

 The Time Finder posted information about some great computer shortcuts this morning - along with a link to the NY Times article by David Pogue.  Who knew, for example, that you can use Google like a calculator?  And here's a cool tip that I found in the "Comments" - A little less known one I enjoy [. Click to continue reading...

I'm very excited to be heading over to HollyCornblog's house today for a weekend visit. We'll be doing some chores at the lake like bringing in the dock, bringing in HollyCornblog's sailboat, etc. I'll also be inspecting the amazing and gargantuan work that she and CharlieHopbrew did on the new woodshed up there. Click to continue reading...

Yes, it's true.  Turdblossom (aka Karl Rove) has spoken out about the excesses of the McCain campaign ads.  To my mind the fact that he would do this publicly speaks, not to any new found sense of decorum or fair play in the doughy sleazeball, but to the fractiousness and internecine warfare within the Republican [. Click to continue reading...

This morning's post will likely be quick, as I've gotta make 2 dozen sandwiches for some soccer-game tailgating by 7:30 AM.  But enough about me! On Truthdig I came upon this Palin Perspective from John Dean (yes, that John Dean).  Basically he argues, rather damningly, that were a sitting President in the position of having to [. Click to continue reading...

This clip of Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin pretty much says it all.  McCain may be channeling Bush, but Sarah is pretty much the real thing ... never EVER letting her ignorance stand in the way of her swagger and bellicosity. Here's a bit more from the interview ... Pressed about what insights into recent [. Click to continue reading...

It's my kind of Sunday! First, this is an excellent sharp retort from Boltgirl to Rudy's  bull about Obama's record.  Truth will out (I hope). On the first full day of NFL action the Pats pulled out a scary win - and it remains to be seen what Brady's status will be.  He walked off ... but [...] Click to continue reading...

Wow - I read today in the Swedish press that Pia has turned down an invitation from Dubya to visit the White House and be graced by his presence. I didn't actually think I could like him less today than I did on July 28 (just to select a random date).  But after watching his smirking [...] Click to continue reading...

To my mind, this was one of the finest moments in quite a collection of 'em over the past couple of days.  Bill came through last night, too. The historic milestone that Obama's nomination represents is both cause for celebration and cause for sadness ... because in 2008 we should be well beyond celebrating this [. Click to continue reading...

I opened up MSNBC this morning and saw the news that Obama has picked Biden. Probably a smart move ... experience and gravitas and whiteness and all. I was kinda hoping for something more interesting - but would rather win. So Biden seems good. Biden I can live with. (But wouldn't [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

Yup - Michael Phelps won another gold in world record time. Just amazing! And yup, here we go with game three of the preliminaries, starting with Germany v North Korea and Brazil v Nigeria - both interesting match-ups - both now underway. Then, starting at 7:45 the remaining 4 matches get underway. Click to continue reading...

Here's Beulah's match report. I'm always so pleased when one or two things I noticed show up in Beulah's write-up! I continue to be impressed with HAO's play - and was also very glad to see Mitts playing more like her old self. Hope A-Rod gets her scoring started against New Zealand [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

HollyCornblog has sent me a couple of photos of her growing hops (remember that huge hop trellis?). They're looking nice and healthy, don't you think? (It's also very important that I get HollyCornblog's name in here more frequently - because with the Olympics underway, Pia is appearing all the time - and that pisses HollyCornblog off! Click to continue reading...

First, it's pronounced Soond-HAGH-eh. (You still have 'til 8/6 to practice and get it right! Let's all give it our best shot, okay?) And for hardcore Pia fans, here are her career tournament stats (from the FIFA site). Second - don't forget to vote in the USWNT poll over there in the right-hand [. Click to continue reading...

Just to keep you up to date ... the Red Sox lost and the Phillies won ... and there's nothing from Beulah yet. Rest assured that I'll post as soon as I see anything! Last night I dreamed that I had a quick breakfast with Pia Sundhage and April Heinrichs. (April joined us midway [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Pia Dreams, USWNT News, and a HollyCornblog Update, Too! Click to continue reading...