If That's Being a Slave, Sign Me Up!!!

It is amazing how time flies these days. It seems I just posted to this bloody blog, yet it has been days! Well 2, but it seems longer. It isn’t the lack of sleep either as the boy slept through 5 am last night, which is nice. Hopefully it will last.

As I mentioned last time, the lads are back at London Colney and getting in shape for the upcoming season. Those that were in the Euros will be back later and are getting some rest. I’m sure Gilberto (if he stays) is hoping one of those players gets knocked back to the squad so he can step back into the starting lineup, kind of like what happened to him last year after Copa America. Anyway, the first match of the 08-09 season is nearing!! It is just a reserves friendly against locals Barnet, but it is a match nonetheless. There aren’t too many new players in the squad yet, but I’m sure there will be a few new faces before the season starts (or even the transfer deadline at the end of August). I’m looking forward to the match just to get a look at the squad and some of the younger players. Plus it means the regular season is near, that we’ll see goals, and just, well, fun stuff.


In other football news, the long standing saga of Man U player Cristiano Ronaldo (aka purse-boy) continues in the media. If you follow football, you’d have to have been under a rock since May to not know what is going on. Real Madrid have issued many media reports that they are interested in the player and want him to join their club. At the same time Man U have clearly stated he is not up for sale. The club even went to FIFA with a complaint that Real were trying to stir things up in their favor so they could sign purse-boy. Of course this is a bit rich from the club that employed the same tactics last summer toward Bayern Munich when they wanted Hargreaves. Anyway, the latest saga is that FIFA president Sepp Blatter (sounds like an infection, doesn’t it?) has backed Crynaldo’s desire to move and has likened the new, long-term contract to slavery. Those are pretty harsh claims in my opinion, especially as the poor lad plays for a very successful club that won the League and the Champions League last season. Oh and he is on 120,000 quid a WEEK! Poor little fella. It is all a bit ridiculous, but I hope he does get his way and leaves United just so I don’t have to see him week in and week out.

In other sports, baseball is being played, NBA teams are signing players, and football is about to start its preseason. There you go.

The British Open (or The Open to snobbish UK’ers ;), mmm, mmm! ) is a week away and I’m looking forward to it. The course this year is Royal Birkdale, which hasn’t host the Open since 1998, and it is located in northern England, just north of Liverpool. The course was the site of Arnold Palmer’s 1961 title and since ‘71 has pretty much been dominated by Americans. This year may be a bit different though. Lately, the European based players have been doing very well in the Open and will put up a good challenge. More on all of this later so that I’ll have something next week!



Well friend, that is all for today. Time to get back to work, or at least look busy. I think it is about time to grab a printout and walk around the office.

Adios.

They're Baaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!

Ah, the joys of teething babies. Oh how I love the incessant crying through the night! Tis truly one of the great wonders of childrearing. What could top this nighttime joy? Why, bed wetting by the older child and the need to change sheets at 1 am could be the trick! I think I need some more coffee.

Now that I’m slightly coherent, what all is going on in the world of Cam? Well, pre-season training at Arsenal has begun! Hooray!!! Huzzah!!! High-five-ah!!! Finally,
we get to see some of the lads running around, training, laughing, etc., but most importantly it means that Arsenal matches are around the corner and we can all, to some extent, move past the constant barrage of silly season rumors. The transfer window is still open almost 2 more months and there are supposedly more transfers in the works, but with the upcoming friendlies, we can watch the players who are here and ready to play for the club. There are a number of fans who believe that the current board is limiting the manager, that proper signings aren’t being made, and that basically the club is slipping. I, however, am not one of those fans. I think the manager will do what is best for the team and I feel the Board and their overall direction is good. Nothing is perfect, but I look forward to another exciting season. The lads really showed a lot of mettle last season and I think it will carry through to this one.

In other Arsenal related news, former player Ray Parlour has announced that he is likely to retire. The Romford Pele spent 20 years at Arsenal don’t you know!! He signed as a schoolboy at 12 and played until he was 32, 12 of those as a regular first-teamer. He was a strong force on the pitch and scored a goal in the 2002 FA Cup to give the Gunners the Double. He was always a favorite of mine and I was sad to see him go on to Boro once he knew he wouldn’t get much first team football at Arsenal. Since the move though, he didn’t play much and injuries are forcing his retirement. I wish him all the best and hope he continues on with TV commentary or coaching. A recent petition has been started to let Ray have a testimonial at Arsenal upon his retirement (which typically occurs when a player puts in 10+ years of service, but was waived once he left for Boro). If you like, you can go here to sign. I’d love to see him get the accolades he deserves as a true Arsenal man.


Prior to all this Arsenal related news, there was some tennis to keep me in front of a TV, not doing chores. The men’s final at Wimbledon was on Sunday and featured Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. As mentioned previously, I wasn’t too excited about the matchup because I’ve seen it plenty of other times. Besides the recent French Open, typically it was a match that we all knew Federer would win. He had won the previous 5 Wimbledon title, two by beating Nadal, and seemed to win most everything else, but Sunday was a bit different story. Nadal came out and played well, taking the first two sets. It seemed like he had things going his way but a rain delay let Federer regroup and he took the second two sets in tie-breakers. Nadal even had 3 championship points in the last tie-breaker, 2 with the serve, but he couldn’t close the deal. On to the 5th it went and there was more tension as each struggled to win their service games. With no tie-breaker in the 5th set, rain delays, and diminishing light, it looked like the match would be finished the next day. Nadal rallied though and broke Federer to go up 8 to 7. He then had the serve to win the title and nearly lost the game, but he held on and got the win when Federer hit a shot into the net. It really was a good, nail-biter of a match and I was glad to have watched it. Plus it was raining out so there wasn’t much else to do. Anyway, congrats to Rafa and Spain who seem to be winning quite a bit lately! I bet little gets done on the Iberian peninsula this month.

To wrap this post up, the annual Finnish wife-carrying races were held recently and Estonian Alan Voogla carries\d his wife Kristi Viltrop to win the title! Not only do the winners get immense bragging rights, but they win their wife’s weight in beer! This truly is a noble sport, and one of great strategy. You see, you want to carry a wife that will get you plenty of beer if you win, but you also want one that is light enough to make the winning more plausible. It really is a game of balances. Congrats to the Estonian couple and the others who competed.



That’s enough for me today. Let’s hope for sleep tonight.

Adios.

Beer Time!!!

Today is the 3rd of July and all are preparing for the holiday tomorrow. I am looking forward to some time off and some pints downed. The forecast calls for rain here in CCTX, so it will therefore be sunny and hot.



No real football news still this week. I think it is going to be pretty slow on that front for a few more weeks. I believe that pre-season training (for non-Euro 2008 participants) starts up next week so there should be a bit of news then. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the new players in the friendly matches as well as getting the rest of the transfers sorted. It has well and truly been one of the silliest of silly seasons so far.

At Wimbledon, it looks like it is yet another Williams sisters final with Venus and Serena vying for the title. Bore. It could be a good match, but I am tired of watching them play and win. They have combined for something like 7 of the last 9 titles. It gets a bit old. And in the men’s, Nadal is through to the semis and so is Federer (who is more Feder than most). Another typical matchup. But I guess if there isn’t the competition, these guys will keep winning. We’ll see what happens and I’ll probably watch, but only because I’ll need something to do while I drink water and recover from the previous night.

Finally, I read today that Utah is the first state to move to a 4 day work week. Now this is a plan that I like! I already put in 9 hours a day and would have no trouble taking on one extra for a 3 day weekend. Hopefully it goes will out there and it starts to spread across the country. I doubt my firm will ever adopt it though. Such is the life of a consultant.

Seeing as I’m about ready to leave early for the holiday weekend, I’ll keep this short. Hope all have a great holiday weekend and doesn’t get in too much trouble. Be somewhat responsible and don’t crash your car into a store and then try to buy some beer! It probably won’t work! Time to head to the golf course (man, I wish my local looked like that!).



Adios