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.
And so ended my mini trip back to 1991. (No, I'm not about to swap my iPhone for a beeper, maybe if said pager came with a free box-fade haircut included.)
So, let's play a little catch up, why not?
* In light of the base-brawl in the Bronx the other night between the Yankees and Blue Jays, does it seem fair that Emmanuel Adebayor received a three-match ban for stomping on Robin van Persie's face?
Did the FA take into account that the Togolese giant nearly incited a riot straight out of 1987 with his full-length of the field gloating in from of the Arsenal fans?
Three MLB games vs. three matches in England? That's a huge variance.
Again, inciting a good ol' fashioned English soccer riot, might be worth the games. It's not like the City cupboard is bear.
(Long story short, I'm beginning to reconsider my apathy toward the Gunners in light of the last three weeks.)
* Is the Champions League on Fox/Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports En Espanol too much of a good thing? Hear me out.
First off, the nightly Max Bretos-narrated highlight show is top drawer stuff. Unfortunately in the group stages, that's about all that's necessary until at least November when the games get into the nitty gritty.
Don't get me wrong, it's a nice luxury to watch Marseille/Milan on one channel and flip over to Besiktas/Manchester United on the other. Yet the sheer number of games at this point make it a tad be overwhelming for me on a personal level.
Granted, strike these sentiments from the record once the knockout stages rolls around.
* On the Champions League note, the upside of it moving to Fox is better access to all the games than when it was on ESPN, plus the natural advantages of Bobby McMahon breaking it down opposed to Tommy Smyth. The downside, big picture, is that the competition gets minimal recognition on ESPN. Just think to last season when they treated the Barca/United final like it was a October NCAA football game. (That's sarcasm, or a dig at the over-importance of the college game.)
* Nice goal by Real Madrid, but to pull out the old 'Pulp Fiction' line from the Wolf, "Let's not go suck each other's ..." five goals vs. FC Zurich doesn't win you the trophy with the big ears.
* And what was with Madrid and Milan's Bwin.com sponsorships absent from each club's jersey during the UCL? Actually, I probably could answer my own question, since UEFA has about a 10,000 page rule book about all the minutia such as sponsorships and the like. I severly doubt it has anything to do with a weariness toward promoting gambling.
* Looks like Jose Mourinho made a quick flight back to London to grab the proverbial "bus" to park in front of the goal Wednesday vs. Barcelona.
* If we learned anything from the first group matches, Group A will be the trickest with either Juventus, Bordeaux or Bayern Munich getting knocked out. Everything else went to form, aside from Atletico Madrid drawing APOEL 0-0 at home.
* If you have an iPhone, UEFA released an app to track Champions League and Europa League scores. It's free, but nothing all that special. The ESPN scoretracker app is superior since it provides in-app commentary.
* Buy this book -- Trust me, I don't net a red cent for this endorsement. If you've got a spare $25 from gambling winnings lying around, why not order 'The Soccer Book' from DK Publishing.
Perfect coffee table book. A little bit of everything, perhaps too much on the tactics, but plenty of pictures, graphics, bar graphs, charts, insets and a dot-matrix representation of Steven Gerrard.
* Not exactly a great mid-week for Americans in Europe, aside from Tim Howard playing in Everton's 4-0 win at home to AEK in Europa League action. Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson weren't even in the Fulham team for its 1-1 draw to CSKA Sofia, DaMarcus Beasley sat the bench for Rangers while Maurice Edu was M.I.A., same for Oguchi Onyewu at AC Milan. (Anyone forgotten?)
* Semi-funny article on Goal.com, that seems to be directly targeted at people like yours truly who don't fawn over the intellectualism of Bob Bradley and the recent mediocrity of the USMNT. Results are results, but should fans be pleased with the live-and-death struggle at home to El Salvador and a listless 1-0 win at Trinidad?
The mainstream media doesn't care about the team. The soccer press seem content with the status quo. I'll agree with author Allen Ramsey's assessment that there's a little too much knee-jerk reaction by fans like myself, but compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. team has it easy. If anything, this article outlines, how unfortunately, U.S. national team fans have taken on the inflated sense of entitlement of their English counterparts.
By the same token, it doesn't seem outlandish for fans to have one expectation for a team, which is almost always going to be more aggressive than the institution running it.
Guess we'll find out who's right in South Africa. Too bad answering the question of whether Bob Bradley is the man to lead the U.S. out of the group stage will be the ultimate pass/fail test.
Bottom line, we're fans. We're not beholden to any interests other than wanting to see the team play its best, which really isn't asking much.
Saturday:
* Burnley v. Sunderland -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:45 a.m.) If nothing else, Burnley is officially "Team ESPN". Wonder if Turf Moor is equipped with HD capability? ... Burnley 0, Sunderland 1
* Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) Roberto Martinez & Co., please report behind the woodshed post haste. ... Arsenal 4, Wigan 0
* Aston Villa v. Portsmouth -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Portsmouth is due to show some signs of life at some point. This will not be that week. ... Aston Villa 2, Portsmouth 0
* Bolton v. Stoke City -- Are Stoke the new Bolton? One thing's for certain, Sam Allardyce never would have been caught wearing Tony Pulis' trademark ball cap. (Somewhere we need a breakdown of the coaching records of managers wearing shirt-and-tie vs. warmup/track suit.) ... Bolton 1, Stoke City 1
* Hull City v. Birmingham City -- As much as I love the Jozy Altidore move by Phil Brown, coupling that by letting Steve Bruce pry away Michael Turner doesn't make a lick of sense. The Tigers have already allowed a league-worst 12 goals in five matches. That's not a recipe for success, in fact it leads to a lot of cardiac arrest from your supporters. That said, this should be a good litmus test for Hull since it welcomes in The Brum -- the lowest scoring team in the league with just two goals to its name. Perhaps we can get one of those weird club-mergers here -- Hullmingham City? It might finish in 14th place! Hurrah! ... Hull City 2, Birmingham City 1
* West Ham United v. Liverpool -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) This will not be one of those matches were Liverpool can show up and expect for the opponent to hand them the three points, double that statement coming off a tough midweek European win. West Ham, Guille Franco? Really? ... West Ham 1, Liverpool 2
Sundee:
* Manchester United v. Manchester City -- (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Old money vs. the nouveau riche in the template of a ages-old soccer rivalry, with a side order of a scarred up 5-foot-5 Argentine dynamo. Worth shaking off an early Sunday hangover and watching what unfurls at Old Trafford.
Honestly, anything and everything is in play.
For all the intrigue in this one, losing Adebayor to suspension hurts City, since it typically gives Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand fits. (Give the Premier League marketers credit, there are always storylines ahead of matches like these.)
It also bears watching how the new-look City respond in this match. The normal line of thinking is they'll be flying after last week's 4-2 demolition of Arsenal. Me? I'm banking on the over-confidence card, since winning at Old Trafford is like tightrope walking or building a ship in a bottle -- not very easy to do.
From a talent and form perspective, City are the pick, but after last week's win on the road at Tottenham, I'm not going against United. The specter of Sir Alex Ferguson coupled with the one-track mind of Wayne Rooney could be enough. Think of United as a crafty pitcher that doesn't have his fastball any more, but can still get hits out with 89 mph junk. If City wins here, all bets are officially off. ... United 1, City 0
* Wolves v. Fulham -- If Wolves have a realistic chance of staying up, these are the matches at home they have to win. ... Wolves 1, Fulham 1
* Everton v. Blackburn -- Everton are apparently taking a page from last year's Tottenham script. No Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka, Yakubu and now Phil Neville. Piling on top of that I'm sure the overall structural integrity of Goodison Park is nearing an end, too. If David Moyes weren't such a stand-up coach, he could heap all the blame on the pressures of carrying the MLS banner in the Premier League after winning the MLS All-Star game this summer. At lest Lucas Neill is on his way to Goodison Park, just in time to play his former team. The least he could do is cut a 'shoot' promo about Don Garber. ... Everton 1, Blackburn 0
* Chelsea v. Tottenham -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Without question the must-watch match of the weekend, based on the last few times these two have played. If you're a Spurs fan here's the stat you want to chew on -- they've unbeaten in the last four matches in all competitions against Chelsea. Everything else? Best avoid, such as failing to win a road league game in September since 2001, or how about a 63-match winless streak on the road against the 'Big Four' that dates back to 1993?
All that said, this is just a big a test of Chelsea, which sits atop the league table with a perfect 5-for-5 start, but look at the Blues opponents -- Hull City, Sunderland, Fulham, Burnley and Stoke City. Not a total cakewalk, but none of the four have the firepower that Harry Redknapp can throw out for Spurs.
The key for this match is how well the Spurs' midfield can cope with the power and possession of Chelsea. If Little Luca Modric were still around, it'd be a lot better proposition for Spurs. So in that regard, Tom Huddlestone and Wilson Palacios better tape some phonebooks under their jerseys and shin guards and be ready to go toe-to-toe with Essien and Co.
In the end, if Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe keep up their current form, Spurs will score a goal or two, but even if they do, can they make those stand up under the relentless charge of Chelsea? We saw last week Spurs don't yet have the strong mental fortitude to hold off Chelsea as the clock ticks toward 90? ... Chelsea 3, Spurs 2
Last week: 4-6 (In my haste I didn't pick Hull City/Sunderland)
Season: 26-20
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.
And so ended my mini trip back to 1991. (No, I'm not about to swap my iPhone for a beeper, maybe if said pager came with a free box-fade haircut included.)
So, let's play a little catch up, why not?
* In light of the base-brawl in the Bronx the other night between the Yankees and Blue Jays, does it seem fair that Emmanuel Adebayor received a three-match ban for stomping on Robin van Persie's face?
Did the FA take into account that the Togolese giant nearly incited a riot straight out of 1987 with his full-length of the field gloating in from of the Arsenal fans?
Three MLB games vs. three matches in England? That's a huge variance.
Again, inciting a good ol' fashioned English soccer riot, might be worth the games. It's not like the City cupboard is bear.
(Long story short, I'm beginning to reconsider my apathy toward the Gunners in light of the last three weeks.)
* Is the Champions League on Fox/Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports En Espanol too much of a good thing? Hear me out.
First off, the nightly Max Bretos-narrated highlight show is top drawer stuff. Unfortunately in the group stages, that's about all that's necessary until at least November when the games get into the nitty gritty.
Don't get me wrong, it's a nice luxury to watch Marseille/Milan on one channel and flip over to Besiktas/Manchester United on the other. Yet the sheer number of games at this point make it a tad be overwhelming for me on a personal level.
Granted, strike these sentiments from the record once the knockout stages rolls around.
* On the Champions League note, the upside of it moving to Fox is better access to all the games than when it was on ESPN, plus the natural advantages of Bobby McMahon breaking it down opposed to Tommy Smyth. The downside, big picture, is that the competition gets minimal recognition on ESPN. Just think to last season when they treated the Barca/United final like it was a October NCAA football game. (That's sarcasm, or a dig at the over-importance of the college game.)
* Nice goal by Real Madrid, but to pull out the old 'Pulp Fiction' line from the Wolf, "Let's not go suck each other's ..." five goals vs. FC Zurich doesn't win you the trophy with the big ears.
* And what was with Madrid and Milan's Bwin.com sponsorships absent from each club's jersey during the UCL? Actually, I probably could answer my own question, since UEFA has about a 10,000 page rule book about all the minutia such as sponsorships and the like. I severly doubt it has anything to do with a weariness toward promoting gambling.
* Looks like Jose Mourinho made a quick flight back to London to grab the proverbial "bus" to park in front of the goal Wednesday vs. Barcelona.
* If we learned anything from the first group matches, Group A will be the trickest with either Juventus, Bordeaux or Bayern Munich getting knocked out. Everything else went to form, aside from Atletico Madrid drawing APOEL 0-0 at home.
* If you have an iPhone, UEFA released an app to track Champions League and Europa League scores. It's free, but nothing all that special. The ESPN scoretracker app is superior since it provides in-app commentary.
* Buy this book -- Trust me, I don't net a red cent for this endorsement. If you've got a spare $25 from gambling winnings lying around, why not order 'The Soccer Book' from DK Publishing.
Perfect coffee table book. A little bit of everything, perhaps too much on the tactics, but plenty of pictures, graphics, bar graphs, charts, insets and a dot-matrix representation of Steven Gerrard.
* Not exactly a great mid-week for Americans in Europe, aside from Tim Howard playing in Everton's 4-0 win at home to AEK in Europa League action. Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson weren't even in the Fulham team for its 1-1 draw to CSKA Sofia, DaMarcus Beasley sat the bench for Rangers while Maurice Edu was M.I.A., same for Oguchi Onyewu at AC Milan. (Anyone forgotten?)
* Semi-funny article on Goal.com, that seems to be directly targeted at people like yours truly who don't fawn over the intellectualism of Bob Bradley and the recent mediocrity of the USMNT. Results are results, but should fans be pleased with the live-and-death struggle at home to El Salvador and a listless 1-0 win at Trinidad?
The mainstream media doesn't care about the team. The soccer press seem content with the status quo. I'll agree with author Allen Ramsey's assessment that there's a little too much knee-jerk reaction by fans like myself, but compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. team has it easy. If anything, this article outlines, how unfortunately, U.S. national team fans have taken on the inflated sense of entitlement of their English counterparts.
By the same token, it doesn't seem outlandish for fans to have one expectation for a team, which is almost always going to be more aggressive than the institution running it.
Guess we'll find out who's right in South Africa. Too bad answering the question of whether Bob Bradley is the man to lead the U.S. out of the group stage will be the ultimate pass/fail test.
Bottom line, we're fans. We're not beholden to any interests other than wanting to see the team play its best, which really isn't asking much.
Saturday:
* Burnley v. Sunderland -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:45 a.m.) If nothing else, Burnley is officially "Team ESPN". Wonder if Turf Moor is equipped with HD capability? ... Burnley 0, Sunderland 1
* Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) Roberto Martinez & Co., please report behind the woodshed post haste. ... Arsenal 4, Wigan 0
* Aston Villa v. Portsmouth -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Portsmouth is due to show some signs of life at some point. This will not be that week. ... Aston Villa 2, Portsmouth 0
* Bolton v. Stoke City -- Are Stoke the new Bolton? One thing's for certain, Sam Allardyce never would have been caught wearing Tony Pulis' trademark ball cap. (Somewhere we need a breakdown of the coaching records of managers wearing shirt-and-tie vs. warmup/track suit.) ... Bolton 1, Stoke City 1
* Hull City v. Birmingham City -- As much as I love the Jozy Altidore move by Phil Brown, coupling that by letting Steve Bruce pry away Michael Turner doesn't make a lick of sense. The Tigers have already allowed a league-worst 12 goals in five matches. That's not a recipe for success, in fact it leads to a lot of cardiac arrest from your supporters. That said, this should be a good litmus test for Hull since it welcomes in The Brum -- the lowest scoring team in the league with just two goals to its name. Perhaps we can get one of those weird club-mergers here -- Hullmingham City? It might finish in 14th place! Hurrah! ... Hull City 2, Birmingham City 1
* West Ham United v. Liverpool -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) This will not be one of those matches were Liverpool can show up and expect for the opponent to hand them the three points, double that statement coming off a tough midweek European win. West Ham, Guille Franco? Really? ... West Ham 1, Liverpool 2
Sundee:
* Manchester United v. Manchester City -- (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Old money vs. the nouveau riche in the template of a ages-old soccer rivalry, with a side order of a scarred up 5-foot-5 Argentine dynamo. Worth shaking off an early Sunday hangover and watching what unfurls at Old Trafford.
Honestly, anything and everything is in play.
For all the intrigue in this one, losing Adebayor to suspension hurts City, since it typically gives Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand fits. (Give the Premier League marketers credit, there are always storylines ahead of matches like these.)
It also bears watching how the new-look City respond in this match. The normal line of thinking is they'll be flying after last week's 4-2 demolition of Arsenal. Me? I'm banking on the over-confidence card, since winning at Old Trafford is like tightrope walking or building a ship in a bottle -- not very easy to do.
From a talent and form perspective, City are the pick, but after last week's win on the road at Tottenham, I'm not going against United. The specter of Sir Alex Ferguson coupled with the one-track mind of Wayne Rooney could be enough. Think of United as a crafty pitcher that doesn't have his fastball any more, but can still get hits out with 89 mph junk. If City wins here, all bets are officially off. ... United 1, City 0
* Wolves v. Fulham -- If Wolves have a realistic chance of staying up, these are the matches at home they have to win. ... Wolves 1, Fulham 1
* Everton v. Blackburn -- Everton are apparently taking a page from last year's Tottenham script. No Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka, Yakubu and now Phil Neville. Piling on top of that I'm sure the overall structural integrity of Goodison Park is nearing an end, too. If David Moyes weren't such a stand-up coach, he could heap all the blame on the pressures of carrying the MLS banner in the Premier League after winning the MLS All-Star game this summer. At lest Lucas Neill is on his way to Goodison Park, just in time to play his former team. The least he could do is cut a 'shoot' promo about Don Garber. ... Everton 1, Blackburn 0
* Chelsea v. Tottenham -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Without question the must-watch match of the weekend, based on the last few times these two have played. If you're a Spurs fan here's the stat you want to chew on -- they've unbeaten in the last four matches in all competitions against Chelsea. Everything else? Best avoid, such as failing to win a road league game in September since 2001, or how about a 63-match winless streak on the road against the 'Big Four' that dates back to 1993?
All that said, this is just a big a test of Chelsea, which sits atop the league table with a perfect 5-for-5 start, but look at the Blues opponents -- Hull City, Sunderland, Fulham, Burnley and Stoke City. Not a total cakewalk, but none of the four have the firepower that Harry Redknapp can throw out for Spurs.
The key for this match is how well the Spurs' midfield can cope with the power and possession of Chelsea. If Little Luca Modric were still around, it'd be a lot better proposition for Spurs. So in that regard, Tom Huddlestone and Wilson Palacios better tape some phonebooks under their jerseys and shin guards and be ready to go toe-to-toe with Essien and Co.
In the end, if Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe keep up their current form, Spurs will score a goal or two, but even if they do, can they make those stand up under the relentless charge of Chelsea? We saw last week Spurs don't yet have the strong mental fortitude to hold off Chelsea as the clock ticks toward 90? ... Chelsea 3, Spurs 2
Last week: 4-6 (In my haste I didn't pick Hull City/Sunderland)
Season: 26-20
Labels: English Premier League, fox soccer, friday posts, odds and ends, Prem Picks, premier league picks, Soccer
I don't think Tevez is fit for the Man Utd match. Ditto for Robinho. That takes some major sails out of Man City who won't be overly confident. Lining up Bellamy/Santa Cruz is not too fear-inspiring.
I agree that is was not a good mid-week for the USMNT. Is it rude to point out that Onyewu would be playing (and starting) in the Champions League if he had stayed at Standard Liege? I understand that a move to Milan is hard to resist but was this current scenario for Gooch hard to see coming?
Re: Europa League. Is Hodgson playing the Fulham second-stringers a sign that he is fine with sliding out of this competition? Or that he is confident his team can move forward without risking his EPL position? Could be the latter since Fulham did get a draw away in Bulgaria, the kind of result that could see them through to the next stage. Assuming that is where they want to be.
According to the Guardian - Santa Cruz is definitely out for City (shocker!) but Tevez might be fit and play alongside Bellamy.
Hull has let Caleb Folan go on loan to Boro. This is definitely good news for Jozy, but more playing time for the Hatian Sensation may not have been the reason for the loan deal. Hull is apparently struggling financially, but not sure if loaning out Folan helps much in that department.
Burnley was SO last month.
From that Goal.com article; "This is key to being a U.S. Soccer fan. If the coach is an American point out his lack of tactical genius, his love for certain players, and his inability to manage a game."
This made me want to swear at babies. Bob Bradley isn't a tactical genius, he does have to much love for certain players and he can't manage a game. Am I really supposed to feel like an idiot because my brain can actually process what I see on the field? Oh Goal.com thank you for reminding me why I never look at your site.
The U.S. players no-shows in European competitions is disturbing. Even if Onyewu picked somewhere beside Milan, he likely wasn't sticking around with Liege.
Re: Goal.com.
Not sure why some people are so happy to protect, or not even question if Bradley is capable enough. I think the game management is my biggest concern ahead of the Cup. Does he ever have a Plan B if his Plan A -- Give the ball to Lando and hope something happens?
And Brad, how's life in the Championship? I might have been dreaming, but I saw Colocinni scored.
Huddlestone needs to tape some phone books to his chest? The man already weighs enough, is slow enough, without carrying around another few stones.
I was expecting a dodgy United penalty, not three extra minutes of added time to get the winner. The twelfth man at Old Trafford strikes again!