The excuses:
Preki:

"Very difficult to lose like this. The game should have been over in the first half, we had so many opportunities, penalty kick. Don't understand why the goalkeeper wasn't sent off after pulling Roberto (Nurse) down (on the penalty kick decision). As far as I know the rule says last guy - red card.

Click to continue reading...

Just got back. Writing furiously but wanted to post up the audio of the post-match press conference featuring Preki and Roberto Nurse.

Audio of it here.

Now back to writing!
Click to continue reading...

Chivas USA ended the half one up courtesy of a Roberto Nurse goal to put the series 2-1 on aggregate, but if they go out of the CONCACAF Champions League they'll be ruing three easy missed chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Sacha Kljestan missed a penalty with a weak shot he sent almost straight at the goalkeeper in the 23rd minute after Nurse ran onto a Panchito Mendoza ball and was brought down by goalkeeper Willington Dominguez.

Click to continue reading...

Chivas USA will host a critical match against Tauro FC tonight. Chivas USA needs to win by two goals in order to have any hopes of advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League.

Here is audio of my post-game chat with Jonathan Bornstein about the game.

Acutally, it's a bit more complicated than just winning by two. Click to continue reading...

The excuses:
Preki:

"Very difficult to lose like this. The game should have been over in the first half, we had so many opportunities, penalty kick. Don't understand why the goalkeeper wasn't sent off after pulling Roberto (Nurse) down (on the penalty kick decision). As far as I know the rule says last guy - red card.

Click to continue reading...

Having had a few hours to nurse my sore head, I have had time to reflect upon yesterday's terribly limp performance at Fulham; sometimes defeats are unfortunate and undeserved, however yesterday's was most definitely not one of these. I agree with everything Ted said earlier today, while Arseblogger also makes many similar points. Click to continue reading...

For anyone who might have missed the game (or overindulged in intoxicating beverages and missed key portions of the game, like, say, Alan Gordon's stoppage time goal), here are the highlights.

Watching this, I was struck by the fact that these were four quality goals. (And Nurse is a huge acquisition for Chivas.

Click to continue reading...

No Ante Razov. No Maykel Galindo. No win. But a valiant effort.

Question: What did Preki et al see in Roberto Nurse?

Click to continue reading...

No, I didn't start sniffing glue.

Yes, I know we lost.

Yes, I know we looked bad.

Alecko Eskandarian and Maykel Galindo played 20 minutes of the match! And for two rusty players that haven't played all season, they looked great! They threatened the defense, made intelligent runs and had a few looks on goal.

Click to continue reading...

I'll be honest, Luis and I are both crappy golfers. We didn't even have clubs, so Lance and Keith had to share theirs. They were very nice about it, though. We might have golfed a little better, though, if we'd resisted the free margaritas along the course. That doesn't exactly help one's coordination. Click to continue reading...

As promised,here is a link to the feature I wrote on Roberto Nurse, Chivas USA's latest signing.

Of course, I forgot to take my camera down from the press box to the mixed zone so I didn't get a chance to snap a shot of him.

On Sunday, I expect Nurse to start. Click to continue reading...

If you want to say Roberto Nurse's last name correctly, it's like this: noor-say. In Spanish, of course, every syllable is prounounced so you don't get silent a -gh thrown into the middle of the word or a silent letter at the end. Thus, in an English word like Nurse when prouncouned in Spanish is noor-say. Click to continue reading...

A common theme for Chivas USA Coach Preki this season has been his grousing that his team doesn't capitalize on their chances.

Well, they did tonight, substitute Ante Razov scoring with an eight-yard header from a nice Sacha Kljestan cross in the 73rd minute for the only goal of the game.

Click to continue reading...

Lots of shots on goal from the two teams (a dozen), but only three from Santos Laguna on target so the score is 0-0 after the opening 45 minutes.

The Mexican champions have looked fast and smooth when they transition into attack and gave some idea of their potency with a goal only 60 seconds or so into the game that was called back for offside.

Click to continue reading...

Roberto Nurse is signed, sealed and delivered. All the necessary paperwork is complete and Nurse will be available for selection for Chivas USA tonight against Santos, a source told me.

Nurse has been training with the team for several weeks now and impressed the coaching staff, who somehow were able to find a way to keep him on the roster. Click to continue reading...