Hopefully this weekend you had beautiful weather like we did here in Connecticut.
So you're forgiven if you weren't pinned to the couch to watch the incredible Sunday morning Premier League matchup on Fox Soccer Channel between Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic.
If you decided to walk the dog or get some sun or just about anything else, you missed maybe my favorite moment of the season. After Ryan Nelsen scored his first goal for Blackburn on over 110 appearances, Rovers boss Sam Allardyce lifted his arms in celebration -- only to show massive pit stains under both arm pits of his suit jacket.
Lovely, lovely stuff.
The 2-0 win likely ensures we'll get another season of Blackburn in the top flight, which is nice for an original member of the Football League.
After the potshot about Allardyce's leaky glands, I'll toss him some praise for saving Blackburn from near doom. Hell, I even liked Christopher Samba starting at forward out of necessity.
Now...on the other end of the table we almost, almost had a race back on our hands. It lasted, what? less than three hours.
Liverpool, with Steven Gerrard, took care of business and banked three points by beating Hull City in pretty ho-hum fashion, aside from a nice rebounded rocket off the foot of Xabi Alonso. The eventual 3-1 win put Liverpool back on top of Manchester United.
And when it was quickly 2-0 Spurs at Old Trafford in the standalone late game, man, we almost had it back on. On like Donkey Kong.
But somehow in the second half Manchester United woke up the echoes and ripped of five goals in a blitzing performance that we haven't seen from the Red Devils in months. (Maybe they all ate $5 footlongs before the match, likely Italian BMTs.)
Quibble with the penalty called against Gomes for dragging down Michael Carrick, but there was enough contact to warrant a call. Then again, in the game of what ifs, does United peel off another four goals if they don't get going from Ronaldo's spot kick?
For the first time in a long time, Manchester United at least looked like a worthy champion, with Ronaldo and Rooney menacing around the field.
Around the league -- Is it possible for West Brom to somehow sneak out of the drop zone? The Baggies are six points behind 17th place Hull, so they'd need a minor miracle to leapfrog all those teams. If anything West Brom at least has made both Portsmouth and now Sunderland sweat it out with positive results against the two clubs. ... What kind of moron would ever say Arsenal isn't any good, now that the Gunners are 10 points ahead of fifth-place Aston Villa. Wait, don't answer that. ... So yeah, we'll see you later Gareth Southgate. Middlesbrough play Manchester United next weekend, so 'Boro is pretty much done.
Fantasy team of the week -- Kraig Kraft's nicely-named PBR FC takes weekly honors with 77 points thanks to that Ronaldo fellow. The race at the top is at 31 points, with La Academia picking up two points on second-place 92% Pure Oxygen.
Quick thoughts on the Champions League -- Not even a grouch like me can pick apart these two semifinals.
What needs to be said about Barcelona and Chelsea? The two teams know each other pretty well.. Unlike past UCL pairings between these two, Barca doesn't have Ronaldinho, but instead has Thierry Henry and a lot more midfield grit. (Essien vs. Keita...sabres at ten paces anyone?)
This one could boil down the keepers, with the suddenly butterfingered Petr Cech trying to out-gaffe Victor Valdes, who I've always thought to be Barcelona's weakest link.
This might be simplistic, but after 180 (or more) minutes, the best team will win. Bonus pick: Barcelona 5, Chelsea 3
As for Manchester United and Arsenal? After United's second-half against Spurs, anything again seems possible.
This might be the match/matches that Sir Alex Ferguson bought Dmitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian showed some signs of life on Saturday and with his size and skill could punish the underbelly of the Arsenal defense.
The big question here is what kind of lineup Ferguson trots out on Wednesday at Old Trafford. Will he rely on the savvy old heads of Scholes and Giggs? Or will we see Anderson and Ji-Sung Park get the nods.
It's an easy thing to point out, but Arsenal won't have its new talisman Andrei Arshavin except as a sideline cheerleader. Robin Van Persie is also likely out, same for Mikel Silvestre. That likely means that Cesc Fabregas or Samir Nasri is going to have to step up with some goals.
Something, too, that bears watching is if United exerts its dominance on the first leg at home and if Arsenal is able to use Theo Walcott's speed to trigger something on the counter attack. Overall this looks like a game that might be won outside on the wings. Bonus pick: Manchester United 3, Arsenal 2S
So you're forgiven if you weren't pinned to the couch to watch the incredible Sunday morning Premier League matchup on Fox Soccer Channel between Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic.
If you decided to walk the dog or get some sun or just about anything else, you missed maybe my favorite moment of the season. After Ryan Nelsen scored his first goal for Blackburn on over 110 appearances, Rovers boss Sam Allardyce lifted his arms in celebration -- only to show massive pit stains under both arm pits of his suit jacket.
Lovely, lovely stuff.
The 2-0 win likely ensures we'll get another season of Blackburn in the top flight, which is nice for an original member of the Football League.
After the potshot about Allardyce's leaky glands, I'll toss him some praise for saving Blackburn from near doom. Hell, I even liked Christopher Samba starting at forward out of necessity.
Now...on the other end of the table we almost, almost had a race back on our hands. It lasted, what? less than three hours.
Liverpool, with Steven Gerrard, took care of business and banked three points by beating Hull City in pretty ho-hum fashion, aside from a nice rebounded rocket off the foot of Xabi Alonso. The eventual 3-1 win put Liverpool back on top of Manchester United.
And when it was quickly 2-0 Spurs at Old Trafford in the standalone late game, man, we almost had it back on. On like Donkey Kong.
But somehow in the second half Manchester United woke up the echoes and ripped of five goals in a blitzing performance that we haven't seen from the Red Devils in months. (Maybe they all ate $5 footlongs before the match, likely Italian BMTs.)
Quibble with the penalty called against Gomes for dragging down Michael Carrick, but there was enough contact to warrant a call. Then again, in the game of what ifs, does United peel off another four goals if they don't get going from Ronaldo's spot kick?
For the first time in a long time, Manchester United at least looked like a worthy champion, with Ronaldo and Rooney menacing around the field.
Around the league -- Is it possible for West Brom to somehow sneak out of the drop zone? The Baggies are six points behind 17th place Hull, so they'd need a minor miracle to leapfrog all those teams. If anything West Brom at least has made both Portsmouth and now Sunderland sweat it out with positive results against the two clubs. ... What kind of moron would ever say Arsenal isn't any good, now that the Gunners are 10 points ahead of fifth-place Aston Villa. Wait, don't answer that. ... So yeah, we'll see you later Gareth Southgate. Middlesbrough play Manchester United next weekend, so 'Boro is pretty much done.
Fantasy team of the week -- Kraig Kraft's nicely-named PBR FC takes weekly honors with 77 points thanks to that Ronaldo fellow. The race at the top is at 31 points, with La Academia picking up two points on second-place 92% Pure Oxygen.
Quick thoughts on the Champions League -- Not even a grouch like me can pick apart these two semifinals.
What needs to be said about Barcelona and Chelsea? The two teams know each other pretty well.. Unlike past UCL pairings between these two, Barca doesn't have Ronaldinho, but instead has Thierry Henry and a lot more midfield grit. (Essien vs. Keita...sabres at ten paces anyone?)
This one could boil down the keepers, with the suddenly butterfingered Petr Cech trying to out-gaffe Victor Valdes, who I've always thought to be Barcelona's weakest link.
This might be simplistic, but after 180 (or more) minutes, the best team will win. Bonus pick: Barcelona 5, Chelsea 3
As for Manchester United and Arsenal? After United's second-half against Spurs, anything again seems possible.
This might be the match/matches that Sir Alex Ferguson bought Dmitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian showed some signs of life on Saturday and with his size and skill could punish the underbelly of the Arsenal defense.
The big question here is what kind of lineup Ferguson trots out on Wednesday at Old Trafford. Will he rely on the savvy old heads of Scholes and Giggs? Or will we see Anderson and Ji-Sung Park get the nods.
It's an easy thing to point out, but Arsenal won't have its new talisman Andrei Arshavin except as a sideline cheerleader. Robin Van Persie is also likely out, same for Mikel Silvestre. That likely means that Cesc Fabregas or Samir Nasri is going to have to step up with some goals.
Something, too, that bears watching is if United exerts its dominance on the first leg at home and if Arsenal is able to use Theo Walcott's speed to trigger something on the counter attack. Overall this looks like a game that might be won outside on the wings. Bonus pick: Manchester United 3, Arsenal 2S
Labels: Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer
YES! Time to renew the Eto'o - Drogba rivalry! Come on Barca. If you're gunna lose, please don't let it be to Chelsea.