We could probably spend a day listing all the difference between our traditional North American
sports leagues (MLB, NFL and NBA) with the way European soccer clubs are run, or in fact almost all
leagues around the world are run, aside from MLS. For me, one of the key differences is roster
construction.
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Before delving into a couple odds-and-ends, let me first issue a major apology. If anyone out there
in Inter-nets Land actually takes my Premier League picks to heart and bets them, well, last
weekend I'm massively sorry. Going 2-and-8 is frankly, unacceptable. If this were a reality
television program, I'd have been asked to take my laptop and go.
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Believe it or not, after this weekend we'll be past the quarter post in the 2009-10 Premier League
season. With that in mind, I figured it would be time to assess where the 20 clubs stand. While at
first glance it might look like a giant glob, there are some mild strains of separation. Again, I'm
knowingly cribbing a Bill Simmons popularized trope, so deal with it.
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Not going to waste anybody's time on a preamble, as we ease back toward club season. Crazy day
Thursday left me with little time to write. Let me just say, it would be nice for the Premier
League to have some consistency in its scheduling. For example, why no noon-ish game on Saturday?
Doesn't make sense.
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So wrapped up in baseball right now, here are a couple random nuggets to chew on for a Friday.*
Ruminating on this for a while, logic would say with the influx of foreign players, specifically
non-English speakers, that there would be a better decorum between the players in the Premier
League and the officials, but it doesn't seem to be the case.
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Well, folks, it was bound to happen. It only took about seven weeks, but we've finally hit a truly
dud weekend in the Premier League. No matches contested between the 'Big Four' or 'Fringe Two'
(City/Spurs). No really big derby matches, unless you want to count Fulham hosting Arsenal, but
that's more of a one-way rivalry.
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Life without a home computer isn't as bad as you might think. Life, does in fact, move on without
minute-by-minute status updates, viral videos and Yahoo! top news. Thankfully, while Dell computers
and customer support are lacking, at least they sent a technician to my home to replace my faulty
motherboard and processor within a couple days of its failure.
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Sorry for the cop-out this weekend, which is the best slate of games the Premier League has to
offer so far. I just wrote what felt like a 5,000 word preview for my paying gig and my brain feels
like ice cream that was left out in the sun.Let me say this, this is the going to be a fun weekend
if you subscribe to ESPN, Fox Soccer and Setanta.
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Every year I like to draw up the Premier League as a system of tiers. This year I didn't do it, but
the caste system is about as pronounced as its ever been. In an scenario eerily similar to the
actual world, the small group of elites (The Big Four) are growing richer, the middle class is
getting squeezed and the poor unwashed masses continue to grow.
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"If this is it...do-wop...please let me know." -- Huey Lewis & the NewsFirst, quick housekeeping.
I'll run through the typical year end awards, best XI (suggestions, as always, welcome) stuff on
the usual recap post, which might run Tuesday morning. So it'll give you a little something to read
after a post Memorial Day hangover.
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Well campers, so much for any late drama at the top. It's still conceivably possible that
Manchester United could go ass-up and Liverpool sneaks in to steal the title. It all comes down to
Arsenal. Can the Gunners atone for the Champions League knockout and make Manchester United's life
miserable? Anyway, I'm pressed for time to write this.
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The good news, Tom Henning Øvrebø won't be refereeing this weekend in the Premier League. The bad
news, he's on the short list for the 2010 World Cup. Something I thought about over the week
because of some of the Premier League fantasy talk on Monday's post, was how to make the game good.
Back in 1995 I first started doing fantasy sports, starting with baseball and morphing into
football,
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Swine flu?Serie A splitting apart?Everton coming to the states?Manchester City linked with you, me
and Dupree?Ronaldo stamping around like an unemployed chorus line dancer? An all Ukraine Is Not
Weak UEFA Cup semifinal?An insightful soccer player interview? Just another week in the wild world
of world football.
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Is it over? Or isn't it?Obviously Manchester United took a big step toward it's third-straight
Premier League title, beating Portsmouth 2-0 Wednesday and leaving Liverpool three points in its
wake with a game in hand. While we can say Chelsea's longshot hopes are now dashed after drawing
Everton on Wednesday, Liverpool still has some hope.
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Ok, pretend this is 1996 and 'Seinfeld' was still part of NBC's 'Must-See TV' lineup. Suppose we
took away Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. All we'd be left with are the likes of Newman, Mikey,
Peterman, Uncle Leo, Frank Costanza and let's say Larry David wearing a cape. Would you still tune
in? I might, just for the bizarre curiosity of it.
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A little pressed for time so a couple random thoughts...* Can anyone come up with a reason why the
Manchester United plane has crashed into the proverbial mountain? Pointing to the too many
games/competitions theory seems too simplistic. Perhaps the Michael Carrick/Paul Scholes midfield
isn't getting the job done?
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Believe it or not, I had a couple things saved up...so here they are:* Call it a sign of the times.
I was strolling through Dick's Sporting Goods the other day, and a woman and her son walked past a
Manchester United training top and the mom laughed about the AIG across the shirt. Perhaps that
explains the Red Devils sudden slide as much as anything.
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You can't make this stuff up and it's getting to be like a bad horror sequel -- Liverpool v.
Chelsea in the Champions League...again. If there's a mild silver lining, at least four English
team's won't comprise the semifinals, otherwise it's 180+ minutes of the same play we've seen in
four of the last five years.
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Sorry Emmy voters, the best comedic performance this year wasn't from Tina Fey or anyone else on
'30 Rock.' (Okay, no lightning bolts struck me, phew.)No the best televised comedy of 2008-09 comes
from three minutes and 10 seconds of subtle genius from pitchman Vince Offer and the Slap Chop.
Sorry, there are no arguments here.
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Hey...I'd planned for a big meaty Friday post, then Thursday morning I spilled coffee on my laptop
and essentially fried that damn thing. My CPU status remains up in the air and I'm pretty
despondent. Here's something, at least. Saturday* Everton v. West Brom -- (Live, 7:45, Setanta) No
Arteta, no problem?
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Michael Lewis, I'm waiting. After reading your story about Shane Battier in the New York Times
Magazine this week I want you to apply the 'Moneyball' philosophy to the world's game, soccer.
(Quick note, if you haven't read 'The Blind Side' stop everything and find a copy, post haste.) It
could even be pretty easy and here's your starting point.
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Internet, hello. Figured since the Premier League was basically dark over the weekend, sans one
match, might as well make a token post to prove I'm still alive and make one gimme pick to help up
my season percentage toward .500.First, good to see Eduardo return for Arsenal after his leg
snapped like a twig against Birmingham last year in the PL's version of Joe Theisman/Lawrence
Taylor.
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Got to admit it up front, no coherent preamble before the picks. Just a couple thoughts to keep you
warm until USA/Mexico next week. I'll make it up to you, I promise. In case you missed it, Sky got
four of the six Premier League packages in the newest deal, leaving Setanta and ESPN to battle for
the other two.
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Answer: Which vagabond Welshman indirectly played a deciding role in the 2008-09 Premier League
title race? Question: Who is Jason Koumas? Sorry for the Jeopardy! style, but I took their online
contestant quiz last night and most likely failed miserably. Anyway, this odd midweek slate of
games might have done more to impact the title race than any matchday we've yet seen.
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Premier League game during the week! What's next dogs and cats living together in harmony? Anyway,
to cleanse the palet, enjoy this goal from Lionel Messi this weekend. You know I'm not huge on
embedded video, but wouldn't it be nice to be this good this easily? Tuesday * Portsmouth v. Aston
Villa -- (Live, FSC, 3 p.
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Cue the Jim Mora chestnut -- "Playoffs!?!" Earlier this week I was listening to Bill
Simmons post-NFL Sunday podcast and he bemoaned the lack of rhyme or reason to the league's
postseason this year. Also brought into the argument was the MLB playoffs where a team only has to
get hot at the end to win.
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Bear with me, typing this roundup/rambling at work with a belly full of Christmas cookies... What a
crazy Friday morning. First of all it offered Premier League soccer, which is always a good thing,
even if it leaves this morning pretty barren. Admittedly, I couldn't get up early enough for the
Manchester United win over Stoke.
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Credit to the unstoppable Ace Cowboy for tipping me off to the incredible goal dance celebration
between Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse. After do some research via the Black Cats
message boards and video sites, it turns out it was inspired by Dance Hall music. Go figure. If my
photo-shopping skills were better I'd have been Santa Claus hats on them, either way hope it sets
up up
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In a notebook somewhere I have some names scribbled down under the heading, "What the hell
happened?" Mainly its pop culture figures who've faded away from the spot light, like Reginald
Vel Johnson, aka Carl Winslow on 'Family Matters'. (Guess those Urkel residuals are paying the
rent.) Anyways, why not apply the concept to the Premier League since every clubs seems to have a
couple players
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A couple things that have been on my mind in relation to the world of soccer lately... * The
Champions League, or, how do you spell excitement? Does anyone remember a final day of the Group
Stage lacking any drama whatsoever. Tuesday and Wednesday this week there was pretty much nothing
at stake -- aside from those 10 minutes where Chelsea looked slightly in danger against CFR Cluj.
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Let's channel my inner Jim Cramer and play "Buy buy buy" or "sellsellsellsell"
with the 20 clubs in the Premier League a month ahead of the January transfer window. The wintry
economic climate obviously will impact this a lot, but if we've learned one thing, it's that
Premier League clubs no matter what never issue any financial restraint.
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Anyone like that old chestnut -- what day is it in England on the Fourth of July? Well, apply that
to Thanksgiving. Let that be my ultra-lame excuse for no witty lead-in to the game guesses this
weekend. At least Sunday features a double-header of must-watch games. Ok, one little kernel...does
Tim Howard invite his Everton teammates over for a big roasted turkey?
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It should come as no surprise that when I finally received my December issue of 'FourFourTwo'
rating the mag's top 100 players in the world, there was nary an American to be seen. I'd wager a
safe bet that aside from Aston Villa keeper Brad Freidel there wasn't a Yank within sniffing
distance. Maybe that will change when Landon Donovan sets the Bundesliga on fire with his receding
hairline,
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So, yeah, I finally beat "Fallout 3", which was all-consuming my day-to-day activities.
As my friend Doyle allegedly said, if the game was a drug "grind it up and smoke it." In
its wake something is going to have to fill my addictions, hopefully it'll be the wide world of
soccer. As luck would have it, I'll probably have to cover a high school soccer state championship
Saturday morning instead
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Consider this question, which would take more of a toll on your body over the long haul: a) Running
into a brick wall once a week for four months? b) Running a marathon once a week for 11 months of
the year? Naturally, neither are that tempting a proposition. You'd think the marathon option would
be more appealing, but not when your factor in the idea of joint pain and that occasional heart
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