After I Sneezed I Looked Into My Hands And Saw News
-I cannot believe MLS did not have a brightly colored ball to use up in Boston with snow on the field. By the end of the game most of the snow was gone, but early in the match I lost track of the ball many times on that pitch. Inexcusable. What other league in the world would be caught without this?
-I got to watch 3 of the 4 MLS playoff games. The one I did not see was Dallas v Colorado. But I have now seen the highlights, and here is my game analysis:
The red card to Colorado's Alain Nkong in the 54th minute was idiotic! The elbow was not intentional – Nkong just went up for a header and Valikari clattered into the back of him and got Nkong's arm (that was already up) in the face. The sideline referee is the one who made the call for red card, but the referee was standing right in front of the play as it happened, was looking straight at the action, and initially made no call at all!! You can clearly see on the replay what a joke of a call this was.
Ruiz's goal in the 66th minute was pure Pescadito. The spin, the shot, the placement, wow! Bobby Rhine puts in a nice crisp low ball from just outside the right side of the penalty box, Roberta Mina makes a fantastic dummy over the ball and it rolls straight in to Ruiz who has Pablo Mastroeni draped all over him. Ruiz spins sharply to his right and fires the ball into the far corner. Classic fish!
And how about that save by Joe Cannon on Ruiz in the 86th minute! Cannon literally took the ball off Ruiz's foot twice.
In extra time Joe Cannon again was huge, stopping two blasts from Ramon Nunez. Then Chris Gbandi crosses the far post for Ruiz who jumps up between two defenders and heads all the way back across goal for the score in the 105th. A minute later Ruiz shows his Dr Jeckyll side as he foolishly sticks his foot out and commits a foul 40 yards from goal. It proved to be a total bonehead maneuver, cuz on the free kick Terry Cooke puts it to the far post and Ritchie Kotschau, of all people, pokes it home for a 2-2 tie! The Dallas defense on both Colorado goals was a joke. No one seemed to have an interest in marking anyone either time.
Dallas gets their chance to seal it though, with a 112th minute PK awarded when Gbandi is brought down by Kyle Beckerman as he races toward goal. Carlos "Killer" Ruiz steps up for the PK with his usual confidence, but puts it off the post! It was the first PK Dallas missed all year. (Sadly for them, it wouldn't be the last.) Cannon ended extra time by saving two point blank shots in the 119th.
At the end of the extra time and the score still at 2-2 we headed to penalty kicks to decide the winner. Scott Garlick in the net for Dallas, and the mighty Joe Cannon for Colorado. The great irony here is that Garlick was Colorado's keeper two years ago, until Cannon was signed and replaced him. The two exchanged heated words in the press, but in the end, Cannon was named MLS keeper of the year last year, not Garlick.
So, we're off the PK land:
Ruiz – Dallas – yes
Mastroeni - Colorado - yes
Nunez – Dallas – yes
Kirovski - Clorado - yes
Pareja – Dallas – yes
Cunningham - Colorado - yes
Vanney – Dallas – yes
Cooke - Colorado - yes
Mina – Dallas – no – Joe Cannon dives right and grabs the soft shot!
Peguero - Colorado – yes – leaving the stadium silent
4-5 winner to Colorado!
-Three Metrostars players combined to completely botch the 2nd goal they gave up to New England. The cross came in from a Jose Cancela corner kick, and keeper Tony Meola got lost in the middle of the box flailing for the ball, then defensive midfielder Michael Bradley let Pat Noonan jump right over him at the back post, and Noonan's header snuck between Eddie Gaven and the post he was supposed to be covering. Three unforgivable and yet simple errors combined on one corner to cost Metros a goal, and probably the series. And not to totally pick on Eddie Gaven, but Khano Smith torched him down the left wing to score the winner as well. Poor bad-haired Eddie Gaven! Note to Eddie: Listen dude, put on some muscle and get ready to fight next year.
-Read what The Royal Gazette of Bermuda had to say about hometown boy and former Dandy Town striker Khano Smith who was so big for New England in their playoff win on Saturday over Metrostars.
-Metrostars players want Mo Johnston back as their coach for next season according to and article by Frank Giase of the Newark Star-Ledger.
-8 Champions League Matchday 4 games today(!!!!!):
PSV v Milan
Schalke v Fenerbahce
Rosenborg v Real Madrid
Olympiacos v Lyon
Liverpool v Anderlecht
Betis v Chelsea
Artmedia v Rangers
Inter v Porto
With 8 more to follow tomorrow.
-Does it surprise any of you to know that Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe has a giant 'tache? Not me. I think his name screams "cookie duster".
-Ken The Keeper sends in a correction on the Fiorentina win over Cagliari last weekend (I said that Luca Toni scored 2 for Fior): Luca Toni scored the first goal for Fiorentina and assisted on the second, which was slammed home like a Nordic hammer by Jorgensen. Toni appeared to injure his foot after his goal but continued to play. The Fiorentina website states "Fiorentina suffers [in the win]" but makes no specific mention of the Toni's injury (yet). By the way - congrats to Kens team, for coming up from the depths of hell just two years ago.
-Two more BASA's given out by Climbing The Ladder:
Midfielder Of The Year (here are my three votes):
1- Shalrie Joseph
2- Christian Gomez
3- Dwayne Derosario
And Old Player Of The Year (here are my three votes):
1- Ezra Hendrickson
2- Mark Chung
3- Cobi Jones
How did I not vote for Youri Djorkaeff for this award?? He was outstanding!
-In England's Championship Division, Eddie Lewis and Leeds play at Crewe today, while Bobby Convey, Marcus Hahnemanna & Reading host Sheffield Wednesday.
-Steven Goff in the Washington Post today writes that: Season's Failures May Spur United to Change
-Also in the Post today, Mike Wilbon's identical twin brother Tony Kornheiser gets in on the act of talking out his ass. Hey Tony! Shut Up!
-Joe Cannon, Colorado Super Keeper, has a feature story on his own bad self at the US Players Assoc.
-Paul Gardner in Soccer America has: A lesson from the Rapids
-Andrea Canales blames Coach Dominic Kinnear for the Earthquakes playoff failure.
-Rob Hughes in the International Herald Tribune writes about the escape from the clutches of the reaper by Maradona & Best: 2 tarnished greats live on
-Houston Chronicle's Week In Review
-Vote for the MLS Goal Of The Year from the 4 finalists (there are 5 listed but that Jason Kries goal does not deserve to be there, at least 3 or 4 were better that did not make the top 5, and the Salt Lake fans obviously did their "storm the ballot box" best in getting this goal on the nominee list. Shame on you.)
-The brilliant Frank Lampard has scored in 16 of his last 20 Premiership games. Astounding!
-I got to watch 3 of the 4 MLS playoff games. The one I did not see was Dallas v Colorado. But I have now seen the highlights, and here is my game analysis:
The red card to Colorado's Alain Nkong in the 54th minute was idiotic! The elbow was not intentional – Nkong just went up for a header and Valikari clattered into the back of him and got Nkong's arm (that was already up) in the face. The sideline referee is the one who made the call for red card, but the referee was standing right in front of the play as it happened, was looking straight at the action, and initially made no call at all!! You can clearly see on the replay what a joke of a call this was.
Ruiz's goal in the 66th minute was pure Pescadito. The spin, the shot, the placement, wow! Bobby Rhine puts in a nice crisp low ball from just outside the right side of the penalty box, Roberta Mina makes a fantastic dummy over the ball and it rolls straight in to Ruiz who has Pablo Mastroeni draped all over him. Ruiz spins sharply to his right and fires the ball into the far corner. Classic fish!
And how about that save by Joe Cannon on Ruiz in the 86th minute! Cannon literally took the ball off Ruiz's foot twice.
In extra time Joe Cannon again was huge, stopping two blasts from Ramon Nunez. Then Chris Gbandi crosses the far post for Ruiz who jumps up between two defenders and heads all the way back across goal for the score in the 105th. A minute later Ruiz shows his Dr Jeckyll side as he foolishly sticks his foot out and commits a foul 40 yards from goal. It proved to be a total bonehead maneuver, cuz on the free kick Terry Cooke puts it to the far post and Ritchie Kotschau, of all people, pokes it home for a 2-2 tie! The Dallas defense on both Colorado goals was a joke. No one seemed to have an interest in marking anyone either time.
Dallas gets their chance to seal it though, with a 112th minute PK awarded when Gbandi is brought down by Kyle Beckerman as he races toward goal. Carlos "Killer" Ruiz steps up for the PK with his usual confidence, but puts it off the post! It was the first PK Dallas missed all year. (Sadly for them, it wouldn't be the last.) Cannon ended extra time by saving two point blank shots in the 119th.
At the end of the extra time and the score still at 2-2 we headed to penalty kicks to decide the winner. Scott Garlick in the net for Dallas, and the mighty Joe Cannon for Colorado. The great irony here is that Garlick was Colorado's keeper two years ago, until Cannon was signed and replaced him. The two exchanged heated words in the press, but in the end, Cannon was named MLS keeper of the year last year, not Garlick.
So, we're off the PK land:
Ruiz – Dallas – yes
Mastroeni - Colorado - yes
Nunez – Dallas – yes
Kirovski - Clorado - yes
Pareja – Dallas – yes
Cunningham - Colorado - yes
Vanney – Dallas – yes
Cooke - Colorado - yes
Mina – Dallas – no – Joe Cannon dives right and grabs the soft shot!
Peguero - Colorado – yes – leaving the stadium silent
4-5 winner to Colorado!
-Three Metrostars players combined to completely botch the 2nd goal they gave up to New England. The cross came in from a Jose Cancela corner kick, and keeper Tony Meola got lost in the middle of the box flailing for the ball, then defensive midfielder Michael Bradley let Pat Noonan jump right over him at the back post, and Noonan's header snuck between Eddie Gaven and the post he was supposed to be covering. Three unforgivable and yet simple errors combined on one corner to cost Metros a goal, and probably the series. And not to totally pick on Eddie Gaven, but Khano Smith torched him down the left wing to score the winner as well. Poor bad-haired Eddie Gaven! Note to Eddie: Listen dude, put on some muscle and get ready to fight next year.
-Read what The Royal Gazette of Bermuda had to say about hometown boy and former Dandy Town striker Khano Smith who was so big for New England in their playoff win on Saturday over Metrostars.
-Metrostars players want Mo Johnston back as their coach for next season according to and article by Frank Giase of the Newark Star-Ledger.
-8 Champions League Matchday 4 games today(!!!!!):
PSV v Milan
Schalke v Fenerbahce
Rosenborg v Real Madrid
Olympiacos v Lyon
Liverpool v Anderlecht
Betis v Chelsea
Artmedia v Rangers
Inter v Porto
With 8 more to follow tomorrow.
-Does it surprise any of you to know that Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe has a giant 'tache? Not me. I think his name screams "cookie duster".
-Ken The Keeper sends in a correction on the Fiorentina win over Cagliari last weekend (I said that Luca Toni scored 2 for Fior): Luca Toni scored the first goal for Fiorentina and assisted on the second, which was slammed home like a Nordic hammer by Jorgensen. Toni appeared to injure his foot after his goal but continued to play. The Fiorentina website states "Fiorentina suffers [in the win]" but makes no specific mention of the Toni's injury (yet). By the way - congrats to Kens team, for coming up from the depths of hell just two years ago.
-Two more BASA's given out by Climbing The Ladder:
Midfielder Of The Year (here are my three votes):
1- Shalrie Joseph
2- Christian Gomez
3- Dwayne Derosario
And Old Player Of The Year (here are my three votes):
1- Ezra Hendrickson
2- Mark Chung
3- Cobi Jones
How did I not vote for Youri Djorkaeff for this award?? He was outstanding!
-In England's Championship Division, Eddie Lewis and Leeds play at Crewe today, while Bobby Convey, Marcus Hahnemanna & Reading host Sheffield Wednesday.
-Steven Goff in the Washington Post today writes that: Season's Failures May Spur United to Change
-Also in the Post today, Mike Wilbon's identical twin brother Tony Kornheiser gets in on the act of talking out his ass. Hey Tony! Shut Up!
-Joe Cannon, Colorado Super Keeper, has a feature story on his own bad self at the US Players Assoc.
-Paul Gardner in Soccer America has: A lesson from the Rapids
-Andrea Canales blames Coach Dominic Kinnear for the Earthquakes playoff failure.
-Rob Hughes in the International Herald Tribune writes about the escape from the clutches of the reaper by Maradona & Best: 2 tarnished greats live on
-Houston Chronicle's Week In Review
-Vote for the MLS Goal Of The Year from the 4 finalists (there are 5 listed but that Jason Kries goal does not deserve to be there, at least 3 or 4 were better that did not make the top 5, and the Salt Lake fans obviously did their "storm the ballot box" best in getting this goal on the nominee list. Shame on you.)
-The brilliant Frank Lampard has scored in 16 of his last 20 Premiership games. Astounding!
posted by brucio at 12:48
6 Comments:
Mr. Kornheiser is like the drunk you run into when you go out to watch a soccer game at the bar. He knows nothing about the game and the loud jokes he attempts to make only makes you feel sorry for him.
matthew teff
Chairman of the Brian Hall Fan Club
Wow, at least Wilbon's rant made it seem like he'd bothered to learn something about the game. Kornheiser's is pathetic.
Super-Frank is on target to pass David James all time consecutive start record. I think he just has to make 3 more to tie and four to break it. Incredible for a such a midfielder with a tireless work ethic who is often seen tracking back as well as making the creative pass or the 3o meter shot on goal. He is curently the top goal scorer in the EPL with 10 goals. Not bad for a guy who started out the season slugishly and everyone was calling fatty Frank. He also has blown all the other players out of the water with the EPL's ACTIM ratings. He has a rating of 3.67. The next closest player has a rating of 2.05. What is the ACTIM?
How is the Actim Index calculated?
Complex mathematical formulae were devised to calculate the value of each player's contribution, match by match. In simple terms, the Actim Index comprises four calculations:
Calculation 1 - Assesses a player's contribution to a winning team, based on points won by the team when he appeared.
Calculation 2 - Assesses a player's performance in each game, by allocating points for actions that positively contribute to a winning performance such as shots, tackles, clearances and saves. It also takes points away from players for negative actions such as yellow/red cards and shots off target.
Calculation 3 - Allocates points based on time of the pitch.
Calculation 4 - Allocates points for goal scorers.
Come-on Super-Frank!!!!
bq is obviously insane
I never claimed to be of sound mind nor body. I can blame the alcohol for both.
Com-on super Frank.
ethan, dear ethen,
you and i both know there is a huge difference between voting, and ballot box stuffing
and voting for a guy's goal just cuz he plays for the team you support is extra lame
so yeah, i think that does make rsl fans lame
sorry dude
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