Another Win and Beware of Captain Tackles...

Lots has been going on in the Cam-universe lately. Actually, it has been happening for everyone’s benefit, but I’m the one talking about it here. Anyway, I’d like to first start off with the historic event yesterday of Obama’s inauguration. I was able to sneak away for an hour yesterday and I went down to the lower level food court here at my office building to watch the swearing in and presidential address. I was truly amazed and inspired by the event. I really feel that the new administration is going to put the country back on track and help it regain it’s place as a respected world leader. Right after the election, an English friend remarked, “Welcome back to the world, America,” or something along those lines. I think there is a lot of work to do, and there is never an instant change, but I foresee the US being back on the right track. The size of the crowds also show a renewed hope in our country. Having been to Washington and stood on the west Capitol steps, the Mall is an immense area and seeing it full was breathtaking. With that, I’ll leave my political statements aside and move on to more pressing matters. Namely football.





So my friend, the Gunners seem to be on a bit of a hot streak. Well, they aren’t losing, and that is a good thing. The lads traveled to Hull City and were looking for some redemption for their loss at home earlier in the season. As the match began, the Arsenal looked to be playing OK, but again, not getting much. Eboue played on the right wing and I didn’t see much to impress me. Arsenal had a couple of early chances from rocket free kicks by RvP that were either just wide or finger-tipped into the cross-bar by the Hull keeper. Not much else happened for awhile with OK play from both sides, but in the 30th minute, RvP whipped a corner into Ade who nodded it far post to go up by 1. This was the score at the half and it stayed that way with more OK play until Hull leveled in the 65th minute. Clichy should have dealt better with closing down their winger, but instead he nicked a cross that went straight to the head of Cousin (or Coo-zin as it is properly pronounced, in a snooty French sort of way) who then nodded it past Almunia. The match was now level and it really looked like Arsenal were going to draw the match. Bendtner came on for Eboue (thank goodness) and the formation switched to a 4-3-3 and it started to free things up a bit. Though it came late, RvP claimed a pass in the middle and was able to hold off the defender just long enough to play a beautiful ball into Nasri, who slotted it home far post to go up 2-1.



A few minutes later, RvP made another fine cross to Bendtner who knocked that home to give the Gunners a 3-1 win and 3 needed points. RvP didn’t have any goals, but he did wonders for setting them up. He’s really doing well and is showing some great creativity in the absence of Cesc. I hope he keeps it up. Nasri has also been doing quite well and isn’t afraid to shoot the ball, which is a nice change of pace from Hleb, at least in my opinion. So the Gunners now travel to the land of sheep to play Cardiff on Sunday in the FA Cup. Should be an interesting match and it sees young-un Aaron Ramsey return home. I hope he gets to play and sneaks in a goal or three!



In American football news, there isn’t much to comment on, at least as far as I’m concerned. The Steelers beat the Ravens, though I was hoping it would go the other way. Then the Cardinals did the country a favor by taking out the Eagles. Having a Philly-Pittsburg Superbowl would have been a bit annoying. Plus, I don’t like either team, so this way I can root for the underdog Cards and cheer for some crazy catches by Fitzgerald. What a good receiver.

Lastly, I’ve been watching more and more rugby over the last few years. And that’s union, not crappy league rugby. This has been partially spurred along by a Kiwi friend of mine and out enjoyment of watching the rugby and drinking beer. Plus, he turned me on to Jed Thian of the Rugby Roundtable podcast and Alternative Rugby Commentary. Those are truly great shows and a fantastic way to keep up with the sport or watch a match. Anyway, as a note to you, my one (I hope) reader, there is some good rugby coming up. The European 6 Nations tournament and the southern hemisphere Super 14 are about to kick-off in February. There should be some good matches and I’m looking forward to seeing Captain Tackles (aka Richie McCaw) back in action, even though he nearly knocked over my daughter! Ah, the joys of learning photoshop.






Well, I think that is enough for one day (or week as these posts have been going… well at least I am posting, so stop with all the nay-saying. Jeez!!)

Adios

Bye Bye Bogey Team, Well, Pretty Much...

Well friends, here we are. Another week on. Quite a bit has gone on in the land of Cam. My son Liam had his first birthday last week and did a very impressive job of smearing chocolate icing all over his head. And I mean all over. Face, eyes, hair, neck, chin. The boy loves icing, what can I say. The weekend that followed involved lots of friends, lots of wine, and lots of food. At least so I’m told. Let’s just say I’ve been drinking a lot of water lately.

As for the Arsenal, they played at home against Bolton on Saturday. Over the previous years and under Fat Sam Allardyce, Bolton seemed to be a tough team for Arsenal to defeat. The Wanderers haven’t been a powerhouse, but they always seemed to be able to stymie the Gunners, mostly because they would play tough, physical defense and not worry about scoring goals. It looked like we were in for the same this last match as Kevin Davies let everyone know he is an ass by getting into some rough challenges soon after the opening whistle. Arsenal did fairly well and had loads of possession, but it looked like another one of those days of “almost.” There weren’t too many shots, but a couple of good chances by Ade, RvP and Bendtner were either too slow, hit the post, or straight at the keeper. In the second half, Wenger made a tactical move and moved Nasri from the left and into the center.



This was of course something I suggested to friends at the beginning of the match, but that’s neither here nor there. This move, coupled with Vela coming on later and playing wide left, made it possible for Nasri to dictate play a bit more and be creative. After a few misses mentioned above, an RvP cross was slotted home by Bendtner in the 84th minute to give the Gunners 3 desperately needed points. It wasn’t a beautiful game but it got the result.



These last few matches, though wins for the Arsenal, have shown that the team is just barley getting by. At least in my opinion. The defense doesn’t look very solid, though Djourou is starting to show that he should be a starter. And the midfield. Oh my, the midfield. It seems so weird that just a season or two ago we had so many quality midfielders that there was cover 2 and 3 deep at every position. Now, we’ve seen an entire midfield made up of backup central mids! Rosicky is just gone it seems, Walcott is out for who knows how long, Cesc is gone until April, and we were light before these injuries (except Rosicky as he was hurt in 1912). I’m no football manager genius, but there needs to be some action in the transfer window this January, if anything, just to wake everyone up. There should be no automatic picks right now for the First XI. They should all be trying to prove they deserve to play.

Outside of Arsenal, there was playoff football, but I really didn’t care too much about it. It was interesting that the Cardinals won, but I don’t think they’ll go too far. They are the Cardinals don’t forget. Also, I was glad to see that the Giants lost, just so I don’t have to listen to their fans anymore. The Eagles won, but I am comforted by the knowledge that they tend to choke later in the playoffs.

Not much else has been going on, but I did see an interesting story where the titans of media “American Idol” are going after a small, wholesome outfit, just trying to have fun. A nudie bar in Austin is being sued by AI because of their event “Stripper Idol.” This fun event lets everyday ladies live their dream of being a dancer in front of an adoring crowd. Plus the can get 500 bucks! Leave these people alone Simon Cowell! You’ve already done enough damage to our fair country with your show and bringing Paula Abdul back to the limelight!! For shame.

And with that, “Cam Out!”

Adios

Hoping For a Good Time in 2009!!

Well chums, the new year is here and I'm back in the saddle. Well, back on the keyboard to some extent. The past year was a bit of a weird one. It started off great with the birth of my son, Liam, but then it seemed to go a bit potty. The Arsenal were top of the table in January 2008, but soon started to slip and finished 3rd. Ugh. The summer saw the beginnings of a global financial meltdown and quality players leaving the Arsenal, but none coming in. There was, however, a great US victory in the Ryder cup and some fantastic achievements at the Olympics. Soon after though things went back to crap in the autumn months with more financial chaos, sinking economies, and erratic Arsenal results.




But now my friends, here we are with a new year and new hopes. And a new bed, at least for me anyway! I can't wait to have some nice long sleep-ins!

So let's get down to the brass tacks. The Arsenal started off the new year in 5th place. Not a great place to be, but they are only 3 points off ManU and Villa (3rd and 4th) and 10 from Liverpool who top the table. I don't really see the Gunners putting in a serious title challenge, but the way the league has gone so far this season, you never know. I just want them to make sure they qualify for the Champions League next season. Some new signings this January will be imperative, in my opinion, if they want to put in a serious bid for the top spot or in either the FA CUP or CL.

Speaking of the FA CUP, the Gunners played one of my favorite lower league clubs, Plymouth Argyle, in the the 3rd round last Saturday as the first match of 2009. The first half was bit of a bore, but both sides seemed to play OK (at least from what I could see on a crappy video feed, thanks a bunch Setanta!). After the break, things turned around quite quickly as Robin van Persie headed in a goal just 2 minutes in! It seems RvP can not only use his "chocolate leg" to score goals, but his chocolate head as well! A second goal (that looked to be an own goal, though Bendtner claimed it) came just a few minutes after. Arsenal seemed to by flying and hitting on all cylinders, but a Pilgrim goal soon after changed the tone of the match. Plymouth gained some belief and began to press the Gunners. However, the introduction of Carlos Vela started to turn the match back in the Arsenal's favor. Vela was put out wide left, which meant Nasri was able to move inside and dictate forward play. One of his passes sent RvP through and he took a deflected chip over the keeper and blasted it home to make it 3-1 to the good. It was a good win and made sure the Gunners made it to the next round where they will travel to Cardiff. It should also be noted that Plymouth had a very large away section (about 10,000) and they were great/loud fans. I've heard a number of reports that they were very gracious and had a lot of fun. Good on ya Green Army!



A lot of other stuff has happened over here in our football, but I can't really be bothered. The Cowboys missed the playoffs by being stomped by the Eagles. A&M, well, I don't really know how they turned out as they had another season to forget. The BCS championship game is on tomorrow, but I could really care less about Oklahoma or the Gators. I will put my very limited support behind Oklahoma though as I can't stand Florida. Ever. No thanks. Ugh.

Well, with that I'll call it a post. More to follow. Seriously!

Adios.

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

Be Careful Michael Phelps!

Ahhh Monday. Here we are again. The work week begins anew and clock is reset on waiting for the weekend. At least this is a short week and the 4th of July is on a Friday this year. I prefer it later in the week so that the holiday comes early in the long weekend and not after three nights of partying. With my sister and her friend coming in plus all the events this weekend I’ll be looking forward to a day of rest on Sunday!



On to current events. Well, there isn’t too much going on, at least in terms of football. The Premiership is still in close season and Euro 2008 finished yesterday. It’s Gael Clichy week on Arsenal.com if you’re interested. Summer transfer rumors still abound, but I typically pay them no mind as it is mostly all rubbish. I would talk about the MLS, but I don’t really follow it and would have to look up a bunch of scores. I did hear through friends that DC United beat the Galaxy. Hurray.

One bit of Arsenal discussion (or ranting) for today is that on Arsenal.com they recently put up 75 players to be voted on for the 50 all-time best. The results for awhile were almost as you’d expect, but recently there have been some surprises, at least to me. Now, I know the voting was supposed to be based on performances on the pitch, but to me you have to consider how these players performed off the pitch as well, especially when they are being considered as Arsenal greats. The first player that snuck up was Anelka. He only played for a couple of seasons and buggered off at the first sign on money. Since then he has played at a different club practically every season. Not really an Arsenal man in my opinion. Then came Ashley Cole. I couldn’t believe it. Not only should he have been banned from the list for his action when leaving Arsenal, but he was ahead of real LB greats like Winterburn. Truly poor judgment. The latest is what I saw today and prompted my wanting to comment on this “list.” The number 15th all-time Arsenal great was Sol Campbell. This is just getting to be too much. I know that there are many who don’t know all the older players, me included, but I have made an effort over the years to learn of Arsenal heroes and I also can spot one who isn’t. Granted, Campbell, for the most part, was a good player while at Arsenal, but he came from Sperzs and actually walked out on the club DURING a match. Then he asked for a transfer so he could play overseas. What club did he go to? Portsmouth. Nothing like lying to get your way. Oh well, I know it is just a silly list but this is what happens when there is no football being played to comment on.

Back to the blog and less ranting, at least for a bit. Yesterday evening, I watched a little of the Olympic trials and saw Tyson Gay break the world record in the 100 meter dash. Those guys are crazy fast and it is amazing how races are won on 100ths of a second. If I were in the races those guys would be halfway through their interviews with Bob Costas before I crossed the line. I never was a fast runner. I know it is hard to imagine, but it is true. I was slow in swimming too and could never get the flip-turns down. I always spun wrong and got water up my nose. I was such an athlete.

Speaking of swimming, Michael Phelps turned on the heat as he was chased by his friend Lochte in the 400 IM. Phelps took and early lead but Lochte came on strong in the breaststroke to even it all up and it remained that way until the final flip turn where Phelps was able to pull out a small lead for the win. The two of them finished WAY ahead of the others. There has been plenty of talk lately about the new speedo swimsuits and how they may be giving an unfair advantage to those who use them. Well, considering Phelps and Lochte smoked the rest of the contenders who were for the most part also wearing those suits, I don’t think they suits helped that much. I will say that those swimmers must shave everywhere because one false move by Phelps (who wore only the low-cut pants) and Mr. Happy would be making a surprise visit!



Finally, I know I’ve done some stupid things while drinking, like singing “Tommy” at the top of my lungs at my own Christmas party, falling out of a black cab in London, etc. etc., but this story ranks up there. It seems a Swedish guy got loaded over in Denmark and drank all his ferry money. So, in order to get home, he decided to steal a boat and row the 3 miles to Sweden across one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Predictably, he got tired and sleepy about half way over and took a nap in the boat. Luckily some Danish police found him. Those wacky Euros!!

Well, that’s enough for today. Time to get back to work and look busy. I may need to do the old grab a file and walk around for awhile trick.

Adios.

The Finals and Queso. Mmmmm......

This post isn’t an immediate follow-up, but it is close enough. I had a trip to the Houston area at the end of last week and got to see my sister on Thursday. It was fun but I had a splitting headache the next morning. Stupid pints. Actually, they were tasty, and so was the wine at dinner. Guess that was the problem!

Anyway, what has been going on since last we spoke? Not much for Arsenal, other than a story the Gael Clichy signed a new contract with the club. He told his agent that he wanted to sign only with Arsenal and to not even look around at other clubs or
more money deals. That is a true Arsenal man. I wish some others had the same attitude. I know it is a bit different for us fans who would love more than anything to be paid millions and be associated with the Arse. But there is such little loyalty in sports today. As a result, I do like it when a player moves and finds the grass isn’t greener. They may have some more money but that should never be the ultimate decider in life, unless you have absolutely no money, but then even with a grain of salt.

Wow, that was a bit of a ramble.

Well, in Euro 2008 Germany scored a late goal, Turkey style, to beat Turkey in the first semifinal on Wednesday. On Thursday, Spain beat Russia 3-0 with some great play from Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas!! Wenger really needs to make this boy captain. He is only 21 but is way beyond his years.These results set up the final today of Germany v. Spain. The first goal was always going to be key in this match as Germany is well suited to sitting on a lead and defending, thus making it hard for Spain to break through. Spain would need an early goal to help open up play so they could get chances for a second, which considering their lackluster defending would be important.

The match started today with me sipping a Boddingtons and feeding my boy a bottle. Germany came out strong and put some pressure on Spain. At the same time Liam threw up a little on my shirt and shorts. Spain and myself regrouped and the Iberian youth pushed forward. In the 33rd minute a through ball sent Torres and Lahm chasing it into the German box. Torres then sprinted around the defender and was able to put enough of a loft-toe on it to send it over the diving Lehmann for the 1-nil lead. It truly was a good goal.



Spain kept it up and was able to see off some German attacks before half time. During the break, I heated up some plastic queso and sat down with another pint and chips to see the second half through. Spain continued their good play and Germany kept attacking. Both sides made subs, Spain’s were mostly defensive, and they managed a bit of luck in the remainder of the game. So Spain are now the European champs and Cesc has a winners medal plus no injuries. All in all a good summer for the lad. Now some rest and a good preseason will see him ready for club football.

Not much else has been going on. I flicked to the Ladies U.S. Open, but decided to write this instead. I was going to try and play golf, but sometimes things don’t work out. Now I’m rambling again. Maybe I should get another beer and watch Star Wars with my daughter. Guess I’m sorted now!

Adios

Here We Go Again...

So friends, here we are. 6 months. Whew, that was way too fast. Guess I have been a bit behind on the old blog, eh? Now, after some serious berating by friends, I’m back. Or at least I plan to be. So why the long layoff? Well, things have been a bit crazy and here is my last 6 months in a nutshell:



Really, it is mostly because I got lazy, but my official excuse is the birth of my son. Liam came on January 8th and started causing trouble from the outset. Not only did he arrive 3 weeks early, but he decided to come ass first. Result was an emergency c-section. More money. Hurray. But really, he is a great boy and is growing up fast. My daughter loves him too, but we’ll see how she feels when she gets a bit closer to the teen years!!

On to the show. What has happened between post? I’ll summarize some, ignore other stuff, and perform my usual ramshackle reporting.

Arsenal. The last 6 months have been a true definition of highs and lows. The club came through the holiday period still on top of the table and they even took a sizeable lead over all the other contenders. Then came the match versus Birmingham. Up until this match, Ade was on a scoring streak and Eduardo was finally finding his place in the squad. Then, in one horrible moment, a tackle by Martin Taylor crushed Eduardo’s ankle and the team’s spirit. Eduardo had to be rushed to hospital and the break required major surgery. He is now out until sometime next season and who knows if he’ll be the same. I sure hope so as he is a great footballer and seems to be a good man.

Now, this match wasn’t really the reason for the bad season, but it is when the wheels came off in my opinion. The rest of the match was kind of a blur and Birmingham equalized on a late penalty (that was pretty dodgy). After this Arsenal couldn’t win games. Adebayor cut his hair and the goals stopped. Arsenal were drawing with clubs they should have stuffed. Then losses to Man U and Chavski in the league and crap decisions by refs against Liverpool in the Champions League saw Arsenal on a track to end without any silverware. It seemed like there was a black hole, drawing in Arsenal supporter’s early season high emotions as we watched the slow and steady decline at the end of the season. But this is football. Crap happens. The season ended with 4 successive wins (and a new funky dance by Ade!!) and it looks like there will be some good players coming in (we’ll deal with this later). I can’t wait for August!!

So what do we (or I) do with ourselves (or myself) until the Premier League season starts? Well, we watch the summer extravaganza known as Euro 2008!!! Hurray!! Well, it is something to do and it is football. Anyway, seeing as I’m late to update the blog, the tournament is almost over. The group stages had some good matches with Portugal (boo!!) and the Dutch playing good football. Italy semi-stuck it up and France were just absent. Not that they weren’t in the tournament, it’s just that the team didn’t really do much of anything. The quarterfinals saw Portugal lose to Germany (HAH!!), Croatia lose a 2-0 to the Turks who won 3-2 to a series of late goals, and Holland did eff all against the high flyin Ruskies. The final quarterfinal was a snoozefest as Italy played typical crappy defensive football and prayed for a set play goal or a PK. They are such a bore to watch. But Spain kept trying and had some good chances, though they didn’t get the goal they wanted and went to PK’s. Luckily, Iker Casillas was on his game (or more likely lucky!!) and Spain won the match. And who scored the final PK for Spain, why Arsenal’s own wunder-kid, Cesc Fabregas!!! He has played well off the bench so far this tournament and I hope to see him get a start over Xavi in the semifinals.



The next matches are German v. Turkey tomorrow and Russia v. Spain on Thursday. Of course I’ll be traveling on Thursday, but I’ll be taping the match for sure. The final will be on Sunday so tune in and pray Andy Gray is the color commentator for ESPN though it’ll likely be the annoying little Irishman Tommy Smyth.

Well, my lunch is almost over and I’ve written enough for a just-back-blog. More on other summer happenings soon. I’m also taking a photography course at the junior college so maybe I’ll fill some space and force my crappy photos on my unlucky reader.

Adios.

Holy Crap, The End is Near...

Where has time gone my friend? I know I have been a bit behind on postings, but this is bad. The Rugby World Cup? My oh my. Well, it is near the end of the year, I have a fancy new computer desk at home, and nothing is on TV. What better reason to post to the old blog.

So here we are, midway through the footie season and we find Arsenal still on top (Even though the were behind ManU last week, but it was only for a little while). Yesterday the Gunners were on the road again, for something like to 27th time in December, to an in form Everton. After a dismal draw at Pompey on Boxing Day, the lads really needed a result. After the first half with Everton up 1-0, it wasn’t looking too good. Some of the boys weren’t doing so well (Cesc, ahem) but they started to change things up a bit and who would have thought that long-balls into Eduardo would be the answer?! Whatever it takes I guess. It wasn’t the pretty passing footie you expect from Arsenal, but sometimes you have to win ugly. 3 points and the Red and White are top of the table. Huzzah.

The American football regular season ended today, or at least I think so, and the Dallas Cowboys won their division. They will now wait a week with a bye and play for a chance to go to the Superbowl. They will definitely need to get their game back after a few poor performances, especially the one today against the Redskins. Poor form. Oh well, I trust in Romo and the rest of the squad. Of course if they do make it all the way they are likely to meet up with the 16-0 Patriots. Holy crap can those guys play. It is scary. They may not always do well and will even fall behind in a game. But somehow they manage to get the win. Hats off to those guys for a great season.

I don’t really have too much else to talk about right now as it is getting a bit late and I’m actually going to go in to the office for a bit in the morning. It’s not some sense of die-hard work ethic mind you, it is more to the fact that with the new kiddo coming (a boy!) I need to save as much vacation time as possible. Hope everyone has a great New Year!!!

Adios.

Folk Star and Crazy-Ass Frenchie!

Happy noon-time hour to all of you in the Central Time Zone! It’s lunch time, Hurrah! I would be a bit more excited if I wasn’t eating a ham and cheese sannich from home, but it’s better than nothing.

So today started off a bit later than normal for your favorite blogger as I had a bit of a lie in from staying up late last night. Why was I up so late? It was to watch America’s Team the Dallas Cowboys come back in the dying seconds of the match against the Bills to steal a win. And it was a bit like stealing. Tony Romo, up to this game, had been playing superbly and was tearing up the field with accurate passes and smart movements in the pocket. That all seemed to go out the window for most of last night though as he had 4 interceptions in the first half, of which 2 were returned for TDs. The Bills were also able to hold the Cowboys to field goals and even ran a return back to increase the lead. It all seemed to be going Buffalo’s way. That is until the last few minutes of the match. Dallas got the ball on their 20 with only a few minutes left, 3 timeouts, and needing 8 points (a TD and 2 point conversion) to tie the game. Romo finally seemed to snap out of his funk and ran an impressive 2 minute drill to get the Cowboys into scoring range. With about 20 second left, Romo fired a ball into Crayton for the TD to put them within 2. Dallas then lines up with all wideouts and Tony lobs a ball into the corner for Terrell Owens who grabs it, but has it torn away by the Bills defender. Argh!!! So close! It seems the Bills have it all tied up.

But no. Dallas goes for the onside kick and recovers it on its own 47. There are only 18 seconds to go, no timeouts, and Dallas needs about 20 yards to get within field goal range. First play out Romo slings the ball into Owens who seems to catch it. The Cowboys then run up, take the snap and ground the ball, thus killing the clock with 1 second and a chance at a winning field goal. As the field goal unit trots on the field, the replay booth looks the play over and figures that Owens lost the ball and it was an incomplete pass! At least it put time on the clock, which Dallas then used to get in 2 quick, short passes to put then just on the edge of field goal range. On comes new kid Nick Folk to try a career long 53 yarder. The ball is snapped, the kick up, and it’s good!! Dallas has done it!!! But there is a whistle and refs running on the field. Seems Dick Jauron, the Bills coach, called timeout just before the snap, thus negating the kick. No worries said Folk (at least that’s what I figured he said) and he booted yet another one through to make the win legit. I know it is a legal rule where the coach can call a timeout a second before the snap, but it is a lousy rule in my opinion. I’m glad to see Folk stick it in Dick’s face! Hah! Anyway, even though the Cowboys didn’t put in a stellar performance, they did keep with it to get the win and remain undefeated. That kind of reminds me of……

The Arsenal! Yes, the North London boys in red had a somewhat similar (but not exactly, well, you know) experience over the weekend as well. The Gunners, unlike the Cowboys, actually started really well and were 2 up within 15 minutes against Sunderland on Sunday. They could have been 3 up, but once again the assistant referee called for offsides when it really wasn’t. So the Gunners seemed to be flying and as a result, they took their foot off the gas a bit. Bad idea. The Black Cats may not be the greatest team ever, but this is still the Premier League and you have to a certain quality to be in it. In the 25th minute, Sunderland’s Wallace put one past Almunia to make the scoreline 2-1. Then, just into the second half, Kenwyn Jones leveled the match on a header that Almunia really should have handled. Either way, there the Gunners were: level with a side that was now full of confidence and looking for the win. The Arsenal kept after it though and had a few shots bang off the woodwork. Finally, with 9 minutes left in the match, van Persie got sent through on a nice ball from Walcott to score the winning goal. Another 3 points and the Arsenal are again top of the table over Man U with a game in hand. Unfortunately there is another international break and no club footie for 2 weeks. Lets hope that everyone comes back with great performances and no injuries.

Sunday was also a day of rugby watching as I caught the replays of the quarterfinal matches from Saturday. I didn’t feel like paying the PPV money. Anyway, the first match was England versus Australia. After some dismal performances by the 3 lions, most everyone expected the wallabies to win easily. But England seemed to have found some inner mojo and rallied around Jonny Wilkinson. They had some superb defense and it got a bit physical out there, but they never let Australia get set or comfortable. Wilko was able to bang in the penalties and it was enough to take them into the semis.



The next match was France against the All Blacks. Again, here was a match where most everyone would pick New Zealand to easily roll over the French. But it wasn’t to be. The first sign of things to come was during the Haka when the French players went right up to the Kiwi line and eyed them down. The Haka can be intimidating, but so can Sébastien Chabal!! The All Blacks started out well but never seemed to hit a groove. This left them open and buoyed the French team who came back to upset New Zealand 20 to 18. The semifinals will be next weekend and will pit England vs. France and South Africa vs. Argentina. I see a Springbok – England final, but what do I know.

Well, that is quite a bit for today. If only I could put this amount of energy into the report I have to write for work. Yeah.

Adios.

Boo Black Cats and No to the Sherry!

It’s Friday everyone (or the one of you out there who actually suffers through this lousy blog)!!! I should be working, but I’m just not in the mood right now, so here is some fantastic prose to help make the world a better place.

The Arsenal host Sunderland this Sunday at the ridiculous time of 12 pm (or 6 am here in Texas!!! Argh!!!). The Black Cats are newly promoted back to the Prem and are managed by former ManU midfielder Roy Keane. They haven’t had the best of seasons so far and are pipped by some to be relegated. But I can see old Kean-o rallying his squad to do one on the Arsenal. In the end though, I don’t see it happening and I hope to see Keane leave the grounds embarrassed. Never been a fan of the Irishman. It looks like many players will be back in the squad for Arsenal and it seems that William Gallas may finally be recovering from his injuries. I doubt he’ll play, but it is encouraging, seeing as he is the captain and all. So here is to another Cesc goal, 3 points, and remaining top of the table.



There is some good rugby going on this weekend as the Rugby World Cup continues with Quarterfinal matches. My sister is heading up to the Richmond Arms on Saturday morning to see the All Blacks take on the Frogs. Unfortunately she is hanging with the Frenchies, but there’s only so much a brother can do. Just kidding, mostly! It should be a good match. I’ll have to wait until the replay as I doubt I’ll be wanting to pay $25 to watch it at the house. However, I could try to get a few friends together as an excuse to have beers. Hmmmmmmm. Need to get to work on that.

Not too much else is going on that I’m bothered about. I’m just focusing on getting out of here early, which means in about 15 minutes (or the time it takes to post this blog).

As a last note, I saw this story today and was a bit stunned. Why would you want one of these, what wife would agree to provide it, and why liquor? I will never cease to be amazed at what passes through peoples heads.

Have a great weekend.

Adios.

Too Much Wine and Lil Mikey Did It!!

Holy cow has it been a busy month. There was my glorious 35th birthday extravaganza at the beginning of September, a dove hunt that turned into a drunk-fest, and recently a trip back up to Tulsa for a surprise 60th b-day celebration for Moms. Yo. Also, there was a bit of work to do in between. As a result, I am now full of toxins and way late on posting here. It’s been so long that I had to go back and look up what it was I lasted posted about. Oh well, we’re all a forgiving bunch, or so I hope. Here we go.

Last I spoke on these hallowed ether pages the Arsenal had just beaten the Scum. Since then they have continued their winning run having beaten Sevilla 3-0 (CL), Derby 5-0 (League), Newcastle 2-0 (Carling Cup), at West Sham 1-0 (League) and finally last night in Romania against FC Steaua Bucharest the boys won 1-0 in the second CL group play fixture. Whew! That is 12 unbeaten since the season begun and 9 straight wins! Granted, none of these matches (apart from Sevilla) have been against some of the bigger clubs, but these were matches the Gunners lost or drew last season. This good early run should pay off nicely as we move further into the season and start to face some of the big 4, which starts at the end of the month with a trip to ‘pool and ManU at home the following weekend.

I’ve really been impressed with the way the club has been playing lately. Even when they don’t look as sharp (like last night), they still seem to have a firm belief that they can win. There isn’t any panic and they stick with Wenger’s game plan, which is to control the ball and attack. This doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve, Almunia’s flapping about and Big Phil’s mis-steps, etc. but the quality is there and it just takes time to fully develop. Come on you Reds.

In other football news, Plymouth won it’s last match against Palace 1-0 to secure their first home win of the season. The winning goal was from Peter Halmosi in the 50th minute. The win puts the Argyle in 9th place on 13 points. I have a Plymouth match saved on the old DVR and hopefully I’ll get to watch it, even though it is from a few weeks ago. Also, the Argyle were knocked out of the Carling Cup recently by West Sham, which stinks, but hopefully they will put in another good run in the FA Cup this season.

Also, Chelski and England Captain John Terry got his melon smashed up a bit last weekend by American Clint Dempsey. Seems Terry’s cheek bone or something or other (great reporting eh?) was busted and he needed surgery. He was told to sit out weeks, Captain, O’ Captain was having none of that. He has been outfitted with a mask to protect his cheek knack. Here it is. Argh. I think I’m getting one of those for Halloween.

In American football, the Cowboys are kickin ass. Huzzah. 4-0. America’s team is back. ‘Nuff said!

Finally, as I’m nearing the end of my lunch hour and my lil digits hurt, the President’s Cup took place this last weekend. The United Stated took on the world (or international squad) in Montreal. The course was beautiful and so was the play. The US came out strong on Thursday and took 5 ½ points to the Int’l ½. Then on Friday the Int’ls came back to level things up a bit at 7 (US) to 5 (Int’l) or something along those lines. Saturday was the American’s time to shine again and swept the morning rounds and pretty much split the afternoon. When Sunday began, the US only needed 3 points to retain the cup. The Internationals needed a miracle and played their hearts out, but it wasn’t to be. The US had a few key victories, like Mickelson spanking Singh 5 and 4, to end the cup at 19 ½ to 14 ½. It seems the Americans were much more relaxed and took it all in stride. If only they could carry that feeling to next year’s Rider Cup.

The highlight though was Canadian Mike Weir taking on Woods in the 4th match. Weir went 3 up pretty quickly and hung on for awhile. After the turn though, Woods began his typical surge, cut the lead to nothing, and then even went up a hole. Everyone seemed to think the little lefty Canuk was caput. But Weir stayed in there with birdies on the last few holes to take the match and the point. It didn’t give the team the win, but it sure did wonders for Weir who has been struggling the last year or two. I hope to see more wins from Mike next season. He is a good golfer and good man.

Also, if you didn’t see Woody Austin fall in the water on 14 on Saturday, here you go. Classic. The guy used to bug me, but after this and his just laughing it off (and his good play), I have a new respect for the man.



Well, I’ve had all the fun I can handle. I need to get back to the grind so I can cut out a bit early and pick up an anniversary card for my wife. 9 years together today. Seems like it has only been 8 and half! Hah!

Adios

Adios Scum and Woods Wins Everything

It’s Monday. Booooo! Actually, it is somewhat nice out and the weekend was nice, so I can’t complain. Too much that is. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. Right.

Anyway, with that inane tidbit out of the way, it’s time to talk about important stiff, namely the Arsenal! The boys in red traveled up into scumville to take on Tottenham Hotspurs (it hurts to write that out) in a North London Derby. For those not in the know, these bastids are Arsenal’s oldest rivals, which makes this and the home match the biggest games of the year. Man U and Chelski are big matches too, but these are the ones that all Arsenal supporters wait for. When I decided to make my first trip over to England, I wanted this away match to be part of the schedule. It means so much to keep these guys from winning. Most supporters outside of England have a hard time with this being a big rivalry due to Sperz being crap, but go to a match and you’ll quicklyt understand. It has to be experienced.

On to the match. The game started OK for both sides with some back and forth play and then Gilberto brought down Berbatov just outside the box for a free kick to Sperz. New signing, 18 yro Bale took the shot left footed, bent it around the wall and past Almunia. Argh. 1-nil down early in the match. Some say the wall wasn’t set well, the Hleb should have done more to get in the way, and that Almunia should have covered the shot. No matter what, the ball went in. Not a great position to be in, but there you go. Arsenal have been there before and know what to do.

The Gunners stuck to their game plan and continued to play the way they like to, which is open and attacking. The half ended with them still down, but there were some good chances, especially the sitter that Diaby put over Robinson but clanged against the bar. As a note, that is now 2 that Diaby should have put away in my opinion. Anyway, the Gunners got going again in the second half and kept attacking with another sitter missed by Adebayor. The Togolese striker made up for it though by heading a free kick to go level with the scum. Sperz nearly went ahead when Berbatov got the ball clear in space and Almunia came running out of the box at him like Lampard to free pies. Berbatov then rounded Almunia and looked sure to score but King Kolo came back and tackled the ball away. Whew! Then 10 minutes from time, after a few nice passes, Cesc got the ball about 25 yards out with some space. “SHOOOOOOT!!!!!” I screamed, scaring my wife and daughter. Cesc must have heard it in England and let rip a shot the sent Robinson flying but unable to stop it. Arsenal were now up 2-1!! Could this be it? Not this Arsenal. Most teams would be happy to sit on the ball, take it into the corner, waste time, etc. Instead, the boys kept pushing with Denilson having a great chance (which he missed) and Adebayor teeing up a great volley (which didn’t miss). Once this went in, the scum headed for the door so they could get behind the police line early and have a good position to shout obscenities at the Arsenal leaving the ground. 3 points from the 3-1 win saw Arsenal move to the top of the table where they should be. Hey Chicken Littles, how you like them apples?! Stupid Chicken Littles.

With that out of the way and feeling chipper, I took the family out for a bit of lunch at a place with a nice new kids playground. After stuffing ourselves and letting the little one wear herself out, it was time to head home and take a rest. A quick snooze later, it was time to watch some World Cup rugby I had taped. England played South Africa on Friday and I was contemplating buy the match on PPV, but decided the money was better spent on a round of golf. I shot an 82 and found out later that England got crushed. Smart move by me! In fact England were embarrassed, at least so I thought. I’m new to rugby, but being the current cup holders, you wouldn’t think they would be beaten 36-0. Nil!!! Not even a drop goal. Heck, even Portugal got a try and a few kicks in against the All Blacks in the 108 to 13 hiding. England aren’t looking too good right now and they lost the one player (Robinson to a hamstring injury) who looked any good against the Springboks. As a result, Toby Flood has been called into duty and talisman Jonny Wilkinson (Wilko) has decided he is fit and will play against Samoa on Saturday. The next matches coming up are Scotland v. Romania tomorrow and Italy v. Portugal on Wednesday.



Finally, as I’ve finished with my lunch hour and am now on company time, Tiger Woods has notched another win at the Tour Championship, which earned him $1.26m and placed him 1 win short of Arnold Palmers record of 62 wins. There is still Nicklaus at 75 and Snead at 82, but Woods is only 31 and has plenty of time. Crazy. The win on Sunday also secured him the inaugural FedEx Cup, which was a season long points tournament with 4 playoff tourneys (the Tour Championship being the last). This win gave him a nice little bonus of $10m. Yes, 10. Crazy. I’m sure Tiger was happy, but I bet caddie Steve Williams was loving his 10%, or $1.126m for 4 days work! I know I talk a lot about Tiger, but there isn’t too much else to talk about. Especially when he is killing it right now. The next big event will be the President’s Cup which is like the Ryder Cup and pits the US versus the rest of the world (or the international team). More on that as we get closer.

I think that is more than enough for today. I need to mow the yard tonight, but the thought of heading to the driving range sounds more fun. I’ve been hitting it a lot better lately and I’d like to work on a few things. We’ll see.

Adios.