Wins Are Now as Infrequent as White Unicorns

Born under a bad sign.
I’ve been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn’t for bad luck,
I wouldn’t have no luck.
(Born Under a Bad Sign, Cream)

Thanks Jack Bruce, I couldn’t have put it any better. This season has been full of bad luck so far for the Arsenal as the Gunners once again lose 2-1 to Fulham (Go here for a match report). Easy sitters have been missed, the woodwork has been pounded to death, and stand on your head saves by opposing goalkeepers have permeated the matches so far this year. But surely this can’t be the only reason. It isn’t the only reason, and stop calling me Shirley. Anyway, luck, or lack there of, isn’t the sole reason for this loss and some of the weaknesses of the squad are becoming readily apparent. In my opinion, some of the biggest concerns right now are a) the amount of youth/inexperience, and 2) physical stature of many of the players, and d) attitude.

The squad right now is very young and there is a big imbalance between youth and experience. You can’t have a team of geezers and win the Prem every year as displayed by the Bolton Home Care club. But you do need veterans with experience who have been around the block, have had to take their lumps, and know how and when to step up. Last night the more experienced players for Fulham like American Brian McBride and Boa Morte were completely out-playing the kids in the midfield and back line. Kolo was the veteran defender at 25 and unfortunately he had an off night. Some grizzled veterans might do the squad a bit of good. Wenger is brilliant at finding these diamond in the rough kids before anyone else (thus getting them cheap, like Cesc) but sometimes you need a squad player who isn’t brilliant but gets the job done when needed.

The second issue is somewhat related to the first and that is the physical size of the players. A lot of the team are smaller physically due to age and also stature in general. As much as American Football pundits would like to disagree, soccer is a physical sport and there are times when you need a bruiser in there who isn’t afraid to get stuck in and will go for the 50/50 balls. We don’t need an ass like Robbie Savage, me and many others agree that some old style players along the line of Parlour, Keown, Adams, etc. would do the squad some good. I really wish Baptista would get more starting time because they call him “The Beast” for a reason. I saw a lot of players lose the ball easily and not go into tackles that needed to be made. If you easily cede the ball to the other team, it will be tough going.

The last big problem has been the attitude of some of the players. Henry is a wonderful footballer, but goes into these “oh, merde” funks and shows no fire or commitment. I don’t think he is totally giving up and that he doesn’t want to win, rather it seems his Gaelic indifference shines through at times as seen last night. He just isn’t all there and this isn’t the attitude you like to see in your captain.

BUT, with all these issues, I still feel the Arsenal have a very good squad and show they can play some of the best football in Europe. Ask Liverpool. They have also had loads of bad luck with near misses. Some of it can be attributed to poor finishing, but hitting the woodwork that many times can’t always be because of crap shooting. The Gunners are now, unfortunately out of the Premiership race, but they can and need to qualify for Europe again by getting into the top 4, plus they have a shot at the Carling Cup, the FA Cup and the Champions League. The season isn’t over and we don’t all need to start panicking. If we can put away the scum for North London this weekend, we’ll all feel a bit rosier about the future!




Now that we’ve got Arsenal’s problems sorted, on to the Wolfmother show I went to in Houston last week! I had seen that the fellas were going to be in Houston this week, but didn’t think that I’d be able to make it as it was on a Tuesday and I’d been to the moon and back the previous week. But alas, work actually did me a favor by sending me out to Galveston for Tuesday and Wednesday, which meant I would be in the area for the show. So I dialed up Tickegouger.com on the old internets and picked up 2 tickets for the little sis and myself. After taking care of business in G-town, I headed north and went straight to the pub to await my sister who was still in class. An order of fish & chips plus a few pints later and I was ready to go. Met up with the little sis, changed into more appropriate attire (jeans & a T-shirt because I’m sooooo rock & roll) and off we went. Finally, after long negotiations with the jughead parking attendant we got to the show, bought a beer, and headed into to watch the opening act. I would tell you who they were, but their opening number was so horrible we retreated back to the bar so we could get another beer and escape the crappiness. I guess maybe I’m showing my age, but I feel a band playing a rock show, especially an opening band, needs to come out, grab you by the cajones, and say “Hold on my son, cuz here we go!” Instead, these guys came out playing some slow, weird song and I couldn’t hear half of it. I don’t know if they did a sound check or the technician bumped the board, but it took awhile before I could hear the guitar and even longer before vocals came through. Oh well. I wasn’t there to see them anyway.



After the din of the opening act died down, the roadies cleared the stage and got ready for the main event. At least that’s what I assume happened because I was still in the bar area drinking. Finally, the time seemed about right, we ordered a roadie (well actually a next roomie) and went in to wait for the Aussie trio. Out they came and launched in Dimension, which coincidentally is the first song on their album, so everything seemed in order. They, however, had that grab you by the cajones flair and rocked out!! Even my sis who hadn’t really listened to them was toe tapping and nodding to the tunes. The music was loud but good, and even though the sound quality left something to be desired (which I blame on the venue) it was golden to me. Andrew Stockdale belted out the riffs on some nice Les Pauls while bassist Chris Ross kept the beats thumping and the organ trembling. I’d tell you the set list, but I was busy enjoying the show too much to scribble notes like a Deadhead. The boys ended the set about an hour later with White Unicorn, a nice little jam and Mind’s Eye, then took a quick break. The crowd was electric and wanted more, so (as expected) the guys came back out for an encore started with Vagabond and Colossal, which I called! Hoohah! Then, as I thought they were done for the night, Chris Ross started the bassline to Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown!! What a great song and it was good to see these guys pay tribute to Page, Plant, and company. The final song was Joker and the Thief which had all the energy an encore song needs and included a guitar solo by Stockdale on the bar next to the stage. We left the show elated and partially deaf, which is the true measure of a great rock show. So, all in all, it was a great show and I could go on for pages, but I’m a bit tired and have work to do. Tomorrow is the big Sperz preview, so make sure to come back.

Adios

Home Again. Thank the Maker!!!

2,401.0 is what the trip odometer read this morning before heading to work. 10 days of travel and many miles sees your good buddy a bit weary and travel worn. Good thing I don’t have travel again, until…. when?…. tomorrow? Dammit!!! 2 days in Galveston, but at least I pre-planned and got a ticket to go see new supergroup (at least in my opinion) Wolfmother in Houston! Hurrah.

A lot has happened football-wise (both American and good old regular) and many thanks to both Mikey and Red for texts/messages/calls to keep me up to date on the Arsenal goings-on of the week. All long-hauls on the trip just happened to be during the matches. Good planning there Cam. Well, I do what I can. Actually I do what I’m told by the wife. Sooooo, anyway, the Arsenal had 3 matches (2 league, 1 CL) this past week and here is the short of it all.

Last Saturday the Arsenal hosted Newcastle. Roeder’s men had been lingering around the bottom of the table in the relegation area. Should be any easy win right. Well not according to Mikey’s report. Henry didn’t start and Keiron Dyer stole a goal in the 30th minute to put the Geordies one up. Sound familiar? Anyway, the Gunners once again had plenty of chances, lots of just wide and woodwork shots but couldn’t put one in. Henry came on for an injured van Persie in the 2nd half and through one of the best free kick’s Mikey’s ever seen, drew the match level at 1-1. The Gunners are still unbeaten at home, but 5 wins and 5 draws is not the result you would like to see, especially if you are trying to win the league.

On Tuesday, the Gunners hosted Hamburg in the Champions League group play. The Arsenal really needed a win to help secure a place in the next round after their so-so performances against Moscow. Once again the Gunners went down a goal early to van der Vaart in the 4th minute. What in the hell is going on here? Well, this didn’t seem to phase the boys in red and we got 3 goals afterwards (Van Persie 52, Eboue 83, Baptista 88) to get a much needed win. Now, there is one match left against Porto in Portugal. A win there will surely see us through and hopefully in the top spot. It seems the CL will be one of our important tourneys this season, but more on that later.

So the boys in red got a few days of rest then it was up country to Bolton where we have had loads of trouble over the years. For some strange reason, Big Sam’s boys have given us fits recently and it isn’t just because the Gunners are scared of Allerdyce’s giant sausage fingers. Bolton play a physical game and this coupled with their successes against the club puts the jimmy-legs into the Gunners. Also, Big Sam brought old Gunner Anelka back to Engerland and his buy paid off as the brooding one scored a brace to help gain a 3-1 win against us. Mikey told me as I drove through the wastelands of central Kansas that the Gunners really put in a bunch of shots (at least 8 off the woodwork) but to no avail. It seems to be a trend this season that we go a goal down early and then control the match but don’t execute on the finishing. It is getting a bit maddening, but sometimes, that is just football. At least there are chances. I’d be more upset if the Gunners didn’t get any shots off and were completely dominated.

It now seems that we are pretty much out of the title race for the Prem this season, though stranger things have happened. I always want the Gunners to strive for the league wins, but hopefully Wenger puts a bit more emphasis on the remaining cup chances (FA Cup, CL, and even Carling to some extent). The next league match is this Wednesday at Fulham. Of course I’ll be in the field working so I’ll miss yet another match.

This past week of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States was sure to be a boost for the Plymouth Argyle based on their name alone (you know, Plymouth Rock was named after Plymouth England, where the pilgrims started out from, etc etc.), but alas, dirty Leeds United had other plans and won 2-1. This loss caused Argyle to slip to 12th place in the Colaship. Hopefully the Argyle can turn this around tomorrow evening against Luton who are currently in 20th spot.

In the realm of American football, loads of games were played all week, but Thursday and Friday held special meaning for yours truly. On T-day, the Dallas Cowboys hosted John Gruden (Chuckie) and the Tampa Bay Bucs. It looked to be another dismal day for America’s Team as the Bucs marched down the field on their opening drive to score a touchdown, which has been a rarity for the Bay of Tampa team. The ‘boys then had to punt on their first possession after only 1 first down. But, alas, the football goods were smiling on new wunder-kid Romo who had a stellar day and 5 TD’s as the Cowboys gave the Bucs nothing to be thankful for and a 38-10 whoopin. The non-alcoholic T-day dinner (wife’s grandfather was a Baptist minister so no hooch at meals) a bit brighter with the win, especially since the entire in-law clan hate the Cowboys. Ahhh schadenfreude!! Their gloom at a Cowboy win was soon gone though as their glorious Chiefs upset Denver in the first prime-time Thanksgiving day match. Hoorah to them. It was a good match, a good win, and made the family happy. Isn’t that what the holidays are all about!



Friday, though, was the best of all for me and all of the Aggie-nation. The Texas A&M – Texas match is annually the biggest game of the year, and since 1999 the Aggies have been on the losing side. This year though, with no Vince Young and an Aggie side that gave fits to Oklahoma and Nebraska (they lost both, but only by 1 point each time) it seemed we might be able to take the game. It is always hard to win in Austin (only 8 times in the 100+ years) but the Aggies never gave up and had a bit of luck on their side to win 12-7. A&M QB Steven McGee, who made is first start in this fixture last year, played his heart out and did loads to secure the win. The Wrecking Crew also had a good match and gave Texas fits. There is too much to recall and I was an emotional wreck that day with all the ups and downs, so I’d rather not relive all that. Let’s all just bask in the glory of seeing the T-sips go down!!

Anyway, that is enough for today and I’m just glad to be back in CCTX, though it is only for one day. Home is nice, and your own bed is even better.

Adios.

Turkey Hiatus

Well my friends, your favorite blogger is about to head out of town again, but believe me, I'd rather be at home. Today I'm loading up the family truckster and we're heading out on a weeklong roadtrip to see just about every relation we have, on both sides of the family. So, while you lot get to head out to Happy Hour for libations, remember you have it good and that I'm stuck for hours on end in a car with a 3 year old.

On to the football!!!! The Arsenal host Newcastle tomorrow at Ashburton Grove. There are a few players out for the Gunners: Rosicky still is knackered, Freddie ate some cheese and his head almost exploded, and Gilberto had to head to Brazil for family matters. Also, the boss may rest Henry some, at least I'd like to see it as le bastard Domenech played him and Gallas for a full 90 in this weeks worthless international friendly. But no matter the squad, the Geordies have been looking in pretty poor form and Roeder's neck is as close to the chopping block as a turkey's next week. I predict a 2-0 win, but I'm no Miss Cleo.

Plymouth play at Southend on Saturday as well.

Also, my fightin Texas Aggies take on the tea-sips from Austin this next week after Turkey Day, and since I doubt I'll be posting before them..... Let's Go Aggies!!!!

That is about it for today. The road is calling my name and that road sounds a lot like my wife. Hope everyone has a great weekend and festive holiday.

Adios

DY-NA-MO!!

There is nothing like family. They stand by you in hard times and point out your failings when things are good. Such was the case recently when my sister brought up my failure to mention that the Houston Dynamo, after their first season in Tejas (though they had been in San Jose for 10 years as the Earthquakes) won the MLS cup Sunday past. Thanks, I was getting there by the way, at least that’s my story. So anyway…..BIG UPS FOR THE DYNAMO!! This is a great achievement for the club, especially the fans and owners. Nothing like a first year championship to promote the club and increase your supporter base. I would love to see the stadium start to sell out, though they already do get some pretty good attendance. Maybe even the newly converted soccer sister will get season tickets.


The worthless internationals are over and jolly old Engerland drew against Holland yesterday. Shrek, I mean Wayne Rooney, got the go ahead goal, and according to Second Choice Steve McClaren, the team was looking good. The Lions looked to go through with a much needed win, but were spoiled by a late strike by Rafael van der Vaart in the 86th minute. The strike came off a long throw in, to which McClaren stated, “If you’d said it would be a long throw we conceded from, I wouldn’t have put money on it.” Yeah, that’s because most teams can defend a long throw which doesn’t have much pace and has lots of hang time. That’s why you don’t see it happen much. Good to see Terry, Cashley and the rest of the back line were on top of things. Anyway, Steve feels good about his latest change in formation (#156) in his 6 months as manager to a 4-3-3 system. We’ll see. The 3 Lions are currently 3rd in their Euro qualifying group behind the Czech’s and Russians. At this pace Steve and his hot pants may never see a big tournament from the manger’s chair.

In golf news, I read that Michelle Wie has been granted a sponsors exemption from the Sony Open in Hawaii next year, which is a PGA event. News of this has started to lead me to believe that her forays into men’s tournaments are getting a bit stale. I have no problem with women competing with men, and I think Wie will be a major force in women’s golf. But I think she needs to start performing well and consistently on the LPGA tour before moving on to bigger challenges. Annika Sorenstam dominated the LPGA for years before she gave a men’s event a go. Wie is very young (17) and is only in her second season as a pro. She, in my humble opinion, should concentrate on perfecting what it takes to win and compete week in and week out on the tour. I think she is getting a bit ahead of herself, but hey, what do I know. I’ve never shot par.

Adios.

You Want me to Stick What in my Mouth?

The blog updating is a bit overdue this week I know but I am only now recovering from the kid’s birthday party. The kid’s portion of it wasn’t too bad, we had some cheap carnival type games (they are all only 3 and can’t tell the difference between quality and shoddy) and the kids were gone by 5pm. It was the adult version afterwards, which included half of Napa Valley’s yearly output that did me in. Whew. I am pretty sure I had a good time and behaved myself solely based on the fact that I didn’t get a stern talking to by my wife on Sunday.

So, after some Advil and a giant glass of water I settled in to watch the Arsenal take on Liverpool at Ashburton Grove. This was a tricky fixture, even though ‘pool have been crap away from Anfield recently. Arsenal really needed the win to keep pace with the Mancs and Chavs, and so did the Scousers. The match started off fairly even, but soon you could see that it was Arsenal’s day as the Gunners started to press and had a few chances slip by. Then, in the waning minutes of the first half, Hleb collected the ball on the right wing, drove towards the corner, then doubled back to avoid a defender. The Belarusian then slipped in towards the middle and laid a perfectly paced pass into the 6-yard box to Cesc who tapped it back across the mouth of the goal to an oncoming Flamini who, though he had to hold up a bit, got enough on it to put into the back of the net. It was a wonderful goal for the Frenchman who got his first start in quite some time and he immediately ran to the stands to celebrate with the supporters. Class in my opinion.

The second goal was another cracker as well and came about 10 minutes into the second half. On a fast break, the ball was passed up to Robin van Persie who collected the ball about 35 yards out from goal. He had a poor first touch and as the defenders were beginning to storm after him, he laid in a perfect pass to Toure who was screaming forward and sprung the offside trap. Normally you don’t expect a center back to a) be sprinting toward goal and 2) to be who you’d want in a 1v1 with the keeper, but King Kolo easily put the ball past Reina to put the Gunners up 2-0. Great shot by Kolo and wonderful vision by van Persie. Adebayor came about midway through the second half and also had a great 1v1 with Reina, but he never seemed to have the ball where he wanted it and shot it right at Pepe. But the Gunners weren’t done and in the 80th minute, Bill Gallas nodded in a header (yes a header) off a RvP corner (yes a corner) for the final goal. These header off corner jokes are starting to get a bit stale with all the scoring from set pieces, but I am happy to let the jokes die under these conditions. Anyway, the corner was perfectly placed and Gallas, who was completely unmarked nodded it in easily. The Scousers were playing a ‘zone’ defense on the corner and nobody picked up Gallas. After the goal Stevie “Me” Gerrard and Riise were yelling at each other over who was supposed to mark who. It was just that kind of day for ‘pool.

This week is another ridiculous international week where the players are heading out for worthless friendlies that only ever seem to result in injuries. Theo Walcott picked up a hand injury for the under-21 England side yesterday. Hopefully the rest of the squad can stay out of harms way. The Gunners will be in action on Saturday though against Newcastle who are currently loitering around the bottom of the table. Also, a pre-congrats are in order to Robin van Persie as he is missing the Dutch friendly to be with his wife who is about to give birth any day now!

Plymouth had a last minute equalizer on Saturday to draw 2-2 against Leicester. Gaffer Holloway felt that Leicester shouldn’t have been awarded one of their goals as a player was offsides while the other scored. I didn’t see the match, but Holloway isn’t one to make up stories or excuses. So they may have been hard done by, but at least they got a point and remain in 7th place. As long as they can stay near the top of the tables they’ll have a chance at promotion at the end of the season. The Argyle play Manc-killers Southend on Saturday.

Finally, are you looking for the perfect gift for your golf loving father? Well then look no further than Tasty Tees. Yes, that is right. Some knuckleheads have ‘flavored’ wood tees that you can put in your mouth. There are a few different flavors and they also have a really strong mint flavor that supposedly will knock out beer or cigar breath instantly. Now, if they could just come up with a tee that got rid of that stripper perfume smell then guys weekends in Vegas would be even sweeter!!!

Adios.

Friday Quickie

Today's post will be really short as I have tons of work, my kid's b-day party to get ready for, and I need to make a trip to the liquor store (in-laws are coming in town). So, here we go.

Aresene Wenger is still keeping silent as he canceled his Friday press conference today for the first time in his 10 year tenure. Pardew’s comments must have really ticked him off, as well as the continuous media coverage over what was really a non-event when compared to the coin throwing that has been going on lately. As a note, I’ve watched the replays of the ‘fracas’ a number of times and if you ask me, Pardew was out of order from the start as he came out of his technical area and over to the Arsenal bench. Coming over and delivering snide comments will not earn you many friends. Even though I can understand AW’s reluctance to speak with the media, I do wish he would come out to talk about the team status and the big match at Liverpool on Sunday. The Gunners really need to win this match to keep pace with the Mancs and Chavs.

Plymouth travel to Leicester tomorrow and have a fully fit squad with Mat Doumbe and Lee Hodges back in the squad. Leicester has a few players out through injury and suspension, so lets hope the away form Holloway’s boys have had this season continues.

My Texas Aggies take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers tomorrow as well. I of course always want the Aggies to win, but even more so this week as the wife’s step-dad will be in town this weekend and he’s a Husker. An Aggie loss will mean the bastard will be strutting around with a smug grin the rest of the visit and I can’t have it can I? No, Cam, ya can’t.

Well, as I said, this is a short post, but I’ll leave you with some visual treats, both for the lads and ladies!!

Adios.

For the Fellas!

For the Ladies!

At Your Beck and Poll

Recently, English referee Graham Poll he has been accused of handing out bookings like they were candy to children and being biased against big clubs, or so Mourinho says. He sent off John Terry in the Chelsea v. Spurs match Sunday and handed out 6 other yellows. Before that, other clubs had been having some issues with his calls. Also, this last summer during the World Cup, committed the ‘blunda of the summa’ when he gave out 3 yellow cards to a Czech player before sending him off. Now to Arsenal supporters, these antics are nothing new and are enjoying a bit of schadenfreude as they call finally go against other clubs. So, with all the controversy around Poll, what does the FA do about all of this? Give him a few weeks off? Meet with him to discuss his refereeing style? Maybe even but him as an Assistant until things cool off? No, they send him straight up to Merseyside to call a Carling Cup match.

Last night the Arsenal traveled to Goodison Park with their reserves and took on a full squad Everton in the Carling Cup 4th round. About midway through the first half, Everton striker Andy Johnson went down a bit easily in the box (which he is prone to do) upon which Poll yelled “Play on.” Of course, if Poll felt it was a dive then he should have booked him for diving, but he didn’t and said there was no foul. Well, James McFadden wasn’t quite so pleased and when he walked by Poll afterwards he had a few choice words, which Poll states were that he called him a f****** cheat. Well, instead of dealing with the tricky issues of how many cards you need before a red, Poll gave McFadden a straight red and the Blues were down to 10 men. Nice move Graham. But Poll seemed to get over his yellow issues pretty quick and went back to handing out bookings for non-fouls but letting continuous dives from Johnson go unpenalized.

At the end of the day, Emmanuel Adebayor nodded in a header (yes a header!!) off a corner (yes, I said a corner!!!) to put Arsenal up 1-0 and secure the win. After the match, you can be sure David Moyes wasn’t too happy with the night’s results and brought the poopy-mouthed McFadden with him to the press conference to explain his side of the story. Jimbo claims he never called Poll a cheat. That would be disrespectful. He claims he walked by and said that the call was f****** sh**e. Ahhhhh, that makes all the difference in the world!

Anyway, the Gunners are on to the quarterfinals so huzzah for the kids. I’m sure we’ll draw Chelsea, but you never know. I’d love to see the kids get to the final and hand Wenger the cup, but I’m not placing any bets at this point.

Today, ladies and gentlemen (and you too Winker), I’d like to share my latest musical find. Beck isn’t really much of a “find” per se, as he’s been around for years, but I did just pick up his latest album “The Information.” It is good stuff amigos and he has yet again made his quirky style hip and fun to listen too. There are blends of booming bass riffs and funky percussion overlapped by crazy lyrics. I highly recommend it, as I would other albums like Guero and Odelay. Go out and get ya some Beck.

Adios.

That is WAY to Much Running

The Arsenal play Everton today in the Carling Cup and they are putting out a young squad as predicted. This competition is used as a kind of proving ground by Wenger for reserve and youth team players and gives them some great experience. Everton will likely play a bit more open today as compared to their visit to the Grove recently due to the younger Gunners, and will also likely have more of their first team players. Even considering the two teams, I feel the Gunners will pull out the win (2-1 to Arsenal with a late go ahead goal). There is a lot of talent in the reserves and they’ll be trying to impress and work their way back into AW’s starting rotation. Here is the squad:

Manuel Almunia
Mart Poom
Philippe Senderos
Johan Djourou
Emmanuel Eboue
Armand Traore
Mathieu Flamini
Alexandre Song
Theo Walcott
Denilson
Emmanuel Adebayor
Jeremie Aliadiere
Matthew Connolly
Mark Randall
Fran Merida
Ryan Garry

As it turns out today, the Fergie and the rest of the Manc crowd have been pretty quiet about their loss yesterday to Southend. Sir Red Nose stated that sometimes that happens in football and Eastman’s goal was a cracker. He may be trying to diffuse the situation internally, but the rest of the Prem clubs saw it and the Man U fortunes may be turning.

After the humiliating loss by the US in the recent Ryder Cup, some big changes are going on in the structure of the team. New captain Paul Azinger has seen how Europe tends to bring in players who are peaking that year rather than those who may have had a good year the season before. Here is the new methodology:

Eight players will automatically qualify for the 2008 competition at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, via a points-list based on money earned at PGA Tour events held earlier that season. Double points will be on offer at the four majors, with single points available at the 2007 majors. Also, the Captain will be able to make 4 Captain’s picks rather than 2.

This setup will help against getting out of form players at the Cup, similar to what happened with Kenny Perry in 2004. I like Kenny, and he had a great 2003. But in 2004 he wasn’t clicking and lost all his matches at the Ryder Cup. Hopefully this system will help but an attitude adjustment is also needed. More team camaraderie is need and a desire to win. They have 2 years to sort it out. Az should be able to do it, or so I hope.

And in crazy ass news, when 44-year old Dean Karnazes crossed the finish line at the New York Marathon last Sunday, he completed his goal of running 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days. Yes, 50. One marathon is staggering to me. Hell 5 miles is staggering to me. This guy is truly a nutter, or more like a health nut (nyuk nyuk!). He did all this as material for a new book to be titled “The Endurance 50.” I think I’d rather go to the library to do research for a new book.

Adios.

Man U Got it in the Southend!!

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” I know I’ll be lambasted for using this quote, but good old Professor Dumbledore had it right. Yesterday, most Gooners were down in the dumps, but they can’t be in much worse shape than ManU supporters after the loss today in the Carling Cup to a freekick goal from Southend’s Freddy Eastwood. Southend United currently reside at the bottom of the Championship League table and I’m sure most people are thinking, “Hey, yesterday you said that the Arsenal don’t really take this competition seriously and typically put the younger players out.” Right you are my friends and thanks for paying attention, but old Fergie didn’t feel quite the same way and put out a number of first XI starters (Rooney, Ronaldo, Brown, Silvestre, Heinze, and Smith). Alas, the trip to Roots Hall for the Mancs hasn’t proven to be quite as easy as it seemed and are now out of the competition. The ManU supporters (who are like University of Florida football supporters where nothing is ever the team’s fault) will say the competition didn’t mean anything, the loss is no big deal, etc. But going out this early, against this level of club, and with a strong starting XI will give hope to other Premiership clubs and likely cast some doubt in the MU Rowdies locker room.

To all of us golf hacks, we’ll never be able to play like Tiger Woods, but coming up soon we’ll be able to play on one of his courses. Woods, who missed the PGA Tour Championship recently by taking some time off and hanging with the Round Mound of Rebound Barkely, is opening up the golf course design company Tiger Woods Designs. He is 30 now and has to start thinking of his retirement you know. Can’t play forever! Anyway, he plans to design all kinds of courses (links to tree lined) for all levels of play. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m sure he’ll put out top notch courses.

Finally, I’ll keep it short today so you can get out and VOTE!!! It is important for everyone to exercise their civic duty, even the Reverend Horton Heat thinks so.

Adios.

Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays...

This Monday bears with it the aches and pains from a weekend of sports disappointments and of getting older. A week of traveling, kid duty, and home improvements mixed between favorite team losses has left me a bit weary. But alas, hope springs eternal and Advil work wonders!

The Arsenal lost (0-1) yesterday from a late goal at Upton Park. The ref Rob Styles was crap (blatant penalty not called), the play was crap (Arsenal just couldn’t get it together) and the West Ham supporters were crap (Robin van Persie was hit by a coin thrown from the stands as he prepared to take a throw-in). Plus, Hammers gaffer Pardew acted like an ass and he and Wenger had to be separated by the fourth official. Now, AW isn’t the Dali Lama, but Pardew must have said something completely out of order to get the kind of reaction he did from Arsene. In 10 years at Arsenal and countless matches against managers like Fergie and Mourinho, I’ve never seen Webger react in the manner he did (going after Pardew). At the end of the day though, neither Arsenal or West Ham deserved the win, but that is football and you have to move on. At least Chelski were beaten by Spurs yesterday, so a bit of the venom was taken out of the loss.

The Arsenal play again on Wednesday in the next round of the Carling Cup at Everton. Once again, we are likely to see the younger players getting a run out as Wenger doesn’t like to play the first string players in this competition, especially in the early rounds. Cesc could really use the rest along with most of the other starting XI. Plus it will give the young guns and those returning from injury (Senderos, Eboue, Adebayor) a chance to gain more fitness and game sharpness.

Plymouth also lost over the weekend (0-1) to Birmingham. Radhi Jaidi scored a second-half winner to end Plymouth's seven-game unbeaten run.

In the world of American football, on Saturday night, my Texas Aggies lost a heartbreaker by 1 point to Oklahoma. Then on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys lost to the ‘skins after a series of kicking snafus. Game tied and Washington driving late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys stop them and force the Redskins to go for a long field goal (49 yards) from their replacement kicker who was 1 for 4 at that point. The ball was snapped and the poor little fella pushes it right. Cowboys then get the ball with 2 time outs and 35 seconds. Romo and company start to drive and with 6 seconds left have a chance at a 35 yard field goal from Vanderjagt (who was stellar for Indy) to win the game. Kick is blocked, and instead of just dropping on the ball and taking the game to overtime, Sean Taylor of Washington scoops up the ball and rushes forward. During the run, which gained a number of yards, there was a 15 yard face mask penalty against Dallas. Result is that now the Redskins get the ball on the 30 yard line (47 yard field goal) and a free play as the game can’t end with a defensive penalty. Kick goes up and Nick Novak has gone from zero to hero. Of course, if they had heeded Tuesday Morning Quarterback Gregg Easterbrook’s rules of kick early, go for 2 late, (went for 2 early in the match instead of taking the extra point) the Cowboys wouldn’t have been in the jam they were.

And in the tennis world, male models are being used as ball boys in the season ending WTA Championship event in Madrid. The male models are being used to try and offset the criticism garnered from using female models in the recent men’s Madrid Masters Tournament. Elena Dementieva wants to make sure the fellas are watching the balls instead of them. "We were practicing the other day and I don't think they really know what they have to do on the court because they are too busy watching the players," the 25-year-old Russian told press hacks. Uh yeah, no kidding. One of the few reasons I watch women’s tennis is to watch the ladies like Dementieva and Maria Sharapova. Not that they aren't a talented bunch of women and true athletes, but normally I can't be bothered to watch.

Enough for now.

Adios.

Party Time in G-Town

Well friends, I am posting remotely from the beautiful tropical island that is Galveston, Texas. It will be a short post as I'm off to the bar soon with college buddies. Also it is a Biker Weekend here so hopefully I don't get shot by a member of Hell's Angels.

So the Arsenal drew against CSKA Moscow on Wednesday 0-0. I have not seen the match (stupid work trips!!) but from my reliable sources, the were loads of shots by the Gunners, but no good finishing. I always felt that was going to be a tough match, but at least we got a point and didn't fall too far behind the Ruskies in the CL table. We just need to concentrate on getting two more wins and we'll see what happens.

The Arsenal play the Hammers on Sunday and seeing as how West Ham have been performing lately, it may be an easy win. But, stranger things have happened and if Arsenal don't start converting more shots into goals, we may only walk away with 1 to 0 points. I think it will be a 2-0 win though. There is too much chaos going on in East London right now.

Plymouth finished their Ipswich match at 1-1 and are currently in 6th place. They host newly relegated Birmingham tomorrow. Should be a good match.

Not too much else going on. Plus it is time for some beers.

Adios.