I'm really itching for the baseball season to start up this year, and I've been looking at depth charts and rosters for far too long now but it's given me the ability to judge who I think is a contender this year. I fully believe a team can win the World Series behind pitching more than offense, so the contenders this year will be the teams with the top rotations.
#5: Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez, Cliff Lee, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Ian Snell, and Doug Fister (with Erik Bedard waiting on the DL). This rotation has gotten a lot of publicity this offseason and a 1-2 combination of Hernandez and Lee is as intimidating as it gets. That being said they do have question marks behind those two that prevents them from being higher. If Rowland-Smith can pitch like he did at the end of the season and Ian Snell can put together some of the outings that made him decent in Pittsburgh, this rotation should be able to hold together until Bedard comes off the DL and can claim the 3 spot and bump the other two down. It's not clear when Bedard will be ready to pitch this season, but he is certainly the x-factor of the rotation this season for the Mariners.
#4: Philadelphia Phillies: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ, and Jamie Moyer. The Phillies made one of the bigger moves this winter by trading for Roy Halladay who should be simply dominant in the NL this season. I expect Cole Hamels to bounce back from a mediocre 2009 campaign and from all accounts out of Spring Training he's on track to do just that. Blanton and Happ are probably interchangable for this rotation but I think Blanton will be the #3 due to his service time in the bigs. Jamie Moyer continues to reinvent himself as a pitcher and can still be effective while barely touching 84 mph.
#3: New York Yankees: CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez, and Phil Hughes. The one question that Joe Girardi has to answer is who will be the #5 starter for this season for the defending champs. I think Phil Hughes is the better choice over Joba Chamberlain who is better served as the set-up man and heir to Mariano Rivera's closer role. 1-3 this rotation is outstanding, Vazquez is the x-factor for the Yankees this season, he has a $10 million arm and a 10 cent brain when it comes to pressure situations. New York is a big stage where Vazquez has pitched before with a little success, if he can find that success again the Yankees will be right back in the World Series in 2010.
#2: Chicago White Sox: Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Freddy Garcia. When Jake Peavy first turned down the White Sox last season, I was devastated (maybe part of it had to do with the 20-1 loss I witnessed first hand to the freaking Twins that same day). So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that Peavy was coming to the South Side. Danks experienced circulation issues in his fingers last season that made him at time unproductive, but those have been worked out. The key for the rotation this year is for Floyd to continue to improve on his 2009 campaign, where he won 11 games. If Floyd can take another step and the rest of the rotation pitches to its ability they will easily be able to overcome the shortfalls that may occur with the offense this season.
#1: Boston Red Sox: Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz. Going into this season I think the Yankees, White Sox, and Red Sox are very close in terms of the best rotation. That being said the Red Sox get the nod because the talent is very high for all 5 of their pitchers. All 5 guys have the ability to dominate a game, they just have to show that ability every night which is the biggest question for Matsuzaka heading into 2010. You can imagine that if Matsuzaka continues to struggle that Terry Francona will hand the ball to Tim Wakefield to fill the 5th spot in the rotation. The depth this rotation has and the potential that is present makes the Red Sox very dangerous heading into 2010.
All this being said, baseball isn't played on paper and we could very likely see all 5 of these teams struggle on the hill this year. We just have to wait till April 4th to get this thing rolling.
[Upon further review, I want to put the Giants in the five spot. It was a complete oversight on my part but Lincecum and Cain are greater than Hernandez and Lee and the rest of the Giants rotation has far less question marks than the Mariners do]
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Premier League Preview
I have a mathematical ranking system devised for the English Premier League. The system is based solely on results so far in the English Premier League and it can both rank the teams and give predictions for future games. The system takes into account home and away advantages and gives each team an offensive and defensive rating that is used to determine the expected number of goals scored for both teams in the match. Those of you more interested in the statistical side of things may be interested to note that the scores follow a Poisson Distribution with mean based on the factors listed above.
For now, the ratings can be used for the most interesting thing, predicting match results! I will give the five most likely match outcomes along with the probability of win, draw, or loss for each team. As always, home team listed first! For a more comprehensive preview of this weekend’s action, check this post.
Chelsea v Manchester City
Most Likely Outcomes:
Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City, 11.14%
Chelsea 3-0 Manchester City, 10.99%
Chelsea 4-0 Manchester City, 8.13%
Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City, 7.93%
Chelsea 3-1 Manchester City, 7.83%
Result Probabilities:
Chelsea Win: 82.42%
Draw: 11.49%
Manchester City Win: 6.09%
Birmingham v Wigan
Most Likely Outcomes:
Birmingham 1-0 Wigan, 17.68%
Birmingham 2-0 Wigan, 16.52%
Birmingham 3-0 Wigan, 10.29%
Birmingham 0-0 Wigan, 9.46%
Birmingham 1-0 Wigan, 8.65%
Result Probabilities:
Birmingham Win: 70.82%
Draw: 20.30%
Wigan Win: 8.88%
Bolton v Wolverhampton
Most Likely Outcomes:
Bolton 1-0 Wolverhampton, 16.53%
Bolton 2-0 Wolverhampton, 11.98%
Bolton 1-1 Wolverhampton, 11.93%
Bolton 0-0 Wolverhampton, 11.40%
Bolton 2-1 Wolverhampton, 8.65%
Result Probabilities:
Bolton Win: 54.57%
Draw: 26.83%
Wolverhampton Win: 18.60%
Burnley v Portsmouth
Most Likely Outcomes:
Burnley 1-0 Portsmouth, 11.71%
Burnley 1-1 Portsmouth, 11.65%
Burnley 2-0 Portsmouth, 9.67%
Burnley 2-1 Portsmouth, 9.62%
Burnley 0-0 Portsmouth, 7.08%
Result Probabilities:
Burnley Win: 52.77%
Draw: 24.49%
Portsmouth Win: 22.74%
Stoke City v Arsenal
Most Likely Outcomes:
Stoke City 1-1 Arsenal, 12.73%
Stoke City 0-1 Arsenal, 12.12%
Stoke City 1-0 Arsenal, 9.19%
Stoke City 1-2 Arsenal, 8.83%
Stoke City 0-0 Arsenal, 8.75%
Result Probabilities:
Stoke City Win: 28.48%
Draw: 26.94%
Arsenal Win: 44.58%
Tottenham v Everton
Most Likely Outcomes:
Tottenham 2-0 Everton, 11.27%
Tottenham 2-1 Everton, 9.38%
Tottenham 3-0 Everton, 9.20%
Tottenham 1-0 Everton, 9.20%
Tottenham 3-1 Everton, 7.66%
Result Probabilities:
Tottenham Win: 72.91%
Draw: 16.32%
Everton Win: 10.77%
Liverpool v Blackburn
Most Likely Outcomes:
Liverpool 2-0 Blackburn, 14.27%
Liverpool 3-0 Blackburn, 12.98%
Liverpool 1-0 Blackburn, 10.46%
Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn, 8.86%
Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn, 7.60%
Result Probabilities:
Liverpool Win: 83.25%
Draw: 11.79%
Blackburn Win: 4.96%
Sunderland v Fulham
Most Likely Outcomes:
Sunderland 1-1 Fulham, 13.13%
Sunderland 1-0 Fulham, 12.62%
Sunderland 0-1 Fulham, 10.41%
Sunderland 0-0 Fulham, 10.00%
Sunderland 2-1 Fulham, 8.29%
Result Probabilities:
Sunderland Win: 41.38%
Draw: 28.13%
Fulham Win: 30.50%
Here is what the top of the table would look like if these results hold:
The only change is Liverpool taking over Manchester City for the 5th spot, just a point out of the Champions League qualifying spot. However, both Manchester City and Aston Villa will have a game in hand.
For now, the ratings can be used for the most interesting thing, predicting match results! I will give the five most likely match outcomes along with the probability of win, draw, or loss for each team. As always, home team listed first! For a more comprehensive preview of this weekend’s action, check this post.
Chelsea v Manchester City
Most Likely Outcomes:
Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City, 11.14%
Chelsea 3-0 Manchester City, 10.99%
Chelsea 4-0 Manchester City, 8.13%
Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City, 7.93%
Chelsea 3-1 Manchester City, 7.83%
Result Probabilities:
Chelsea Win: 82.42%
Draw: 11.49%
Manchester City Win: 6.09%
Birmingham v Wigan
Most Likely Outcomes:
Birmingham 1-0 Wigan, 17.68%
Birmingham 2-0 Wigan, 16.52%
Birmingham 3-0 Wigan, 10.29%
Birmingham 0-0 Wigan, 9.46%
Birmingham 1-0 Wigan, 8.65%
Result Probabilities:
Birmingham Win: 70.82%
Draw: 20.30%
Wigan Win: 8.88%
Bolton v Wolverhampton
Most Likely Outcomes:
Bolton 1-0 Wolverhampton, 16.53%
Bolton 2-0 Wolverhampton, 11.98%
Bolton 1-1 Wolverhampton, 11.93%
Bolton 0-0 Wolverhampton, 11.40%
Bolton 2-1 Wolverhampton, 8.65%
Result Probabilities:
Bolton Win: 54.57%
Draw: 26.83%
Wolverhampton Win: 18.60%
Burnley v Portsmouth
Most Likely Outcomes:
Burnley 1-0 Portsmouth, 11.71%
Burnley 1-1 Portsmouth, 11.65%
Burnley 2-0 Portsmouth, 9.67%
Burnley 2-1 Portsmouth, 9.62%
Burnley 0-0 Portsmouth, 7.08%
Result Probabilities:
Burnley Win: 52.77%
Draw: 24.49%
Portsmouth Win: 22.74%
Stoke City v Arsenal
Most Likely Outcomes:
Stoke City 1-1 Arsenal, 12.73%
Stoke City 0-1 Arsenal, 12.12%
Stoke City 1-0 Arsenal, 9.19%
Stoke City 1-2 Arsenal, 8.83%
Stoke City 0-0 Arsenal, 8.75%
Result Probabilities:
Stoke City Win: 28.48%
Draw: 26.94%
Arsenal Win: 44.58%
Tottenham v Everton
Most Likely Outcomes:
Tottenham 2-0 Everton, 11.27%
Tottenham 2-1 Everton, 9.38%
Tottenham 3-0 Everton, 9.20%
Tottenham 1-0 Everton, 9.20%
Tottenham 3-1 Everton, 7.66%
Result Probabilities:
Tottenham Win: 72.91%
Draw: 16.32%
Everton Win: 10.77%
Liverpool v Blackburn
Most Likely Outcomes:
Liverpool 2-0 Blackburn, 14.27%
Liverpool 3-0 Blackburn, 12.98%
Liverpool 1-0 Blackburn, 10.46%
Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn, 8.86%
Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn, 7.60%
Result Probabilities:
Liverpool Win: 83.25%
Draw: 11.79%
Blackburn Win: 4.96%
Sunderland v Fulham
Most Likely Outcomes:
Sunderland 1-1 Fulham, 13.13%
Sunderland 1-0 Fulham, 12.62%
Sunderland 0-1 Fulham, 10.41%
Sunderland 0-0 Fulham, 10.00%
Sunderland 2-1 Fulham, 8.29%
Result Probabilities:
Sunderland Win: 41.38%
Draw: 28.13%
Fulham Win: 30.50%
Here is what the top of the table would look like if these results hold:
| Team | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| Chelsea | 20 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 64 |
| Manchester United | 19 | 3 | 6 | 42 | 60 |
| Arsenal | 17 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 56 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 14 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 49 |
| Liverpool | 14 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 48 |
| Manchester City | 12 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 46 |
| Aston Villa | 12 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 45 |
The only change is Liverpool taking over Manchester City for the 5th spot, just a point out of the Champions League qualifying spot. However, both Manchester City and Aston Villa will have a game in hand.
Weekend Soccer Preview
Another edition of the Weekend Soccer Preview! I added in teams I had ranked 26-40 here because really, can you ever have too many rankings?
As always, home team listed first, all times Eastern.
Games of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
7:45 ET Saturday (English Premier League)
(2) Chelsea v (13) Manchester City
This is yet another massive match-up for these top-tier English sides. Both squads are coming off of disappointing mid-week defeats, Manchester City to Stoke City in the FA Cup, and Chelsea at Inter Milan in the Champions League. Manchester City is currently in 5th place with 46 points, behind Tottenham only on goal differential with a game in hand. City will be fighting tooth and nail for that fourth Champions League spot and as Tottenham is being visited by recent giant killers Everton, this could be City’s chance to put some room between the two squads. On the other hand, Chelsea has the Premier League title on their minds as they lead idle Manchester United by a point with a game in hand. Chelsea will be using backup keeper Hilario for a month while Petr Cech recovers from a torn calf muscle from the Inter Milan match mid-week. This adds to the minor defensive crisis being experienced by Chelsea, as Ashley Cole and Yury Zhirkov are still sidelined by injuries. Florent Malouda is expected to continue filling in at left-back. Emmanuel Adebayor will be missing for Manchester City as he begins his four match ban for a red card received in the 5th round FA Cup replay with Stoke City. City will have Carlos Tevez back from his return to Argentina for the birth of his baby daughter. A lot of attention will be given to the pre-game handshake between John Terry and Wayne Bridge. I don’t want to give this controversy any more attention than it deserves, so just Google it if you have not heard of it before.
10:00 ET Sunday, Carling Cup Final
(4) Manchester United v (18) Aston Villa
Aston Villa has an opportunity to win their first major trophy in ten years as they take on Manchester United in the Carling Cup Final. The first-team squads will be out in force, including scorching hot Wayne Rooney for United, who will likely again be the lone striker in the 4-5-1/4-3-3 system being used by the Red Devils so much lately. The midfield will be Fletcher, Carrick, and Gibson or Scholes, or just Fletcher and Carrick if Sir Alex does go with the 4-4-2. Aston Villa will be coming out firing to capitalize on the rare chance for them to win some silverware but you can expect the proud United squad to go all out for it to get some more momentum right as European competition is heating up.
Other Games Between Two Ranked Teams
14:30 ET Friday (German Bundesliga)
(12) Schalke 04 2-1 (37) Borussia Dortmund
Goals by Benedikt Howedes and Ivan Rakitic sank visiting Borussia Dortmund after Dortmund took a lead with a Nuri Sahin penalty in the 47th. This result keeps Schalke in reach of the leaders and securely in a Champions League spot, as Dortmund remains in the final Europa League qualifying position.
9:00 ET Sunday (Italy’s Serie A)
(34) Napoli v (10) AS Roma
Napoli is coming off of a 4 game streak in which they have had three 0-0 draws, with a loss at Udinese in between. AS Roma has absolutely torn up Serie A in the past two months, on a remarkable 10 game win streak in Italian competition and 18 game unbeaten streak. The last time Roma lost to an Italian side was a 2-1 loss on October 18 at AC Milan. Roma and AC Milan have been making Serie A interesting for Inter Milan, as they sit 5 and 4 points behind the leaders respectively. Napoli is ten points back of Roma in 5th place, in a three way tie with Palermo and Sampdoria. They will want to hang on to their Europa League qualifying spot and every result matters at this point in the season.
11:30 ET Sunday (German Bundesliga)
(6) Bayern Munich v (31) Hamburg SV
Bayern Munich is in a deadlock with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, trailing by only a goal on goal differential. The leaders are only a point ahead of lurking Schalke 04 who won earlier on Friday and has a game in hand. Hamburg sits nine points back of Bayern Munich in 4th place and won the first meeting between the two clubs this year, a 1-0 victory at home back in September. Bayern’s 9 game Bundesliga win streak was snapped last weekend with a 1-1 draw at Nurnberg and will look to get back on track with a win to keep up with Leverkusen in the table.
Top of the Table Clashes
7:30 ET Sunday
(39) Rangers v Celtic
The historic Old Firm match-up strikes again for the third time this season after a 2-1 win for Rangers at home and a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park. This does not have the usual title implications as it usually has as Rangers is 7 points ahead of second place Celtic with a game in hand. However, if Celtic wants to make the miracle comeback this is by all means a must win match-up. Rangers keeper Allan McGregor is a doubt as he was involved in an incident last weekend where he suffered facial injuries. It is even throwing a doubt over his future Rangers career and may be enough of a distraction on and off the pitch to give Celtic a chance. On the other side, striker Robbie Keane will be making his first appearance in an Old Firm match for Celtic. No matter what the implications and expectations surrounding the game are, this match is always a thriller.
9:30 ET Sunday (Austrian Bundesliga)
Rapid Vienna v SV Salzburg
SV Salzburg is a scant three points ahead of second place Rapid Vienna in the Austrian Bundesliga. Salzburg is coming off of a disappointing two weeks that saw them knocked out of the Europa League 3-2 on aggregate to a solid Standard Liege squad from Belgium. Rapid Vienna has only taken 1 point from the last two games against LASK Linz and FC Magna Wr. Neustadt, who are both in the bottom four in the table. Salzburg has won both of their Austrian Bundesliga matches since the winter break and a win would do wonders to distance them from the competition and put them just one step closer to Champions League qualification.
Big Games in Small Leagues
9:30 ET Sunday (Austrian Bundesliga)
Rapid Vienna v SV Salzburg
12:00 ET Sunday
CFR Cluj v Steaua Bucuresti
English Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
(2) Chelsea v (13) Manchester City
10:00 ET Saturday
Birmingham v Wigan
Bolton v Wolverhampton
Burnley v Portsmouth
12:30 ET Saturday
Stoke City v (9) Arsenal
8:00 ET Sunday
(15) Tottenham Hotspur v Everton
Tottenham will be the 9th top 6 team Everton has played in the past 14 games and the 6th in the past 8 games. In those last 5 games Everton has come away with a very impressive 10 points and is now 8th in the Premier League. Though it is unlikely that they will sneak into 7th place and a possible Europa League spot as they are 7 points behind Aston Villa, it is still encouraging for them to play such good soccer, giving them much needed momentum going into next season.
10:00 ET Sunday
(23) Liverpool v Blackburn
Sunderland v Fulham
Scottish Premier League
10:00 ET Saturday
Dundee United v Falkirk
Hibernian v St. Johnstone
7:30 ET Sunday
(39) Rangers v Celtic
Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
Getafe v Real Zaragoza
14:00 ET Saturday
Tenerife v (3) Real Madrid
16:00 ET Saturday
(1) Barcelona v Malaga
11:00 ET Sunday
Racing Santander v Almeria
Sporting Gijon v Osasuna
Valladolid v (29) Mallorca
Villarreal v Deportivo La Coruna
Xerez v Espanyol
13:00 ET Sunday
Sevilla v Athletic Bilbao
15:00 ET Sunday
Atletico Madrid v Valencia
Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
Catania v Bari
14:45 ET Saturday
Lazio v Fiorentina
9:00 ET Sunday
(8) AC Milan v Atalanta
Chievo Verona v Cagliari
Genoa v Bologna
Livorno v Siena
(34) Napoli v (10) AS Roma
Parma v Sampdoria
Udinese v (5) Inter Milan
14:45 ET Sunday
(32) Juventus v Palermo
German Bundesliga
14:30 ET Friday
(12) Schalke 04 v (37) Borussia Dortmund
9:30 ET Saturday
Borussia Monchengladbach v SC Freiburg
Hertha Berlin v TSG Hoffenheim
Mainz v Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart v Eintracht Frankfurt
VfL Bochum v Nurnberg
12:30 ET Saturday
(7) Bayer Leverkusen v FC Cologne
9:30 ET Sunday
Hannover 96 v VfL Wolfsburg
11:30 ET Sunday
(6) Bayern Munich v (31) Hamburg SV
French Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
AS Monaco v Boulogne
AS Nancy Lorraine v Grenoble
Lorient v Sochaux
(16) Lyon v Nice
Toulouse v Lens
Valenciennes v St. Etienne
15:00 ET Saturday
(21) Montpellier v Stade Rennes
11:00 ET Sunday
Le Mans v (11) Bordeaux
(26) Lille v AJ Auxerre
15:00 ET Sunday
Paris Saint-Germain v (30) Marseille
Dutch Eredivisie
12:45 ET Saturday
Heerenveen v SC Heracles Almelo
13:45 ET Saturday
Vitesse Arnhem v AZ Alkmaar
6:30 ET Sunday
(25) Ajax Amsterdam v FC Utrecht
8:30 ET Sunday
(19) PSV Eindhoven v RKS Waalwijk
(24) Twente Enschede v NEC Nijmegen
Portuguese Liga
14:15 ET Saturday
(28) Braga v Olhanense
16:15 ET Saturday
Leixoes v (20) Benfica
15:15 ET Sunday
Sporting Lisbon v (17) FC Porto
Turkish Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
Kayserispor v Besiktas
8:00 ET Sunday
Istanbul Buyuksehir BSK v (35) Fenerbahce
12:00 ET Sunday
Galatasaray v Kasimpasa
Greek Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
AEK Athens v Ergotelis
9:45 ET Sunday
Olympiakos v Atromitos
12:00 ET Sunday
Panionios v (40) Panathinaikos
Ukrainian Premier League
8:00 ET Saturday
(38) Dynamo Kyiv v Krvybas
8:00 ET Sunday
Shakhtar Donetsk v Vorskla
Belgian Jupiler League
12:00 ET Sunday
St. Truiden v Club Brugge
14:30 ET Sunday
Roeselare v (36) Anderlecht
Austrian Bundesliga
13:30 ET Friday
SV Mattersburg v Austria Vienna
12:00 ET Saturday
LAK Linz v SK Sturm Graz
9:30 ET Sunday
Rapid Vienna v SV Salzburg
Swiss Super League
11:45 ET Saturday
Young Boys v FC Zurich
10:00 ET Sunday
Bellinzona v FC Basel
As always, home team listed first, all times Eastern.
Games of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
7:45 ET Saturday (English Premier League)
(2) Chelsea v (13) Manchester City
This is yet another massive match-up for these top-tier English sides. Both squads are coming off of disappointing mid-week defeats, Manchester City to Stoke City in the FA Cup, and Chelsea at Inter Milan in the Champions League. Manchester City is currently in 5th place with 46 points, behind Tottenham only on goal differential with a game in hand. City will be fighting tooth and nail for that fourth Champions League spot and as Tottenham is being visited by recent giant killers Everton, this could be City’s chance to put some room between the two squads. On the other hand, Chelsea has the Premier League title on their minds as they lead idle Manchester United by a point with a game in hand. Chelsea will be using backup keeper Hilario for a month while Petr Cech recovers from a torn calf muscle from the Inter Milan match mid-week. This adds to the minor defensive crisis being experienced by Chelsea, as Ashley Cole and Yury Zhirkov are still sidelined by injuries. Florent Malouda is expected to continue filling in at left-back. Emmanuel Adebayor will be missing for Manchester City as he begins his four match ban for a red card received in the 5th round FA Cup replay with Stoke City. City will have Carlos Tevez back from his return to Argentina for the birth of his baby daughter. A lot of attention will be given to the pre-game handshake between John Terry and Wayne Bridge. I don’t want to give this controversy any more attention than it deserves, so just Google it if you have not heard of it before.
10:00 ET Sunday, Carling Cup Final
(4) Manchester United v (18) Aston Villa
Aston Villa has an opportunity to win their first major trophy in ten years as they take on Manchester United in the Carling Cup Final. The first-team squads will be out in force, including scorching hot Wayne Rooney for United, who will likely again be the lone striker in the 4-5-1/4-3-3 system being used by the Red Devils so much lately. The midfield will be Fletcher, Carrick, and Gibson or Scholes, or just Fletcher and Carrick if Sir Alex does go with the 4-4-2. Aston Villa will be coming out firing to capitalize on the rare chance for them to win some silverware but you can expect the proud United squad to go all out for it to get some more momentum right as European competition is heating up.
Other Games Between Two Ranked Teams
14:30 ET Friday (German Bundesliga)
(12) Schalke 04 2-1 (37) Borussia Dortmund
Goals by Benedikt Howedes and Ivan Rakitic sank visiting Borussia Dortmund after Dortmund took a lead with a Nuri Sahin penalty in the 47th. This result keeps Schalke in reach of the leaders and securely in a Champions League spot, as Dortmund remains in the final Europa League qualifying position.
9:00 ET Sunday (Italy’s Serie A)
(34) Napoli v (10) AS Roma
Napoli is coming off of a 4 game streak in which they have had three 0-0 draws, with a loss at Udinese in between. AS Roma has absolutely torn up Serie A in the past two months, on a remarkable 10 game win streak in Italian competition and 18 game unbeaten streak. The last time Roma lost to an Italian side was a 2-1 loss on October 18 at AC Milan. Roma and AC Milan have been making Serie A interesting for Inter Milan, as they sit 5 and 4 points behind the leaders respectively. Napoli is ten points back of Roma in 5th place, in a three way tie with Palermo and Sampdoria. They will want to hang on to their Europa League qualifying spot and every result matters at this point in the season.
11:30 ET Sunday (German Bundesliga)
(6) Bayern Munich v (31) Hamburg SV
Bayern Munich is in a deadlock with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, trailing by only a goal on goal differential. The leaders are only a point ahead of lurking Schalke 04 who won earlier on Friday and has a game in hand. Hamburg sits nine points back of Bayern Munich in 4th place and won the first meeting between the two clubs this year, a 1-0 victory at home back in September. Bayern’s 9 game Bundesliga win streak was snapped last weekend with a 1-1 draw at Nurnberg and will look to get back on track with a win to keep up with Leverkusen in the table.
Top of the Table Clashes
7:30 ET Sunday
(39) Rangers v Celtic
The historic Old Firm match-up strikes again for the third time this season after a 2-1 win for Rangers at home and a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park. This does not have the usual title implications as it usually has as Rangers is 7 points ahead of second place Celtic with a game in hand. However, if Celtic wants to make the miracle comeback this is by all means a must win match-up. Rangers keeper Allan McGregor is a doubt as he was involved in an incident last weekend where he suffered facial injuries. It is even throwing a doubt over his future Rangers career and may be enough of a distraction on and off the pitch to give Celtic a chance. On the other side, striker Robbie Keane will be making his first appearance in an Old Firm match for Celtic. No matter what the implications and expectations surrounding the game are, this match is always a thriller.
9:30 ET Sunday (Austrian Bundesliga)
Rapid Vienna v SV Salzburg
SV Salzburg is a scant three points ahead of second place Rapid Vienna in the Austrian Bundesliga. Salzburg is coming off of a disappointing two weeks that saw them knocked out of the Europa League 3-2 on aggregate to a solid Standard Liege squad from Belgium. Rapid Vienna has only taken 1 point from the last two games against LASK Linz and FC Magna Wr. Neustadt, who are both in the bottom four in the table. Salzburg has won both of their Austrian Bundesliga matches since the winter break and a win would do wonders to distance them from the competition and put them just one step closer to Champions League qualification.
Big Games in Small Leagues
9:30 ET Sunday (Austrian Bundesliga)
Rapid Vienna v SV Salzburg
12:00 ET Sunday
CFR Cluj v Steaua Bucuresti
English Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
(2) Chelsea v (13) Manchester City
10:00 ET Saturday
Birmingham v Wigan
Bolton v Wolverhampton
Burnley v Portsmouth
12:30 ET Saturday
Stoke City v (9) Arsenal
8:00 ET Sunday
(15) Tottenham Hotspur v Everton
Tottenham will be the 9th top 6 team Everton has played in the past 14 games and the 6th in the past 8 games. In those last 5 games Everton has come away with a very impressive 10 points and is now 8th in the Premier League. Though it is unlikely that they will sneak into 7th place and a possible Europa League spot as they are 7 points behind Aston Villa, it is still encouraging for them to play such good soccer, giving them much needed momentum going into next season.
10:00 ET Sunday
(23) Liverpool v Blackburn
Sunderland v Fulham
Scottish Premier League
10:00 ET Saturday
Dundee United v Falkirk
Hibernian v St. Johnstone
7:30 ET Sunday
(39) Rangers v Celtic
Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
Getafe v Real Zaragoza
14:00 ET Saturday
Tenerife v (3) Real Madrid
16:00 ET Saturday
(1) Barcelona v Malaga
11:00 ET Sunday
Racing Santander v Almeria
Sporting Gijon v Osasuna
Valladolid v (29) Mallorca
Villarreal v Deportivo La Coruna
Xerez v Espanyol
13:00 ET Sunday
Sevilla v Athletic Bilbao
15:00 ET Sunday
Atletico Madrid v Valencia
Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
Catania v Bari
14:45 ET Saturday
Lazio v Fiorentina
9:00 ET Sunday
(8) AC Milan v Atalanta
Chievo Verona v Cagliari
Genoa v Bologna
Livorno v Siena
(34) Napoli v (10) AS Roma
Parma v Sampdoria
Udinese v (5) Inter Milan
14:45 ET Sunday
(32) Juventus v Palermo
German Bundesliga
14:30 ET Friday
(12) Schalke 04 v (37) Borussia Dortmund
9:30 ET Saturday
Borussia Monchengladbach v SC Freiburg
Hertha Berlin v TSG Hoffenheim
Mainz v Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart v Eintracht Frankfurt
VfL Bochum v Nurnberg
12:30 ET Saturday
(7) Bayer Leverkusen v FC Cologne
9:30 ET Sunday
Hannover 96 v VfL Wolfsburg
11:30 ET Sunday
(6) Bayern Munich v (31) Hamburg SV
French Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
AS Monaco v Boulogne
AS Nancy Lorraine v Grenoble
Lorient v Sochaux
(16) Lyon v Nice
Toulouse v Lens
Valenciennes v St. Etienne
15:00 ET Saturday
(21) Montpellier v Stade Rennes
11:00 ET Sunday
Le Mans v (11) Bordeaux
(26) Lille v AJ Auxerre
15:00 ET Sunday
Paris Saint-Germain v (30) Marseille
Dutch Eredivisie
12:45 ET Saturday
Heerenveen v SC Heracles Almelo
13:45 ET Saturday
Vitesse Arnhem v AZ Alkmaar
6:30 ET Sunday
(25) Ajax Amsterdam v FC Utrecht
8:30 ET Sunday
(19) PSV Eindhoven v RKS Waalwijk
(24) Twente Enschede v NEC Nijmegen
Portuguese Liga
14:15 ET Saturday
(28) Braga v Olhanense
16:15 ET Saturday
Leixoes v (20) Benfica
15:15 ET Sunday
Sporting Lisbon v (17) FC Porto
Turkish Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
Kayserispor v Besiktas
8:00 ET Sunday
Istanbul Buyuksehir BSK v (35) Fenerbahce
12:00 ET Sunday
Galatasaray v Kasimpasa
Greek Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
AEK Athens v Ergotelis
9:45 ET Sunday
Olympiakos v Atromitos
12:00 ET Sunday
Panionios v (40) Panathinaikos
Ukrainian Premier League
8:00 ET Saturday
(38) Dynamo Kyiv v Krvybas
8:00 ET Sunday
Shakhtar Donetsk v Vorskla
Belgian Jupiler League
12:00 ET Sunday
St. Truiden v Club Brugge
14:30 ET Sunday
Roeselare v (36) Anderlecht
Austrian Bundesliga
13:30 ET Friday
SV Mattersburg v Austria Vienna
12:00 ET Saturday
LAK Linz v SK Sturm Graz
9:30 ET Sunday
Rapid Vienna v SV Salzburg
Swiss Super League
11:45 ET Saturday
Young Boys v FC Zurich
10:00 ET Sunday
Bellinzona v FC Basel
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Ozzie Guillen's Tweets and Everyone Should be Happy
For those who don't know (which would be a shocker), Ozzie Guillen is now on Twitter. As a fan of the White Sox, this is awesome, and I don't even care if I don't get tweets about what's going on inside the White Sox clubhouse. Chad Ochocinco has been on Twitter for some time now and very rarely does he tweet what's going on in the locker room of the Bengals. This is just a tool for athletes and celebrities to get in touch with their fans and for fans to get a different look at their favorite stars.
I understand Ozzie is brutally honest most of the time and that's why people think this could end horribly for him and his honesty is probably the reason GM Ken Williams isn't happy either. But Ozzie is the same guy who gave out his email address and will respond to fans who email him (he especially likes the emails that criticize him). Honesty is something I think people are afraid to face and in a world where we are becoming more and more PC, a little does of truth is a fresh change of pace. We shouldn't punish Ozzie if he says something that might hurt some feelings, that's not right. Now if he's leaking information that could hurt the negotiations that Williams is doing then by all means he shouldn't be tweeting. That being said, Ozzie isn't stupid and I don't think he'll do that.
Ozzie and Kenny are not in agreement over this thing and people are making a bigger deal of their disagreement than there needs to be. Some people are suggesting that this is the beginning of a bumpy road in their relationship and they're ridiculous for suggesting this. This seems like a normal work relationship, Kenny wants Ozzie to remain focused on baseball and Ozzie is just trying to keep himself entertained. There is going to be riffs in work relationships and this is just that. Baseball is a sport that can drag on and you have to find a way to break up the monotony and Twitter could be just that for Ozzie.
Twitter is a medium that allows people to see into the lives of famous people and can really help with the image of a celebrity and change the national perception of that person. Ozzie comes off as a hot-headed, cussing, angry person a lot of the time and I think that tweeting will really open up new levels of Ozzie that many people don't know yet. And Ozzie's followers will also get a brush up on their Spanish, so really Ozzie is providing entertainment and Spanish lessons. Everyone should be thrilled, I know I am.
I understand Ozzie is brutally honest most of the time and that's why people think this could end horribly for him and his honesty is probably the reason GM Ken Williams isn't happy either. But Ozzie is the same guy who gave out his email address and will respond to fans who email him (he especially likes the emails that criticize him). Honesty is something I think people are afraid to face and in a world where we are becoming more and more PC, a little does of truth is a fresh change of pace. We shouldn't punish Ozzie if he says something that might hurt some feelings, that's not right. Now if he's leaking information that could hurt the negotiations that Williams is doing then by all means he shouldn't be tweeting. That being said, Ozzie isn't stupid and I don't think he'll do that.
Ozzie and Kenny are not in agreement over this thing and people are making a bigger deal of their disagreement than there needs to be. Some people are suggesting that this is the beginning of a bumpy road in their relationship and they're ridiculous for suggesting this. This seems like a normal work relationship, Kenny wants Ozzie to remain focused on baseball and Ozzie is just trying to keep himself entertained. There is going to be riffs in work relationships and this is just that. Baseball is a sport that can drag on and you have to find a way to break up the monotony and Twitter could be just that for Ozzie.
Twitter is a medium that allows people to see into the lives of famous people and can really help with the image of a celebrity and change the national perception of that person. Ozzie comes off as a hot-headed, cussing, angry person a lot of the time and I think that tweeting will really open up new levels of Ozzie that many people don't know yet. And Ozzie's followers will also get a brush up on their Spanish, so really Ozzie is providing entertainment and Spanish lessons. Everyone should be thrilled, I know I am.
NFL Combine Starts Today, Let's Pump the Brakes
Today starts the NFL Combine, where NFL hopefuls will be running 40 yard dashes, benchpressing, and taking the wonderlic test among other things. The question I have is, why do people outside of NFL front offices make such a big deal about this? And for that matter why does the NFL make a big deal out of this? The NFL Network is dedicated a ton of hours to this event and I just don't get it. How much can a front office person or scout really get from watching a guy run 40 yards or lift a lot weight? Shouldn't they have all they need to know from the game film they have on players that span 3-4 years? The game film on a guy is going to tell me whether or not he can play football. Sure speed and strength and explosiveness are large factors to be successful in the NFL, but I'd rather judge someone's speed, strength, and explosiveness on a field when they are in a game situation. Just because a Darius Heyward-Bey can run straight down a field in 4.3 seconds doesn't mean that he can elude defenders or run a clean route.
I understand we live in a country where the NFL is covered 24-7 and we're in a month where there aren't many choices for sports fans, but come on, the coverage the combine gets is worse than National Signing Day when the country obsesses on the choices of 18 year old boys. The reality is that there aren't very many rookies that have an immediate impact in their first year in the NFL and a lot of times the the star players are found late in the draft. I think the combine is a useful tool for scouts and general managers but to obsess over it like ESPN, the NFL Network and the media in general do is ridiculous and it's time we let the NFL go about it's scouting combine and not fuss over it. I don't really care that Vince Young scored so poorly on the wonderlic test, I just want to know if he can be a game-changer who can win football games. And really isn't that what it comes down to, finding players that can win football games?
I understand we live in a country where the NFL is covered 24-7 and we're in a month where there aren't many choices for sports fans, but come on, the coverage the combine gets is worse than National Signing Day when the country obsesses on the choices of 18 year old boys. The reality is that there aren't very many rookies that have an immediate impact in their first year in the NFL and a lot of times the the star players are found late in the draft. I think the combine is a useful tool for scouts and general managers but to obsess over it like ESPN, the NFL Network and the media in general do is ridiculous and it's time we let the NFL go about it's scouting combine and not fuss over it. I don't really care that Vince Young scored so poorly on the wonderlic test, I just want to know if he can be a game-changer who can win football games. And really isn't that what it comes down to, finding players that can win football games?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
NBA MVP Race
Last night we saw the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Thunder all in action and all were involved in interesting games. Now the Cavs and Lakers are the strong favorites to be playing for the championship, but the Thunder are a playoff team this year largely because of Kevin Durant becoming an absolute monster this season. With all three teams playing in interesting games last night, I started thinking who should be the league MVP this season. I think this is becoming a three player race between, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Durant (I do acknowledge that Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Carmelo Anthony are also possible winners).
I first thought of Bryant because the Lakers are just so good this year, and don't get it mixed up, this award goes to a player whose team is having great success. That being said, I don't think Kobe is more valuable to his team than the other two players are. Kobe recently missed 5 games due to injury and in those games the Lakers went 4-1, signaling that while Kobe is dominant and probably the 1 player I want to take the last shot of a game when I need 2 points, the Lakers can win without him. I think his injury will eventually hurt his MVP chances, even though he only missed a few games. The Lakers showed they can without him and the other two guys are needed a little more for their teams to win.
After I crossed off Bryant, I turned to James. Now there's no questioning how valuable James is not only to the Cavaliers but to the city of Cleveland as a whole. Sportscenter ran the stat this morning that the last time the Cavaliers experienced a 4-game losing streak with James in the lineup was back in 2006. That there proves how valuable James is to his team. I truly believe the MVP is going to go to either James or Durant because both of their teams are good and both players are just out of this world. The one negative that James has attached to him is that he won the award last year. I don't know how many voters will want to vote for James to win the award for a consecutive year, but that really shouldn't be a punishing factor.
Contesting James is going to be Durant, and if I had a vote he'd get mine. Durant currently has a slim lead on the scoring title, and while that isn't a huge deal when it comes to the MVP, when he's averaging more points per game than James, Bryant, and Anthony that has to say a lot about his ability. The other reason that I would vote for Durant right now is because of something that many voters overlook. The fact that award is to go to the player most valuable to his team, and that's exactly what Durant is for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are in the middle of an incredible turnaround from a year before and Durant is a large reason for that. He has scored more than 25 points a game since December 19 and while he's not a takeover-the-game type of player like James or Bryant, he is a dynamite scorer and if the Thunder didn't have him, they'd be in serious trouble.
This might be the first NBA focused entry by me in the history of IHOB/S2S, which is a telling sign that I really need baseball to start up here soon or the NHL to pick back up.
I first thought of Bryant because the Lakers are just so good this year, and don't get it mixed up, this award goes to a player whose team is having great success. That being said, I don't think Kobe is more valuable to his team than the other two players are. Kobe recently missed 5 games due to injury and in those games the Lakers went 4-1, signaling that while Kobe is dominant and probably the 1 player I want to take the last shot of a game when I need 2 points, the Lakers can win without him. I think his injury will eventually hurt his MVP chances, even though he only missed a few games. The Lakers showed they can without him and the other two guys are needed a little more for their teams to win.
After I crossed off Bryant, I turned to James. Now there's no questioning how valuable James is not only to the Cavaliers but to the city of Cleveland as a whole. Sportscenter ran the stat this morning that the last time the Cavaliers experienced a 4-game losing streak with James in the lineup was back in 2006. That there proves how valuable James is to his team. I truly believe the MVP is going to go to either James or Durant because both of their teams are good and both players are just out of this world. The one negative that James has attached to him is that he won the award last year. I don't know how many voters will want to vote for James to win the award for a consecutive year, but that really shouldn't be a punishing factor.
Contesting James is going to be Durant, and if I had a vote he'd get mine. Durant currently has a slim lead on the scoring title, and while that isn't a huge deal when it comes to the MVP, when he's averaging more points per game than James, Bryant, and Anthony that has to say a lot about his ability. The other reason that I would vote for Durant right now is because of something that many voters overlook. The fact that award is to go to the player most valuable to his team, and that's exactly what Durant is for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are in the middle of an incredible turnaround from a year before and Durant is a large reason for that. He has scored more than 25 points a game since December 19 and while he's not a takeover-the-game type of player like James or Bryant, he is a dynamite scorer and if the Thunder didn't have him, they'd be in serious trouble.
This might be the first NBA focused entry by me in the history of IHOB/S2S, which is a telling sign that I really need baseball to start up here soon or the NHL to pick back up.
Monday, February 22, 2010
A Comprehensive Weekly Look at the Top Teams in European Soccer
Welcome to another week of European Soccer Rankings!! Blaine just got back from his break in the Philippines, so I am flying solo here once again.
It was a week highlighted by Champions League and Europa League action mid-week. In the Champions League, Manchester United secured a huge 3-2 win at AC Milan with 3 valuable away goals. The excitement of the win was somewhat dampened by a late Clarence Seedorf goal and Michael Carrick red card, but United certainly have the edge going into the second leg at Old Trafford. Lyon secured a surprising 1-0 over visiting Real Madrid on the back of a fantastic Jean Makoun goal. Bayern Munich secured a vital 2-1 home win over Fiorentina thanks to an 89th minute Miroslav Klose goal. FC Porto defeated Arsenal at home 2-1 on the heels of this strange strange goal. In the Europa League, Juventus secured a good 2-1 win at Ajax Amsterdam on the back of a brace from Amauri, while fellow Italian side AS Roma lost 3-2 at Panathinaikos in heartbreaking fashion, as Panathinaikos got 84th and 89th minutes from Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and Djibril Cisse respectively. All three English sides won: Everton 2-1 over Sporting, Fulham 2-1 over Shakhtar Donetsk, and Liverpool 1-0 over Unirea Urziceni, all at home. It was a good week for Belgium, as both Club Brugge and Standard Liege scored good home wins in the Europa League, 1-0 against Valencia and 3-2 against Salzburg respectively. Anderlecht also held Athletic Bilbao to a 1-1 draw in Spain.
On the weekend there were some interesting results in the domestic leagues. In England, Manchester United suffered a 3-1 loss at Everton with late goals from young guns Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell sealing the deal for the Toffees. Arsenal and Chelsea both handled their opponents with 2-0 wins, home against Sunderland and at Wolverhampton, respectively. Manchester City and Liverpool played out to a dull 0-0 draw in a match vital for European placement, while Aston Villa and Tottenham took advantage with a 5-2 win over Burnley and 3-0 win at Wigan respectively. The rest of the scores were: West Ham 3-0 Hull City, Portsmouth 1-2 Stoke City, Blackburn 3-0 Bolton, Fulham 2-1 Birmingham. The leaders both ran away with big wins in La Liga, as Barcelona saw off Racing Santander 4-0 and Real Madrid dismantled Villarreal 6-2. Sevilla scored a vital 3-1 win at Mallorca in a match that saw 3 red cards including two for Sevilla. Deportivo La Coruna defeated Xerez 2-1 to hold onto a European qualifying spot for next season, and Valencia did the same with a 2-1 victory over Getafe. In Italy, Inter Milan continued their puzzling string of draws against mediocre teams with a 0-0 home draw against Sampdoria. They have a mid-week game against Chelsea and must hope that the goals start coming or they will be in trouble. AC Milan defeated Bari 2-0 and AS Roma bounced back from mid-week disappointment with a 1-0 win at home against Catania. Juventus defeated Bologna 2-1 and Fiorentina was victorious over Livorno by the same scoreline. In Germany the leaders both stumbled to draws on the weekend, Bayern 1-1 at Nurnberg and Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 at Werder Bremen. However, Schalke did not take advantage of the chance to pull within a point as they lost at Wolfsburg 2-1. Hamburg SV did not capitalize either with a 0-0 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Monpellier lost at St. Etienne 1-0 while Marseille (3-1 against Nancy Lorraine), Lyon (4-0 at Sochaux) and Lille (2-1 at Stade Rennes) all pulled a little bit closer to idle leaders Bordeaux. PSV Eindhoven followed up a disappointing 1-0 loss against Hamburg with another disappointing 1-1 draw against Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie. Both Twente Enschede and Ajax took advantage with wins. In Portugal, FC Porto stunned Braga with a 5-1 beat down to pull within 5 points of Braga in the table. Guadalajara continued their red-hot run in the Mexican Primera Division with a 1-0 win at Pachuca and 3-2 win against Puebla this week. They have started the season on a 7 game win streak and already lead their group by 8 points.
Rank Team Country Points
1. Barcelona (Esp) 25
The current top team in Europe is in for a test when they travel to Stuttgart mid-week, a team that has won six of seven in the Bundesliga.
2. Chelsea (Eng) 24
The EPL leaders held the fort Saturday and now lead by 4 points over trailing Manchester United.
3. Real Madrid (Esp) 23
A questionable performance mid-week against Lyon was followed up by a 6-2 shellacking of Villarreal, easing doubts at the Bernabeu.
4. Manchester United (Eng) 22
United followed up the impressive 3-2 win at AC Milan with a very much unimpressive 3-1 loss at Everton and have a busy week ahead with a Premier League match mid-week against West Ham along with the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa on Sunday.
5. Inter Milan (Ita) 21
A three game streak of draws is of some concern, but they can put away all doubts with an impressive mid-week performance against visiting Chelsea in the Champions League.
6. Bayern Munich (Ger) 20
7. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 19
8. AC Milan (Ita) 18
9. Arsenal (Eng) 17
10. AS Roma (Ita) 16
11. Bordeaux (Fra) 15
Bordeaux was given the week off to prepare for their trip to Greece to face off with Olympiakos Tuesday in the Champions League.
12. Schalke 04 (Ger) 14
13. Manchester City (Eng) 13
14. Valencia (Esp) 12
15. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 11
16. Lyon (Fra) 10
17. FC Porto (Por) 9
Porto had a fantastic week with a solid win over Arsenal and an annihilation of Braga in the league.
18. Aston Villa (Eng) 8
19. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 7
The week was not kind to the Dutch, as PSV stumbled in the league and against Hamburg, while Ajax lost to Juventus. Twente Enschede’s 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen helped them save face, but it appears we may have been too high on the Dutch in this poll.
20. Benfica (Por) 6
21. Montpellier (Fra) 5
22. Sevilla (Esp) 4
23. Liverpool (Eng) 3
24. Twente Enschede (Ned) 2
25. Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 1
Also Receiving Votes: None
Next five in for Tom, in order of how good I think they are: Lille (Fra), FK Rubin Kazan (Rus), Braga (Por), Mallorca (Esp), Guadalajara (Mex)
It was a week highlighted by Champions League and Europa League action mid-week. In the Champions League, Manchester United secured a huge 3-2 win at AC Milan with 3 valuable away goals. The excitement of the win was somewhat dampened by a late Clarence Seedorf goal and Michael Carrick red card, but United certainly have the edge going into the second leg at Old Trafford. Lyon secured a surprising 1-0 over visiting Real Madrid on the back of a fantastic Jean Makoun goal. Bayern Munich secured a vital 2-1 home win over Fiorentina thanks to an 89th minute Miroslav Klose goal. FC Porto defeated Arsenal at home 2-1 on the heels of this strange strange goal. In the Europa League, Juventus secured a good 2-1 win at Ajax Amsterdam on the back of a brace from Amauri, while fellow Italian side AS Roma lost 3-2 at Panathinaikos in heartbreaking fashion, as Panathinaikos got 84th and 89th minutes from Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and Djibril Cisse respectively. All three English sides won: Everton 2-1 over Sporting, Fulham 2-1 over Shakhtar Donetsk, and Liverpool 1-0 over Unirea Urziceni, all at home. It was a good week for Belgium, as both Club Brugge and Standard Liege scored good home wins in the Europa League, 1-0 against Valencia and 3-2 against Salzburg respectively. Anderlecht also held Athletic Bilbao to a 1-1 draw in Spain.
On the weekend there were some interesting results in the domestic leagues. In England, Manchester United suffered a 3-1 loss at Everton with late goals from young guns Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell sealing the deal for the Toffees. Arsenal and Chelsea both handled their opponents with 2-0 wins, home against Sunderland and at Wolverhampton, respectively. Manchester City and Liverpool played out to a dull 0-0 draw in a match vital for European placement, while Aston Villa and Tottenham took advantage with a 5-2 win over Burnley and 3-0 win at Wigan respectively. The rest of the scores were: West Ham 3-0 Hull City, Portsmouth 1-2 Stoke City, Blackburn 3-0 Bolton, Fulham 2-1 Birmingham. The leaders both ran away with big wins in La Liga, as Barcelona saw off Racing Santander 4-0 and Real Madrid dismantled Villarreal 6-2. Sevilla scored a vital 3-1 win at Mallorca in a match that saw 3 red cards including two for Sevilla. Deportivo La Coruna defeated Xerez 2-1 to hold onto a European qualifying spot for next season, and Valencia did the same with a 2-1 victory over Getafe. In Italy, Inter Milan continued their puzzling string of draws against mediocre teams with a 0-0 home draw against Sampdoria. They have a mid-week game against Chelsea and must hope that the goals start coming or they will be in trouble. AC Milan defeated Bari 2-0 and AS Roma bounced back from mid-week disappointment with a 1-0 win at home against Catania. Juventus defeated Bologna 2-1 and Fiorentina was victorious over Livorno by the same scoreline. In Germany the leaders both stumbled to draws on the weekend, Bayern 1-1 at Nurnberg and Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 at Werder Bremen. However, Schalke did not take advantage of the chance to pull within a point as they lost at Wolfsburg 2-1. Hamburg SV did not capitalize either with a 0-0 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Monpellier lost at St. Etienne 1-0 while Marseille (3-1 against Nancy Lorraine), Lyon (4-0 at Sochaux) and Lille (2-1 at Stade Rennes) all pulled a little bit closer to idle leaders Bordeaux. PSV Eindhoven followed up a disappointing 1-0 loss against Hamburg with another disappointing 1-1 draw against Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie. Both Twente Enschede and Ajax took advantage with wins. In Portugal, FC Porto stunned Braga with a 5-1 beat down to pull within 5 points of Braga in the table. Guadalajara continued their red-hot run in the Mexican Primera Division with a 1-0 win at Pachuca and 3-2 win against Puebla this week. They have started the season on a 7 game win streak and already lead their group by 8 points.
Rank Team Country Points
1. Barcelona (Esp) 25
The current top team in Europe is in for a test when they travel to Stuttgart mid-week, a team that has won six of seven in the Bundesliga.
2. Chelsea (Eng) 24
The EPL leaders held the fort Saturday and now lead by 4 points over trailing Manchester United.
3. Real Madrid (Esp) 23
A questionable performance mid-week against Lyon was followed up by a 6-2 shellacking of Villarreal, easing doubts at the Bernabeu.
4. Manchester United (Eng) 22
United followed up the impressive 3-2 win at AC Milan with a very much unimpressive 3-1 loss at Everton and have a busy week ahead with a Premier League match mid-week against West Ham along with the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa on Sunday.
5. Inter Milan (Ita) 21
A three game streak of draws is of some concern, but they can put away all doubts with an impressive mid-week performance against visiting Chelsea in the Champions League.
6. Bayern Munich (Ger) 20
7. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 19
8. AC Milan (Ita) 18
9. Arsenal (Eng) 17
10. AS Roma (Ita) 16
11. Bordeaux (Fra) 15
Bordeaux was given the week off to prepare for their trip to Greece to face off with Olympiakos Tuesday in the Champions League.
12. Schalke 04 (Ger) 14
13. Manchester City (Eng) 13
14. Valencia (Esp) 12
15. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 11
16. Lyon (Fra) 10
17. FC Porto (Por) 9
Porto had a fantastic week with a solid win over Arsenal and an annihilation of Braga in the league.
18. Aston Villa (Eng) 8
19. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 7
The week was not kind to the Dutch, as PSV stumbled in the league and against Hamburg, while Ajax lost to Juventus. Twente Enschede’s 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen helped them save face, but it appears we may have been too high on the Dutch in this poll.
20. Benfica (Por) 6
21. Montpellier (Fra) 5
22. Sevilla (Esp) 4
23. Liverpool (Eng) 3
24. Twente Enschede (Ned) 2
25. Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 1
Also Receiving Votes: None
Next five in for Tom, in order of how good I think they are: Lille (Fra), FK Rubin Kazan (Rus), Braga (Por), Mallorca (Esp), Guadalajara (Mex)
A Defense of my Boilermakers
The much-awaited European soccer rankings have been devised and will be posted later tonight, but first I must address the much-debated issue of Dave putting Syracuse ahead of Purdue in his overview of the #1 seeds that can be seen here. First I would like to commend Dave for at least putting Purdue as a #1 seed. Even though it seems like it would be obvious as we (and I can say we-I go to the school) are #3 in both polls, there is always room for debate and no team is guaranteed one of those coveted top spots.
The Case for Syracuse ahead of Purdue
Syracuse is a great team, don’t get me wrong-when a team has players with names like Scoop Jardine and Arinze Onuaku, they will always be in the conversation about who is the top team in the nation. They are the top team in the nation’s premier conference with impressive road wins at Georgetown and West Virginia, two teams in the top 13. One of Purdue’s signature wins is against West Virginia but Syracuse was able to perform the feat on the road in what you might call a feisty environment, while Purdue had the advantage of their own feisty Mackey Arena crowd behind them. There are only two blemishes on the Syracuse slate-a home loss to presently-ranked #12 Pittsburgh and a loss at Louisville. Early in the season they went into Chapel Hill and got their lone true road win of the non-conference schedule against a UNC team that has now been exposed as a pretender.
The Case for Purdue ahead of Syracuse
With a solid win over Illinois on Saturday and a Michigan State loss at Ohio State on Sunday, Purdue has just taken the lead in what might be the most exciting Big Ten race ever. Purdue was tested in the non-conference schedule and passed every one: A neutral-court win against Tennessee before the weapons debacle, a solid home win against Wake Forest and road win against Alabama before the historic 77-62 beat-down of West Virginia on New Year’s Day. Purdue’s three losses came consecutively at Wisconsin, at home against Evan Turner, and on the road against a pitiful Northwestern squad. These came at a time where Purdue could not figure out how to close out games against good teams and JaJuan Johnson was non-existent. However, the Boilers have since proven they can close out with close wins at Illinois, at Michigan State, at Ohio State, and home against Wisconsin. They have also shown they can win without a solid post presence, evident in their 75-65 win against Illinois when JaJuan Johnson had 5 points and 6 boards while going 1-10 from the field. Overall, Purdue has 5 wins from 7 games against teams currently ranked in the top 25 while Syracuse has just 3 wins from 4 games.
All in all, Purdue has been the more tested team and over the course of the season, especially on their current 9-game win streak, has shown why they are more than deserving of the #3 spot in the nation behind Kansas and Kentucky. Both teams have huge home games left, Syracuse against Villanova and Purdue against Michigan State, and we will see who the better team is after those tests.
The Case for Syracuse ahead of Purdue
Syracuse is a great team, don’t get me wrong-when a team has players with names like Scoop Jardine and Arinze Onuaku, they will always be in the conversation about who is the top team in the nation. They are the top team in the nation’s premier conference with impressive road wins at Georgetown and West Virginia, two teams in the top 13. One of Purdue’s signature wins is against West Virginia but Syracuse was able to perform the feat on the road in what you might call a feisty environment, while Purdue had the advantage of their own feisty Mackey Arena crowd behind them. There are only two blemishes on the Syracuse slate-a home loss to presently-ranked #12 Pittsburgh and a loss at Louisville. Early in the season they went into Chapel Hill and got their lone true road win of the non-conference schedule against a UNC team that has now been exposed as a pretender.
The Case for Purdue ahead of Syracuse
With a solid win over Illinois on Saturday and a Michigan State loss at Ohio State on Sunday, Purdue has just taken the lead in what might be the most exciting Big Ten race ever. Purdue was tested in the non-conference schedule and passed every one: A neutral-court win against Tennessee before the weapons debacle, a solid home win against Wake Forest and road win against Alabama before the historic 77-62 beat-down of West Virginia on New Year’s Day. Purdue’s three losses came consecutively at Wisconsin, at home against Evan Turner, and on the road against a pitiful Northwestern squad. These came at a time where Purdue could not figure out how to close out games against good teams and JaJuan Johnson was non-existent. However, the Boilers have since proven they can close out with close wins at Illinois, at Michigan State, at Ohio State, and home against Wisconsin. They have also shown they can win without a solid post presence, evident in their 75-65 win against Illinois when JaJuan Johnson had 5 points and 6 boards while going 1-10 from the field. Overall, Purdue has 5 wins from 7 games against teams currently ranked in the top 25 while Syracuse has just 3 wins from 4 games.
All in all, Purdue has been the more tested team and over the course of the season, especially on their current 9-game win streak, has shown why they are more than deserving of the #3 spot in the nation behind Kansas and Kentucky. Both teams have huge home games left, Syracuse against Villanova and Purdue against Michigan State, and we will see who the better team is after those tests.
Who are the #1 Seeds Right Now?
With a lull in the sports calendar it's kind of difficult to find things to write about, but with March Madness getting closer day by day, I'm starting to take a closer look at the college basketball landscape. There is also a new AP Top 25 and I browsed the list and thought who are the likely #1 seeds if the tournament started today. And quite frankly looking at the list the AP rankings right now show that the top 4 teams should all get a #1 seed come March but in a different order.
#1 Kansas: I think Kansas has to do a lot wrong to not get a #1 seed and right now they're my #1 overall seed. Kansas is a team that has a really good offense, good defense, and have beaten everyone they have played with the exception of Tennessee. The Big 12 as a conference is pretty strong so to be unbeaten thus far is an accomplishment that needs to be recognized. The Jayhawks are led by guards Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry and center Cole Aldrich who is averaging a double-double. This is a strong team that many will pick to win the tournament when the brackets are officially announced.
#2 Kentucky: Kentucky is going to be the sexy pick to win the tournament, because of John Calipari, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins all getting a ton of air time on ESPN. Like Kansas, Kentucky only has 1 loss on the road this year and this team is just full of talent. The SEC isn't a tough conference to play in but there are still a few good teams that have tested the Wildcats this season and should have them prepared for a deep run come March.
#3 Syracuse: The game's best conference has to get a #1 seed, and while it's Syracuse right now it could very easily be Villanova or West Virginia in this spot after the Big East tournament. Syracuse's zone defense is suffocating and Coach Jim Boeheim is playing a deep bench to keep his team fresh for second half runs. Syracuse traditionally pays well in the Big East tournament so they're my pick to win that tournament and get a #1 seed.
#4 Purdue: The Boilermakers are slowly becoming everyone's sleeper team for March and obviously the more of a sleeper you become the more attention you get and more pressure is sure to follow. As Mark Titus wrote in his blog, Club Trillion, Purdue is such a likable team,
I'm excited for Selection Sunday, 20 days and counting. And while my Hawkeyes are pretty abysmal in basketball it makes it easy to take my heart out of filling out my bracket.
#1 Kansas: I think Kansas has to do a lot wrong to not get a #1 seed and right now they're my #1 overall seed. Kansas is a team that has a really good offense, good defense, and have beaten everyone they have played with the exception of Tennessee. The Big 12 as a conference is pretty strong so to be unbeaten thus far is an accomplishment that needs to be recognized. The Jayhawks are led by guards Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry and center Cole Aldrich who is averaging a double-double. This is a strong team that many will pick to win the tournament when the brackets are officially announced.
#2 Kentucky: Kentucky is going to be the sexy pick to win the tournament, because of John Calipari, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins all getting a ton of air time on ESPN. Like Kansas, Kentucky only has 1 loss on the road this year and this team is just full of talent. The SEC isn't a tough conference to play in but there are still a few good teams that have tested the Wildcats this season and should have them prepared for a deep run come March.
#3 Syracuse: The game's best conference has to get a #1 seed, and while it's Syracuse right now it could very easily be Villanova or West Virginia in this spot after the Big East tournament. Syracuse's zone defense is suffocating and Coach Jim Boeheim is playing a deep bench to keep his team fresh for second half runs. Syracuse traditionally pays well in the Big East tournament so they're my pick to win that tournament and get a #1 seed.
#4 Purdue: The Boilermakers are slowly becoming everyone's sleeper team for March and obviously the more of a sleeper you become the more attention you get and more pressure is sure to follow. As Mark Titus wrote in his blog, Club Trillion, Purdue is such a likable team,
"...they managed to completely change my perception of Purdue in the process, simply because of how likable they are. They are fun to watch play basketball and most of the guys on their team seem like good people." - Club TrillionNot only are they fun to watch, they're a pretty darn good team. The stars of this team are quickly becoming JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore, averaging a combined 32 points per game. Chris Kramer is a force defensively and Robbie Hummel is a big guy who has a great outside shot. I think they're a legitimate Final Four contender and maybe even a National Title contender because the Boilers pride themselves on defense (The Paint Crew keeps a running tally of defensive plays during home games, what more proof do you need?) and they have a great ability to shoot the basketball. Two things that can take a team far in March.
I'm excited for Selection Sunday, 20 days and counting. And while my Hawkeyes are pretty abysmal in basketball it makes it easy to take my heart out of filling out my bracket.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
USA Hockey vs. USA Soccer - Who Had the More Significant Win?
USA beat Canada in hockey tonight in a game some people (not me) are calling the biggest win for USA hockey since the Miracle on Ice. Other people (this is me) want to argue that this game should play a pretty big role in promoting hockey in the States and get more people interested in the NHL. And when I thought of this my memory immediately went to this past summer when USA beat Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup and a lot of people believe this would be the start of soccer becoming big in the United States. So I thought it'd be interesting to look at each game and see which game could have a bigger impact in promoting their game in this country.
Let's start with soccer shall we? It was obviously a big win, shutting out a team like Spain and did a tremendous job of immediately boosting national interest in soccer. It also did a great job of telling the rest of the world what the United States is capable of in the game. And I think that's where the impact will be felt first. As Tom wrote last week, a lot of American players are playing abroad and having pretty good success. While that is great for the National team, the effect at home won't be as great because the fans won't have the ability to go to a game to watch all these great players. I know I pay more attention to game played in England than the MLS games played here in the States and that has a large effect on the fact that the good American players are playing over there. This win for the USA is huge for the National team and will surely have more people interested in the World Cup this summer in South Africa but on an MLS level the effect won't be that great unless more of the top American players are playing here during their club season.
Now on to the events from tonight. I really think this is a big game for the NHL in the United States. Gary Bettman was interviewed after the game and really made a point of this being similar to an NHL playoff game. The game was played in an NHL stadium, with mostly NHL rules, using NHL officials, and consisting of all NHL players. Clearly, the common denominator here is the NHL, and that's why I think this game will have a bigger impact on the interest level of hockey opposed to the interest in soccer because of the win against Spain. All the athletes people saw tonight all play in a league that is played on this continent and that's huge when it comes to taking national success and bringing it back after this tournament. And similar to ESPN beginning to air Premiership matches on Saturday mornings at ungodly early times, we'll see NHL games being aired more nationally. The one difference is that the games can be played at prime time here and that will increase viewership significantly.
Either way you look at it, America has stepped up big time in sports we're not usually great at and for that we can all join in and say USA! USA! USA!
Let's start with soccer shall we? It was obviously a big win, shutting out a team like Spain and did a tremendous job of immediately boosting national interest in soccer. It also did a great job of telling the rest of the world what the United States is capable of in the game. And I think that's where the impact will be felt first. As Tom wrote last week, a lot of American players are playing abroad and having pretty good success. While that is great for the National team, the effect at home won't be as great because the fans won't have the ability to go to a game to watch all these great players. I know I pay more attention to game played in England than the MLS games played here in the States and that has a large effect on the fact that the good American players are playing over there. This win for the USA is huge for the National team and will surely have more people interested in the World Cup this summer in South Africa but on an MLS level the effect won't be that great unless more of the top American players are playing here during their club season.
Now on to the events from tonight. I really think this is a big game for the NHL in the United States. Gary Bettman was interviewed after the game and really made a point of this being similar to an NHL playoff game. The game was played in an NHL stadium, with mostly NHL rules, using NHL officials, and consisting of all NHL players. Clearly, the common denominator here is the NHL, and that's why I think this game will have a bigger impact on the interest level of hockey opposed to the interest in soccer because of the win against Spain. All the athletes people saw tonight all play in a league that is played on this continent and that's huge when it comes to taking national success and bringing it back after this tournament. And similar to ESPN beginning to air Premiership matches on Saturday mornings at ungodly early times, we'll see NHL games being aired more nationally. The one difference is that the games can be played at prime time here and that will increase viewership significantly.
Either way you look at it, America has stepped up big time in sports we're not usually great at and for that we can all join in and say USA! USA! USA!
Friday, February 19, 2010
It's Time We Commend Kenny Williams for his Work
Now when you read that title and you pair that with the news that Sox have pulled its offer to Johnny Damon, you're probably telling yourself that I am a crazy person or something to that effect. The truth is that Kenny Williams is playing this one very well. It is well known that Williams and super-agent Scott Boras don't get along and very rarely negotiate together (Assistant GM Rick Hahn is usually the one in charge of negotiating contracts with Boras clients). Williams isn't a person who likes to be wrapped up in the games that Boras plays to get the most money possible for his clients and there has been speculation that these same types of games have been going on with Johnny Damon.
Some people are suggesting that the Detroit Tigers never really offered a contract that spanned two years and about $14 million and now we get to see if that deal did actually exist or if Boras was just using writers and insiders to boost the price of his client.
When you read into the comments that Williams made about the offer being pulled you could tell there is still a high level of interest in Damon on the side of the Sox but this is a way to tell Damon to not let his agent get in the way of making this decision. I understand money is a big factor when deciding where to go, especially after you've already won two world championships, but it's also about comfort level and Mrs. Damon has reportedly said she prefers Chicago to Detroit (and in reality, who wouldn't?).
What this move also does is it can speed up this process immensely. I know as a Sox fan I've been scouring message boards and Twitter to try to get the latest news on where Damon has decided to play and it's been painful as a fan. I can't imagine what Williams feels like to be jerked around in this charade, so this move can work one of three ways. Either the Tigers' 2 year offer is real and Damon takes it in the next hours or day, Damon stops talking to the Sox altogether and works out a deal with the Tigers, or Damon tells Boras to get out of the way and takes the offer the Sox originally had available to him.
I think lately the owners and GMs in Major League Baseball have caught on to the way Boras works and are making a point to not outbid themselves for the services of his clients. This can be seen in the players that are firing Boras as their representation. Boras for whatever reason was extremely successful at getting his clients the maximum money available in previous years but those numbers have come down in recent years. You can say that is because of the economy and whatnot but I think the front offices are getting a grasp on how Boras works and are trying to put a stop to it.
Wherever Damon picks, we'll know that Kenny Williams and the Chicago White Sox won't be duped into outbidding themselves for a player no one else was bidding for.
Some people are suggesting that the Detroit Tigers never really offered a contract that spanned two years and about $14 million and now we get to see if that deal did actually exist or if Boras was just using writers and insiders to boost the price of his client.
When you read into the comments that Williams made about the offer being pulled you could tell there is still a high level of interest in Damon on the side of the Sox but this is a way to tell Damon to not let his agent get in the way of making this decision. I understand money is a big factor when deciding where to go, especially after you've already won two world championships, but it's also about comfort level and Mrs. Damon has reportedly said she prefers Chicago to Detroit (and in reality, who wouldn't?).
What this move also does is it can speed up this process immensely. I know as a Sox fan I've been scouring message boards and Twitter to try to get the latest news on where Damon has decided to play and it's been painful as a fan. I can't imagine what Williams feels like to be jerked around in this charade, so this move can work one of three ways. Either the Tigers' 2 year offer is real and Damon takes it in the next hours or day, Damon stops talking to the Sox altogether and works out a deal with the Tigers, or Damon tells Boras to get out of the way and takes the offer the Sox originally had available to him.
I think lately the owners and GMs in Major League Baseball have caught on to the way Boras works and are making a point to not outbid themselves for the services of his clients. This can be seen in the players that are firing Boras as their representation. Boras for whatever reason was extremely successful at getting his clients the maximum money available in previous years but those numbers have come down in recent years. You can say that is because of the economy and whatnot but I think the front offices are getting a grasp on how Boras works and are trying to put a stop to it.
Wherever Damon picks, we'll know that Kenny Williams and the Chicago White Sox won't be duped into outbidding themselves for a player no one else was bidding for.
Premier League Preview
I have a mathematical ranking system devised for the English Premier League. The system is based solely on results so far in the English Premier League and it can both rank the teams and give predictions for future games. The system takes into account home and away advantages and gives each team an offensive and defensive rating that is used to determine the expected number of goals scored for both teams in the match. Soon I will probably give a more in depth look into how both the rankings are created and I will give a numerical value for all the rankings and offensive and defensive ratings. Those of you more interested in the statistical side of things may be interested to note that the scores follow a Poisson Distribution with mean based on the factors listed above.
For now, the ratings can be used for the most interesting thing, predicting match results! I will give the five most likely match outcomes along with the probability of win, draw, or loss for each team. As always, home team listed first! For a more comprehensive preview of this weekend’s action, check this post.
Everton v Manchester United
Most Likely Outcomes:
Everton 0-1 Manchester United, 11.86%
Everton 1-1 Manchester United, 11.25%
Everton 0-2 Manchester United, 10.28%
Everton 1-2 Manchester United, 9.75%
Everton 0-0 Manchester United, 6.84%
Result Probabilities:
Everton Win: 23.66%
Draw: 20.51%
Manchester United Win: 55.83%
Arsenal v Sunderland
Most Likely Outcomes:
Arsenal 3-0 Sunderland, 8.97%
Arsenal 4-0 Sunderland, 8.64%
Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland, 7.30%
Arsenal 4-1 Sunderland, 7.03%
Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland, 6.98%
Result Probabilities:
Arsenal Win: 88.81%
Draw: 7.19%
Sunderland Win: 4.01%
West Ham United v Hull City
Most Likely Outcome:
West Ham United 2-0 Hull City, 10.79%
West Ham United 1-0 Hull City, 10.22%
West Ham United 2-1 Hull City, 9.89%
West Ham United 1-1 Hull City, 9.38%
West Ham United 3-0 Hull City, 7.59%
Result Probabilities:
West Ham Win: 64.82%
Draw: 19.86%
Hull City Win: 15.32%
Wolverhampton v Chelsea
Most Likely Outcomes:
Wolverhampton 0-2 Chelsea, 16.53%
Wolverhampton 0-1 Chelsea, 16.50%
Wolverhampton 0-3 Chelsea, 11.04%
Wolverhampton 0-0 Chelsea, 8.24%
Wolverhampton 1-2 Chelsea, 8.15%
Probability that Wolverhampton scores no goals: 61.09%
Result Probabilities:
Wolverhampton Win: 8.03%
Draw: 18.61%
Chelsea Win: 73.36%
Portsmouth v Stoke City
Most Likely Outcomes:
Portsmouth 0-0 Stoke City, 16.96%
Portsmouth 0-1 Stoke City, 15.41%
Portsmouth 1-0 Stoke City, 14.68%
Portsmouth 1-1 Stoke City, 13.34%
Portsmouth 0-2 Stoke City, 7.00%
Result Probabilities:
Portsmouth Win: 32.24%
Draw: 33.16%
Stoke City Win: 34.60%
Blackburn v Bolton
Most Likely Outcomes:
Blackburn 1-1 Bolton, 11.91%
Blackburn 1-0 Bolton, 11.22%
Blackburn 2-1 Bolton, 9.46%
Blackburn 2-0 Bolton, 8.91%
Blackburn 0-1 Bolton, 7.50%
Result Probabilities:
Blackburn Win: 49.57%
Draw: 25.05%
Bolton Win: 25.38%
Aston Villa v Burnley
Most Likely Outcomes:
Aston Villa 2-0 Burnley, 18.06%
Aston Villa 1-0 Burnley, 17.90%
Aston Villa 3-0 Burnely, 12.14%
Aston Villa 0-0 Burnley, 8.87%
Aston Villa 2-1 Burnley, 7.31%
Probability of Burnley scoring no goals: 66.7%
Result Probabilities:
Aston Villa Win: 75.91%
Draw: 17.74%
Burnley: 6.35%
Fulham v Birmingham
Most Likely Outcomes:
Fulham 1-0 Birmingham, 20.49%
Fulham 0-0 Birmingham, 19.51%
Fulham 1-1 Birmingham, 11.97%
Fulham 0-1 Birmingham, 11.40%
Fulham 2-0 Birmingham, 10.76%
Result Probabilities:
Fulham Win: 46.35%
Draw: 33.45%
Birmingham Win: 20.21%
Manchester City v Liverpool
Most Likely Outcomes:
Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool, 11.32%
Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool, 8.74%
Manchester City 1-2 Liverpool, 8.03%
Manchester City 1-0 Liverpool, 7.98%
Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool, 7.34%
Result Probabilities:
Manchester City Win: 40.52%
Draw: 24.42%
Liverpool Win: 35.05%
Wigan v Tottenham
Most Likely Outcomes:
Wigan 0-2 Tottenham, 10.72%
Wigan 1-2 Tottenham, 9.77%
Wigan 0-1 Tottenham, 9.51%
Wigan 1-1 Tottenham, 8.67%
Wigan 0-3 Tottenham, 8.06%
Result Probabilities:
Wigan Win: 13.78%
Draw: 18.49%
Tottenham Win: 67.73%
For now, the ratings can be used for the most interesting thing, predicting match results! I will give the five most likely match outcomes along with the probability of win, draw, or loss for each team. As always, home team listed first! For a more comprehensive preview of this weekend’s action, check this post.
Everton v Manchester United
Most Likely Outcomes:
Everton 0-1 Manchester United, 11.86%
Everton 1-1 Manchester United, 11.25%
Everton 0-2 Manchester United, 10.28%
Everton 1-2 Manchester United, 9.75%
Everton 0-0 Manchester United, 6.84%
Result Probabilities:
Everton Win: 23.66%
Draw: 20.51%
Manchester United Win: 55.83%
Arsenal v Sunderland
Most Likely Outcomes:
Arsenal 3-0 Sunderland, 8.97%
Arsenal 4-0 Sunderland, 8.64%
Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland, 7.30%
Arsenal 4-1 Sunderland, 7.03%
Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland, 6.98%
Result Probabilities:
Arsenal Win: 88.81%
Draw: 7.19%
Sunderland Win: 4.01%
West Ham United v Hull City
Most Likely Outcome:
West Ham United 2-0 Hull City, 10.79%
West Ham United 1-0 Hull City, 10.22%
West Ham United 2-1 Hull City, 9.89%
West Ham United 1-1 Hull City, 9.38%
West Ham United 3-0 Hull City, 7.59%
Result Probabilities:
West Ham Win: 64.82%
Draw: 19.86%
Hull City Win: 15.32%
Wolverhampton v Chelsea
Most Likely Outcomes:
Wolverhampton 0-2 Chelsea, 16.53%
Wolverhampton 0-1 Chelsea, 16.50%
Wolverhampton 0-3 Chelsea, 11.04%
Wolverhampton 0-0 Chelsea, 8.24%
Wolverhampton 1-2 Chelsea, 8.15%
Probability that Wolverhampton scores no goals: 61.09%
Result Probabilities:
Wolverhampton Win: 8.03%
Draw: 18.61%
Chelsea Win: 73.36%
Portsmouth v Stoke City
Most Likely Outcomes:
Portsmouth 0-0 Stoke City, 16.96%
Portsmouth 0-1 Stoke City, 15.41%
Portsmouth 1-0 Stoke City, 14.68%
Portsmouth 1-1 Stoke City, 13.34%
Portsmouth 0-2 Stoke City, 7.00%
Result Probabilities:
Portsmouth Win: 32.24%
Draw: 33.16%
Stoke City Win: 34.60%
Blackburn v Bolton
Most Likely Outcomes:
Blackburn 1-1 Bolton, 11.91%
Blackburn 1-0 Bolton, 11.22%
Blackburn 2-1 Bolton, 9.46%
Blackburn 2-0 Bolton, 8.91%
Blackburn 0-1 Bolton, 7.50%
Result Probabilities:
Blackburn Win: 49.57%
Draw: 25.05%
Bolton Win: 25.38%
Aston Villa v Burnley
Most Likely Outcomes:
Aston Villa 2-0 Burnley, 18.06%
Aston Villa 1-0 Burnley, 17.90%
Aston Villa 3-0 Burnely, 12.14%
Aston Villa 0-0 Burnley, 8.87%
Aston Villa 2-1 Burnley, 7.31%
Probability of Burnley scoring no goals: 66.7%
Result Probabilities:
Aston Villa Win: 75.91%
Draw: 17.74%
Burnley: 6.35%
Fulham v Birmingham
Most Likely Outcomes:
Fulham 1-0 Birmingham, 20.49%
Fulham 0-0 Birmingham, 19.51%
Fulham 1-1 Birmingham, 11.97%
Fulham 0-1 Birmingham, 11.40%
Fulham 2-0 Birmingham, 10.76%
Result Probabilities:
Fulham Win: 46.35%
Draw: 33.45%
Birmingham Win: 20.21%
Manchester City v Liverpool
Most Likely Outcomes:
Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool, 11.32%
Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool, 8.74%
Manchester City 1-2 Liverpool, 8.03%
Manchester City 1-0 Liverpool, 7.98%
Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool, 7.34%
Result Probabilities:
Manchester City Win: 40.52%
Draw: 24.42%
Liverpool Win: 35.05%
Wigan v Tottenham
Most Likely Outcomes:
Wigan 0-2 Tottenham, 10.72%
Wigan 1-2 Tottenham, 9.77%
Wigan 0-1 Tottenham, 9.51%
Wigan 1-1 Tottenham, 8.67%
Wigan 0-3 Tottenham, 8.06%
Result Probabilities:
Wigan Win: 13.78%
Draw: 18.49%
Tottenham Win: 67.73%
Bears Raise Ticket Prices to Attend the Circus that is Chicago Bears Football
The Chicago Bears announced today ticket prices for 2010 and believe it or not there are price increases for this coming season. Yes the same team that took a massive PR hit during their coaches' search and the same team that generally came unprepared for each week is asking you, the fan, to pay more to come watch this team play. Now I get the argument and generally agree that if you have a product where you can raise prices and not see a difference in demand then go ahead and raise prices, but with the NFL it's a different story. But Bears fans or any NFL fan for that matter can't protest the price hikes and that is because of the stupid blackout rule the NFL has. If a team doesn't sell out it's home games then those games won't be shown on TV in that market. So the NFL is basically holding the fan hostage by saying you have to pay these outrageous ticket prices or you don't get to watch this product.
Compare this horrid fan relations with what the Chicago Cubs did where they offered tickets early to fans if they were willing to pay a 20% increase. If they weren't then they could wait until the general release day and get tickets for normal price. Now that makes complete 100% sense to me, if you have the resources available to you to pay more for something you want then by all means go for it. The Cubs played this like geniuses, because they know they have a product many people want and found a way to maximize revenue. And if you as a fan don't like it, you don't have to buy a ticket and you're still able to watch the game from your home.
The Bears dropped the ball with this one, and just another reason why this organization needs to be blown up and start over.
Compare this horrid fan relations with what the Chicago Cubs did where they offered tickets early to fans if they were willing to pay a 20% increase. If they weren't then they could wait until the general release day and get tickets for normal price. Now that makes complete 100% sense to me, if you have the resources available to you to pay more for something you want then by all means go for it. The Cubs played this like geniuses, because they know they have a product many people want and found a way to maximize revenue. And if you as a fan don't like it, you don't have to buy a ticket and you're still able to watch the game from your home.
The Bears dropped the ball with this one, and just another reason why this organization needs to be blown up and start over.
Weekend Soccer Preview
Another edition of the Weekend Soccer Preview!
As always, home team listed first, all times Eastern.
Game of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
10:00 ET Sunday (English Premier League)
(15) Manchester City v (25) Liverpool
Manchesester City currently sit in fourth place in the league, occupying the final Champions League qualifying spot. Liverpool is a scant point behind them but City has a game in hand. Both Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa hot on both team’s tails, just one and two points behind Liverpool respectively. Liverpool have come a long way since their early-season struggles and are coming off of a 1-0 win over Unirea Urziceni mid-week, a game in which they dominated everywhere except the scoreboard. Manchester City are coming off of a disappointing three-game stretch in which they lost at Hull City, beat Bolton, and drew at Stoke City. Manchester City is dead-set on Champions League qualification and Liverpool simply needs it financially, and this match will be a deciding factor in who will be the successful squad come season’s end. However, this is not the view of Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, who says “I think it’s an important game but if any team lost, nothing will happen…it will decide nothing.” Quite frankly I think this is a stupid opinion for any player to have in any game. Liverpool may effectively drop 7 points back of Manchester City when the game in hand is taken into account, which is absolutely no small margin, given that Liverpool still has a visit to Manchester United and a visit from Chelsea on the schedule. Hopefully for Liverpool, Mascherano’s teammates do not share his view.
Other Game to Watch
7:45 ET Saturday (English Premier League)
Everton v (4) Manchester United
This is yet another huge game early in 2010 for Everton. Already this calendar year they have faced Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, not to mention a visit from Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon. In those games Everton has taken 7 league points and scored a 2-1 victory over Sporting mid-week, which is an incredible run for the team. They are more or less out of contention for a European spot this season but they have invaluable momentum building up for next year and the remainder of their European campaign this season. A big factor of Everton’s success as of late has been the play of American import Landon Donovan, who has arguably been their best player since he has arrived. This match will serve as yet another test for Donovan and company before a mid-week trip to Portugal to meet Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their Round of 32 Europa League clash. However, Manchester United has been hot lately as well, coming off of an impressive 3-2 win at AC Milan in the Champions League as well as an unbeaten Premier League streak dating to December 2009. Keep an eye on the Landon Donovan-Patrice Evra match-up.
Top of the Table Clashes
15:15 ET Sunday
FC Porto v (22) Braga
This is a match-up of 2 (Braga) and 3 (Porto) in the Portuguese Liga table, though Braga is 8 points ahead of Porto. Braga is one of the hottest teams in Europe right now, riding a 6 game win streak including victories over Nacional and Sporting Lisbon. On the other hand Porto is coming off of a great 2-1 win against Arsenal in the Champions League mid-week and will be a tough team to stop.
Big Games in Small Leagues
12:00 ET Sunday (Turkish Super League)
Besiktas v Galatasaray
13:00 ET Monday (Turkish Super League)
Fenerbahce v Bursaspor
This weekend gives a couple match-ups at the top of the Turkish Super League table. First we have Besiktas (5th) hosting Galatasaray (2nd) and then Fenerbahce (1st) hosting Bursaspor (3rd). All in all the teams are separated by only 7 points in the table, with just 2 separating Fenerbahce and Galatasaray at the top. Only the top two teams are able to qualify for the Champions League while the next two go to the Europa League, so these are two huge matches in the Turkish League season.
10:00 ET Sunday (Belgian Jupiler League)
Club Brugge v Standard Liege
Club Brugge is in second in the league, 9 points behind fourth place Standard Liege. Standard Liege is 4 points behind 3rd place KAA Gent and the coveted Europa League spot, and a win here would do wonders for their chances of qualifying for that competition.
English Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
Everton v (4) Manchester United
10:00 ET Saturday
(9) Arsenal v Sunderland
West Ham v Hull City
Wolverhampton Wanderers v (3) Chelsea
12:15 ET Saturday
Portsmouth v Stoke City
7:00 ET Sunday
Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers
9:00 ET Sunday
(20) Aston Villa v Burnley
10:00 ET Sunday
Fulham v Birmingham
(15) Manchester City v (25) Liverpool
11:15 ET Sunday
Wigan v (17) Tottenham Hotspur
Scottish Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
St. Johnsone v Rangers
10:00 ET Saturday
Celtic v Dundee United
Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
Deportivo La Coruna v Xerez
14:00 ET Saturday
(1) Barcelona v Racing Santander
16:00 ET Saturday
Mallorca v (24) Sevilla
11:00 ET Sunday
Athletic Bilbao v Tenerife
Malaga v Espanyol
Osasuna v Valladolid
Real Zaragoza v Sporting Gijon
13:00 ET Sunday
Almeria v Atletico Madrid
15:00 ET Sunday
(2) Real Madrid v Villarreal
15:00 ET Monday
(14) Valencia v Getafe
Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
Genoa v Udinese
14:45 ET Saturday
(5) Inter Milan v Sampdoria
9:00 ET Sunday
(10) AS Roma v Catania
Atalanta v Chievo Verona
Bologna v Juventus
Cagliari v Parma
Fiorentina v Livorno
Palermo v Lazio
Siena v Napoli
14:45 ET Sunday
Bari v (8) AC Milan
German Bundesliga
14:30 ET Friday
TSG Hoffenheim v Borussia Monchengladbach
9:30 ET Saturday
Borussia Dortmund v Hannover 96
FC Cologne v VfB Stuttgart
Hamburg SV v Eintracht Frankfurt
Mainz v VfL Bochum
Nurnberg v (7) Bayern Munich
9:30 ET Sunday
SC Freiburg v Hertha Berlin
11:30 ET Sunday
VfL Wolfsburg v (11) Schalke 04
Werder Bremen v (6) Bayer Leverkusen
French Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
Boulogne v Le Mans
Grenoble v Valenciennes
Lens v AS Monaco
Nice v Lorient
St. Etienne v Montpellier
15:00 ET Saturday
Paris Saint-Germain v Toulouse
11:00 ET Sunday
Marseille v AS Nancy Lorraine
Sochaux v (21) Lyon
15:00 ET Sunday
Stade Rennes v Lille
Dutch Eredivisie
13:45 ET Saturday
RKS Waalwijk v Heerenveen
VVV Venlo v AZ Alkmaar
8:30 ET Sunday
Ajax Amsterdam v Vitesse Arnhem
PSV Eindhoven v Sparta Rotterdam
Twente Enschede v Willem II Tilburg
Portuguese Liga
15:15 ET Friday
Maritimo v Nacional
16:15 ET Saturday
Olhanense v Sporting Lisbon
15:15 ET Sunday
FC Porto v (22) Braga
Turkish Super League
12:00 ET Sunday
Besiktas v Galatasaray
13:00 ET Monday
Fenerbahce v Bursaspor
Greek Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
Ergotelis v Olympiakos
9:45 ET Sunday
AEK Athens v Aris Salonika
12:00 ET Sunday
PAOK Salonika v Panathinaikos
Belgian Jupiler League
14:00 ET Saturday
KAA Gent v St. Truiden
10:00 ET Sunday
Club Brugge v Standard Liege
12:00 ET Sunday
Anderlecht v KV Mechelen
Austrian Bundesliga
13:30 ET Friday
FC Magna Wr. Neustadt v Rapid Vienna
12:00 ET Saturday
Austria Vienna v FC Karnten
SK Sturm Graz v SV Mattersburg
9:30 ET Sunday
SV Salzburg v LASK Linz
Swiss Super League
11:45 ET Saturday
FC Basel v FC Aarau
FC Zurich v Grasshoppers
Northern Irish Premiership
10:00 ET Saturday
Glenavon v Glentoran
Institute v Crusaders
Linfield v Dungannon Swifts
Welsh Premier League
9:30 ET Saturday
Newtown v TNS
9:30 ET Sunday
Bala Town v Llanelli
As always, home team listed first, all times Eastern.
Game of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
10:00 ET Sunday (English Premier League)
(15) Manchester City v (25) Liverpool
Manchesester City currently sit in fourth place in the league, occupying the final Champions League qualifying spot. Liverpool is a scant point behind them but City has a game in hand. Both Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa hot on both team’s tails, just one and two points behind Liverpool respectively. Liverpool have come a long way since their early-season struggles and are coming off of a 1-0 win over Unirea Urziceni mid-week, a game in which they dominated everywhere except the scoreboard. Manchester City are coming off of a disappointing three-game stretch in which they lost at Hull City, beat Bolton, and drew at Stoke City. Manchester City is dead-set on Champions League qualification and Liverpool simply needs it financially, and this match will be a deciding factor in who will be the successful squad come season’s end. However, this is not the view of Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, who says “I think it’s an important game but if any team lost, nothing will happen…it will decide nothing.” Quite frankly I think this is a stupid opinion for any player to have in any game. Liverpool may effectively drop 7 points back of Manchester City when the game in hand is taken into account, which is absolutely no small margin, given that Liverpool still has a visit to Manchester United and a visit from Chelsea on the schedule. Hopefully for Liverpool, Mascherano’s teammates do not share his view.
Other Game to Watch
7:45 ET Saturday (English Premier League)
Everton v (4) Manchester United
This is yet another huge game early in 2010 for Everton. Already this calendar year they have faced Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, not to mention a visit from Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon. In those games Everton has taken 7 league points and scored a 2-1 victory over Sporting mid-week, which is an incredible run for the team. They are more or less out of contention for a European spot this season but they have invaluable momentum building up for next year and the remainder of their European campaign this season. A big factor of Everton’s success as of late has been the play of American import Landon Donovan, who has arguably been their best player since he has arrived. This match will serve as yet another test for Donovan and company before a mid-week trip to Portugal to meet Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their Round of 32 Europa League clash. However, Manchester United has been hot lately as well, coming off of an impressive 3-2 win at AC Milan in the Champions League as well as an unbeaten Premier League streak dating to December 2009. Keep an eye on the Landon Donovan-Patrice Evra match-up.
Top of the Table Clashes
15:15 ET Sunday
FC Porto v (22) Braga
This is a match-up of 2 (Braga) and 3 (Porto) in the Portuguese Liga table, though Braga is 8 points ahead of Porto. Braga is one of the hottest teams in Europe right now, riding a 6 game win streak including victories over Nacional and Sporting Lisbon. On the other hand Porto is coming off of a great 2-1 win against Arsenal in the Champions League mid-week and will be a tough team to stop.
Big Games in Small Leagues
12:00 ET Sunday (Turkish Super League)
Besiktas v Galatasaray
13:00 ET Monday (Turkish Super League)
Fenerbahce v Bursaspor
This weekend gives a couple match-ups at the top of the Turkish Super League table. First we have Besiktas (5th) hosting Galatasaray (2nd) and then Fenerbahce (1st) hosting Bursaspor (3rd). All in all the teams are separated by only 7 points in the table, with just 2 separating Fenerbahce and Galatasaray at the top. Only the top two teams are able to qualify for the Champions League while the next two go to the Europa League, so these are two huge matches in the Turkish League season.
10:00 ET Sunday (Belgian Jupiler League)
Club Brugge v Standard Liege
Club Brugge is in second in the league, 9 points behind fourth place Standard Liege. Standard Liege is 4 points behind 3rd place KAA Gent and the coveted Europa League spot, and a win here would do wonders for their chances of qualifying for that competition.
English Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
Everton v (4) Manchester United
10:00 ET Saturday
(9) Arsenal v Sunderland
West Ham v Hull City
Wolverhampton Wanderers v (3) Chelsea
12:15 ET Saturday
Portsmouth v Stoke City
7:00 ET Sunday
Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers
9:00 ET Sunday
(20) Aston Villa v Burnley
10:00 ET Sunday
Fulham v Birmingham
(15) Manchester City v (25) Liverpool
11:15 ET Sunday
Wigan v (17) Tottenham Hotspur
Scottish Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
St. Johnsone v Rangers
10:00 ET Saturday
Celtic v Dundee United
Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
Deportivo La Coruna v Xerez
14:00 ET Saturday
(1) Barcelona v Racing Santander
16:00 ET Saturday
Mallorca v (24) Sevilla
11:00 ET Sunday
Athletic Bilbao v Tenerife
Malaga v Espanyol
Osasuna v Valladolid
Real Zaragoza v Sporting Gijon
13:00 ET Sunday
Almeria v Atletico Madrid
15:00 ET Sunday
(2) Real Madrid v Villarreal
15:00 ET Monday
(14) Valencia v Getafe
Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
Genoa v Udinese
14:45 ET Saturday
(5) Inter Milan v Sampdoria
9:00 ET Sunday
(10) AS Roma v Catania
Atalanta v Chievo Verona
Bologna v Juventus
Cagliari v Parma
Fiorentina v Livorno
Palermo v Lazio
Siena v Napoli
14:45 ET Sunday
Bari v (8) AC Milan
German Bundesliga
14:30 ET Friday
TSG Hoffenheim v Borussia Monchengladbach
9:30 ET Saturday
Borussia Dortmund v Hannover 96
FC Cologne v VfB Stuttgart
Hamburg SV v Eintracht Frankfurt
Mainz v VfL Bochum
Nurnberg v (7) Bayern Munich
9:30 ET Sunday
SC Freiburg v Hertha Berlin
11:30 ET Sunday
VfL Wolfsburg v (11) Schalke 04
Werder Bremen v (6) Bayer Leverkusen
French Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
Boulogne v Le Mans
Grenoble v Valenciennes
Lens v AS Monaco
Nice v Lorient
St. Etienne v Montpellier
15:00 ET Saturday
Paris Saint-Germain v Toulouse
11:00 ET Sunday
Marseille v AS Nancy Lorraine
Sochaux v (21) Lyon
15:00 ET Sunday
Stade Rennes v Lille
Dutch Eredivisie
13:45 ET Saturday
RKS Waalwijk v Heerenveen
VVV Venlo v AZ Alkmaar
8:30 ET Sunday
Ajax Amsterdam v Vitesse Arnhem
PSV Eindhoven v Sparta Rotterdam
Twente Enschede v Willem II Tilburg
Portuguese Liga
15:15 ET Friday
Maritimo v Nacional
16:15 ET Saturday
Olhanense v Sporting Lisbon
15:15 ET Sunday
FC Porto v (22) Braga
Turkish Super League
12:00 ET Sunday
Besiktas v Galatasaray
13:00 ET Monday
Fenerbahce v Bursaspor
Greek Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
Ergotelis v Olympiakos
9:45 ET Sunday
AEK Athens v Aris Salonika
12:00 ET Sunday
PAOK Salonika v Panathinaikos
Belgian Jupiler League
14:00 ET Saturday
KAA Gent v St. Truiden
10:00 ET Sunday
Club Brugge v Standard Liege
12:00 ET Sunday
Anderlecht v KV Mechelen
Austrian Bundesliga
13:30 ET Friday
FC Magna Wr. Neustadt v Rapid Vienna
12:00 ET Saturday
Austria Vienna v FC Karnten
SK Sturm Graz v SV Mattersburg
9:30 ET Sunday
SV Salzburg v LASK Linz
Swiss Super League
11:45 ET Saturday
FC Basel v FC Aarau
FC Zurich v Grasshoppers
Northern Irish Premiership
10:00 ET Saturday
Glenavon v Glentoran
Institute v Crusaders
Linfield v Dungannon Swifts
Welsh Premier League
9:30 ET Saturday
Newtown v TNS
9:30 ET Sunday
Bala Town v Llanelli
Tiger Woods' Robot Speaks
Tiger Woods just finished speaking to the media today and as previously reported, took no questions from the media present. My general reaction to this "press conference" is unimpressed. Listen, he had to go in front of a camera sooner or later because for some reason people felt like Woods owed them an apology. He didn't owe anyone with the exception of his and Elin's families an apology. I thought that Woods' statement was from the heart but seemed a little rehearsed and robotic, he probably should not have written it down.
Woods did say a few things that I did enjoy hearing from him and they mostly have to deal with the media's handling of this whole situation. He scolded the media for following his family and even his daughter to her school. He was 100% right in saying that the media has no purpose following his family around because this is about him and not them.
I'm also glad he addressed what his actions mean in relation to the school that has his name on it. He recognized that he is a role model to many kids and I'm glad he knows that and that he knows he has to clean up his act to be a better role model in the future.
The last thing Tiger said that I agreed with that I originally was against was telling the media why he wasn't accepting questions. He is 100% right that the questions the media would likely ask (details of the affairs, whether Elin and him are staying together) should not be public knowledge. They're problems that will be and should be handled between those two and not the general public.
Tiger did say he doesn't know when he is coming back to the game of golf but he hopes to return before the end of the year. When he said that I started to believe we could see a Tiger-free year of PGA Golf, and you know what? I think that might be the best choice to keep his family together if that is what he wants to do.
Listen, this little bone he threw to the media by going in front of a camera isn't the end-all, be-all to this situation. This is going to loom over Tiger until he addresses it and allows the media to ask him questions. I'm somewhat comparing this to Mark McGwire's admission to steroids. He addressed it over the winter and took questions to put this thing to rest so that when he came to be the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals the heat would have died down significantly so he could get to work. Tiger needs to take some sort of questions from the media before he goes back to golf to prevent the circus that will certainly come when he plays in his first tournament.
Woods did say a few things that I did enjoy hearing from him and they mostly have to deal with the media's handling of this whole situation. He scolded the media for following his family and even his daughter to her school. He was 100% right in saying that the media has no purpose following his family around because this is about him and not them.
I'm also glad he addressed what his actions mean in relation to the school that has his name on it. He recognized that he is a role model to many kids and I'm glad he knows that and that he knows he has to clean up his act to be a better role model in the future.
The last thing Tiger said that I agreed with that I originally was against was telling the media why he wasn't accepting questions. He is 100% right that the questions the media would likely ask (details of the affairs, whether Elin and him are staying together) should not be public knowledge. They're problems that will be and should be handled between those two and not the general public.
Tiger did say he doesn't know when he is coming back to the game of golf but he hopes to return before the end of the year. When he said that I started to believe we could see a Tiger-free year of PGA Golf, and you know what? I think that might be the best choice to keep his family together if that is what he wants to do.
Listen, this little bone he threw to the media by going in front of a camera isn't the end-all, be-all to this situation. This is going to loom over Tiger until he addresses it and allows the media to ask him questions. I'm somewhat comparing this to Mark McGwire's admission to steroids. He addressed it over the winter and took questions to put this thing to rest so that when he came to be the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals the heat would have died down significantly so he could get to work. Tiger needs to take some sort of questions from the media before he goes back to golf to prevent the circus that will certainly come when he plays in his first tournament.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
American Players Abroad
With the success so far of Landon Donovan at Everton, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the US men’s national team ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Here is a rundown of how our American players are performing across the sea in Europe.
Goalkeepers
Tim Howard-Everton-English Premier League
Tim Howard has established himself as a top-flight keeper in the Premier Leauge. He is coming off of a season where he set the club record for most league match clean sheets. There has been a bit more of a struggle this season as Howard deals with a pitiful Everton defense, but he is still ranked as the 10th best keeper in the Premier League (by the Premier League itself). He recently captained Everton for the first time ever, in December against Chelsea.
Defenders
Jay DeMerit-Watford-English Premier League
DeMerit has been turning in solid performances as the skipper of the Watford side. He was sidelined for several weeks with an eye injury but is back in the squad and producing, and his side Watford sits in 11th in the Championship.
Oguchi Onyewu-AC Milan-Italian Serie A
Onyewu has been injured with a torn patellar tendon since October, and expects to be back training with Milan by March. It was difficult for him to find playing time before he was injured, and hopefully he can see the field for them and get his form back before June 11 rolls around.
Steve Cherundolo-Hannover 96-German Bundesliga
Cherundolo injured his shoulder at the end of January and will be out for at least all of February.
Carlos Bocanegra-Rennes-French Ligue 1
Bocanegra had a solid campaign last year with Stade Rennes in France, and he saw his playing time dip slightly early in the season. However it appears he has regained his starting spot back recently. He is the captain of choice for Bob Bradley’s men going into South Africa.
Jonathan Spector-West Ham-English Premier League
Spector has been getting a lot of playing time lately as left back for the Clarets after a being an unused substitute for much of December.
Midfielders
Clint Dempsey-Fulham-English Premier League
Dempsey had established himself as one of the best wingers in the Premiership until a knee injury on January 17. Dempsey was even named one of the top 11 players in the Premiership by Italian paper la Gazzetta dello Sport at the end of 2009. Before the injury, Dempsey netted this wonder goal to confirm the Gazzetta’s suspicion that Dempsey is really, really good.
Michael Bradley-Borussia Monchengladbach-German Bundesliga
Bradley has been seeing a lot of the field lately for the mid-table German side, and just this past weekend turned in a man of the match performance in the club’s 2-1 win over FC Nurnberg.
Ricardo Clark-Eintracht Frankfurt-German Bundesliga
Ricardo Clark just signed with Eintracht Frankfurt in January but has not yet played for the club. He needed time to get to top fitness and has recently pulled a muscle in his right leg, delaying his debut further.
Stuart Holden-Bolton-English Premier League
Like Clark, Holden just signed with Bolton in January and has not yet played for the club due to fitness concerns and a thigh strain. Bolton is in need of him as they will be mired in a relegation struggle for the rest of the season.
Benny Feilhaber-Aarhus-Danish Superliga
Feilhaber has recently tweaked an ankle in training for Aarhus (so many injuries…), though he is not expected to miss any action. The Danish Superliga has been on break since early December and Aarhus does not return to action until March 7th, and Feilhaber should see a lot of playing time when action starts up again.
Forwards
Charlie Davies-Sochaux-French Ligue 1
Davies is in the midst of a remarkable recovery since the horrific car accident he was a part of last October. Nobody dared dream that Davies would make it back in time for the World Cup but he has defied the predictions of his doctors so far in his recovery and he is confident he will be healthy in time. Davies provided much-needed spark to the national team and if he can get back to Sochaux before the season is out he will certainly be welcomed back with open arms. The most recent news is that Davies is back in France with Sochaux and hopes to be training within a month, which is fantastic news for all USA fans!
Landon Donovan-Everton-English Premier League
Landon Donovan has been making headlines since his loan deal began with Everton at the beginning of the year. Donovan has turned in great performances against Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelesa, and Manchester City, including an assist against both Arsenal and Chelsea to go with a goal against Sunderland. Even the notoriously hard to please British media has embraced Donovan’s abilities, including a Star Man performance against Chelsea when he was rated an 8 out of 10. This past week Everton supporters voted Donovan player of the month for January. There has been talk of Donovan remaining in the English Premier League on a permanent basis, but Everton captain Phil Neville has said, “"It is what it is, Landon is here for two months and we have just got to accept that and let's just hope we can get him back for another two months next year…He loves living in L.A. and loves playing in the MLS, but we have just got to accept he will not be staying but he has been fantastic for us and let's hope that continues." Clearly Donovan has made an impact in the English Premier League and we can only hope that is an impact that will be felt in South Africa next summer.
Jozy Altidore-Hull City-English Premier League
Altidore has been seeing more of the field for Hull City in the Premier League as of late, starting in their last 7 matches. Altidore scored his first ever EPL goal in a 2-1 win for Hull City over Manchester City on February 6th and his play has been improving all year. It is easy to forget that Jozy is just a 20-year old kid over there (4 months younger than myself) and the performances he has been putting in are really remarkable for a kid his age. He has expressed interest in remaining at Hull beyond his loan deal that expires at the end of the season which would continue the string of solid American play in the Premier League.
Freddy Adu-Aris FC-Greek Super League
While Freddy Adu has seen little of the field for both club and country in the past couple years, he may have found new life at Greek side Aris Thessaloniki. In his first league start for the club he notched a nice game-winning goal and played well in a 2-1 win over Ergotelis.
Goalkeepers
Tim Howard-Everton-English Premier League
Tim Howard has established himself as a top-flight keeper in the Premier Leauge. He is coming off of a season where he set the club record for most league match clean sheets. There has been a bit more of a struggle this season as Howard deals with a pitiful Everton defense, but he is still ranked as the 10th best keeper in the Premier League (by the Premier League itself). He recently captained Everton for the first time ever, in December against Chelsea.
Defenders
Jay DeMerit-Watford-English Premier League
DeMerit has been turning in solid performances as the skipper of the Watford side. He was sidelined for several weeks with an eye injury but is back in the squad and producing, and his side Watford sits in 11th in the Championship.
Oguchi Onyewu-AC Milan-Italian Serie A
Onyewu has been injured with a torn patellar tendon since October, and expects to be back training with Milan by March. It was difficult for him to find playing time before he was injured, and hopefully he can see the field for them and get his form back before June 11 rolls around.
Steve Cherundolo-Hannover 96-German Bundesliga
Cherundolo injured his shoulder at the end of January and will be out for at least all of February.
Carlos Bocanegra-Rennes-French Ligue 1
Bocanegra had a solid campaign last year with Stade Rennes in France, and he saw his playing time dip slightly early in the season. However it appears he has regained his starting spot back recently. He is the captain of choice for Bob Bradley’s men going into South Africa.
Jonathan Spector-West Ham-English Premier League
Spector has been getting a lot of playing time lately as left back for the Clarets after a being an unused substitute for much of December.
Midfielders
Clint Dempsey-Fulham-English Premier League
Dempsey had established himself as one of the best wingers in the Premiership until a knee injury on January 17. Dempsey was even named one of the top 11 players in the Premiership by Italian paper la Gazzetta dello Sport at the end of 2009. Before the injury, Dempsey netted this wonder goal to confirm the Gazzetta’s suspicion that Dempsey is really, really good.
Michael Bradley-Borussia Monchengladbach-German Bundesliga
Bradley has been seeing a lot of the field lately for the mid-table German side, and just this past weekend turned in a man of the match performance in the club’s 2-1 win over FC Nurnberg.
Ricardo Clark-Eintracht Frankfurt-German Bundesliga
Ricardo Clark just signed with Eintracht Frankfurt in January but has not yet played for the club. He needed time to get to top fitness and has recently pulled a muscle in his right leg, delaying his debut further.
Stuart Holden-Bolton-English Premier League
Like Clark, Holden just signed with Bolton in January and has not yet played for the club due to fitness concerns and a thigh strain. Bolton is in need of him as they will be mired in a relegation struggle for the rest of the season.
Benny Feilhaber-Aarhus-Danish Superliga
Feilhaber has recently tweaked an ankle in training for Aarhus (so many injuries…), though he is not expected to miss any action. The Danish Superliga has been on break since early December and Aarhus does not return to action until March 7th, and Feilhaber should see a lot of playing time when action starts up again.
Forwards
Charlie Davies-Sochaux-French Ligue 1
Davies is in the midst of a remarkable recovery since the horrific car accident he was a part of last October. Nobody dared dream that Davies would make it back in time for the World Cup but he has defied the predictions of his doctors so far in his recovery and he is confident he will be healthy in time. Davies provided much-needed spark to the national team and if he can get back to Sochaux before the season is out he will certainly be welcomed back with open arms. The most recent news is that Davies is back in France with Sochaux and hopes to be training within a month, which is fantastic news for all USA fans!
Landon Donovan-Everton-English Premier League
Landon Donovan has been making headlines since his loan deal began with Everton at the beginning of the year. Donovan has turned in great performances against Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelesa, and Manchester City, including an assist against both Arsenal and Chelsea to go with a goal against Sunderland. Even the notoriously hard to please British media has embraced Donovan’s abilities, including a Star Man performance against Chelsea when he was rated an 8 out of 10. This past week Everton supporters voted Donovan player of the month for January. There has been talk of Donovan remaining in the English Premier League on a permanent basis, but Everton captain Phil Neville has said, “"It is what it is, Landon is here for two months and we have just got to accept that and let's just hope we can get him back for another two months next year…He loves living in L.A. and loves playing in the MLS, but we have just got to accept he will not be staying but he has been fantastic for us and let's hope that continues." Clearly Donovan has made an impact in the English Premier League and we can only hope that is an impact that will be felt in South Africa next summer.
Jozy Altidore-Hull City-English Premier League
Altidore has been seeing more of the field for Hull City in the Premier League as of late, starting in their last 7 matches. Altidore scored his first ever EPL goal in a 2-1 win for Hull City over Manchester City on February 6th and his play has been improving all year. It is easy to forget that Jozy is just a 20-year old kid over there (4 months younger than myself) and the performances he has been putting in are really remarkable for a kid his age. He has expressed interest in remaining at Hull beyond his loan deal that expires at the end of the season which would continue the string of solid American play in the Premier League.
Freddy Adu-Aris FC-Greek Super League
While Freddy Adu has seen little of the field for both club and country in the past couple years, he may have found new life at Greek side Aris Thessaloniki. In his first league start for the club he notched a nice game-winning goal and played well in a 2-1 win over Ergotelis.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Olympic Hockey Break Blog Post
Last night, the Blackhawks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in a shootout and I was at a wedding so I did not get to see the game but did catch the score on my phone during the reception. Just by looking at the score I had no idea that Patrick Kane took a hit to the knee and that Troy Brouwer came to the defense of Kane and beat down Anton Stralman. So during my drive back to Iowa City today I had ESPN1000 on and they were talking about the fight and whether or not it was a good move by Brouwer, and I have to say I absolutely agree that it was the right move.
Protecting your star players is unwritten rule #1 in the NHL. Let's go back to the previous night when Marian Hossa took a shot to the head and Kris Versteeg came to his defense. It's something that happens every time a star player is hit, and it's done to send the message that opponents won't get away with relentlessly hitting the stars of a team. When Crosby or Ovechkin take a shot, their teammates are right there to deliver some sort of payback.
The other thing I want to mention about this is the Blue Jackets play-by-play crew had a problem with Brouwer going after Stralman in this game. Here's the quick video:
They of all people should know that this type of thing happens in a hockey game. It's the one sport that allows fighting to settle differences or spats. It's what a lot of fans like about hockey and their opposition to Brouwer protecting a teammate is just wrong because you know they'd be calling for a Blue Jacket to do the same if someone took out Rick Nash like Stralman did to Kane last night.
Protecting your star players is unwritten rule #1 in the NHL. Let's go back to the previous night when Marian Hossa took a shot to the head and Kris Versteeg came to his defense. It's something that happens every time a star player is hit, and it's done to send the message that opponents won't get away with relentlessly hitting the stars of a team. When Crosby or Ovechkin take a shot, their teammates are right there to deliver some sort of payback.
The other thing I want to mention about this is the Blue Jackets play-by-play crew had a problem with Brouwer going after Stralman in this game. Here's the quick video:
They of all people should know that this type of thing happens in a hockey game. It's the one sport that allows fighting to settle differences or spats. It's what a lot of fans like about hockey and their opposition to Brouwer protecting a teammate is just wrong because you know they'd be calling for a Blue Jacket to do the same if someone took out Rick Nash like Stralman did to Kane last night.
With the Olympic break now upon us, I for one am torn about these Olympics. I love the idea of players playing for their country but I,like any fan, have my allegiances to my team and am not the biggest fan of players from the Blackhawks playing games not for the Blackhawks. Hockey is in a similar situation to what baseball is in for the summer games and for as difficult as it is to say, the NHL players shouldn't play in the Olympics every four years. You can call me anti-American all you want, but these players are (or at least should be) loyal to their NHL employer first, not their country. You don't need guys like Hossa and Kane who are battling injuries, to risk injuring themselves even more by playing in the Olympics. This is likely the last year for NHL players to play in the Olympics and I for one am glad to see it.
European Soccer Rankings and Champions League Preview
Welcome to another week of European Soccer Rankings!! Blaine is in the Philippines or something for Chinese New Year, so I am flying solo here.
It was a weekend of FA Cup action in England. There were no massive surprises but there were a couple strong teams forced to a replay. Manchester City was held to a 1-1 draw at home against Stoke, Tottenham was held to a 1-1 draw at Bolton, and Aston Villa was held to a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace. Chelsea defeated Cardiff City 4-1 and Fulham rolled over Notts County 4-0. Other winners included Portsmouth and Birmingham, while West Bromwich-Reading will go to a replay. In Spain, Barcelona suffered their first loss of the season, a surprising 2-1 defeat at 11th place Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid easily handled Xerez 3-0 on the road to pull within just 2 points of leaders Barcelona. Valencia stumbled to a 1-1 defeat at Sporting Gijon while Sevilla won 1-0 at home over Osasuna to pull within 4 points of 3rd place Valencia. As in Spain, the leaders in Italy lost points on the weekend as Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw at high-flying Napoli, who is currently in 4th place in Serie A. AC Milan coasted to a 3-2 defeat of Udinese on the heels of a Klaas-Jan Huntelaar brace in a warm-up for the massive mid-week match against Manchester United. AS Roma held onto their second place position with a 4-1 win over Palermo, but they still sit 7 points behind leaders Inter Milan. Sampdoria defeated Fiorentina 2-0 and Juventus secured a thrilling 3-2 win over Genoa in other Serie A action. In Germany the status quo held as Bayer Leverkusen defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 and Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-1. Those two squads remain tied atop the Bundesliga table with 48 points from 22 games. Schalke 04 remained 3 points behind the leaders with their 2-0 win at home against FC Cologne. Hamburg rolled to an impressive 3-1 at Stuttgart to remain in the hunt for a Champions League spot. In France, leaders Bordeaux rolled to a 3-1 win against St. Etienne on the back of a Wendel brace. Montpellier stretched their win streak to 4 games with a 1-0 win at home against Grenoble to remain within 3 points of the leaders. Lille, Lyon, Marseille, and AJ Auxerre all won as well, incredibly giving the top 6 in France a win for the weekend. In Scotland, Rangers took advantage of Celtic’s 4-4 draw by defeating Hibernian 3-0 to take a 10 point lead in the table, effectively ending the race in Scotland this season. Twente Enschede, Ajax Amsterdam, and PSV Eindhoven were all victorious for the weekend, albeit only by a combined 4 goals.
And here are the rankings:
Rank Team Country Points
1. Barcelona (Esp) 25
2. Real Madrid (Esp) 24
3. Chelsea (Eng) 23
4. Manchester United (Eng) 22
5. Inter Milan (Ita) 21
6. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 20
7. Bayern Munich (Ger) 19
8. AC Milan (Ita) 18
9. Arsenal (Eng) 17
10. AS Roma (Ita) 16
11. Schalke 04 (Ger) 15
12. Bordeaux (Ita) 14
13. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 13
14. Valencia (Esp) 12
15. Manchester City (Eng) 11
16. Benfica (Por) 10
17. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 9
18. Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 8
19. Montpellier (Fra) 7
20. Aston Villa (Eng) 6
21. Lyon (Fra) 5
22. Braga (Por) 4
23. Twente Enschede (Ned) 3
24. Sevilla (Esp) 2
25. Liverpool (Eng) 1
Also Receiving Votes: None
Next five in for Tom, in order of how good I think they are: Mallorca (Esp), Napoli (Ita), FK Rubin Kazan (Rus), Lille (Fra), FC Porto (Por)
Champions League Preview
It is finally time for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League! It will be held over 4 weeks this time around instead of 2 weeks, which means we just get more weeks with some tasty European matches. All times are 14:45 ET, and the home team is listed first. Return legs will be played March 9-17.
Tuesday, February 16
(8) AC Milan v (4) Manchester United
David Beckham faces off with his old team Manchester United in a match-up of two of the strongest teams in Europe.
(21) Lyon v (2) Real Madrid
Lyon will look to compensate for a somewhat dissappointing domestic campaign by taking on the giants of Europe in Real Madrid.
Wednesday, February 17
(7) Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
These are two teams going in opposite directions in their domestic campaigns. Bayern Munich has been skyrocketing in the table while Fiorentina has been plummeting.
FC Porto v (9) Arsenal
FC Porto had no luck against English side Chelsea in the group stage, and will need a lot of luck to get past Arsenal in the knockout stages.
Tuesday, February 23
Olympiakos v (12) Bordeaux
Olympiakos got through to the knockout stages by virtue of a somewhat weak group and will have to work hard to take down high-flying Bordeaux, who has been dominant in both the league and in Europe this season.
Stuttgart v (1) Barcelona
Stuttgart is floundering in the middle of the Bundesliga table, so this match-up could define their entire season. Continuation in the tournament for Stuttgart would be stunning.
Tuesday, February 24
CSKA Moscow v (24) Sevilla FC
CSKA Moscow is back in action after a very long lay-off as Russia runs a summer league. It will be interesting to see what kind of form they are in and if they can pull off a minor upset against Sevilla.
(5) Inter Milan v (3) Chelsea
The leaders in Italy face off with the leaders in England. Jose Mourinho will look to haunt his former employer.
Europa League Preview
The Europa League will be heating up the next two weeks as the Round of 32 plays out. First legs will be played on February 18 (Everton-Sporting Lisbon on the 16th) and second legs will be played on February 25 (Benfica-Hertha Berlin on the 23rd). Home team in the first leg is listed first.
Everton v Sporting Lisbon
(18) Ajax Amsterdam v Juventus
Club Brugge v (14) Valencia
FK Rubin Kazan v Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Lille v Fenerbahce
Standard Liege v SV Salzburg
(23) Twente Enschede v Werder Bremen
Villarreal v VfL Wolfsburg
Athletic Bilbao v Anderlecht
Atletico Madrid v Galatasaray
FC Copenhagen v Marseille
Fulham v Shakhtar Donetsk
Hamburg SV v (13) PSV Eindhoven
Hertha Berlin v (16) Benfica
(25) Liverpool v Unirea Urziceni
Panathinaikos v (10) AS Roma
It was a weekend of FA Cup action in England. There were no massive surprises but there were a couple strong teams forced to a replay. Manchester City was held to a 1-1 draw at home against Stoke, Tottenham was held to a 1-1 draw at Bolton, and Aston Villa was held to a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace. Chelsea defeated Cardiff City 4-1 and Fulham rolled over Notts County 4-0. Other winners included Portsmouth and Birmingham, while West Bromwich-Reading will go to a replay. In Spain, Barcelona suffered their first loss of the season, a surprising 2-1 defeat at 11th place Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid easily handled Xerez 3-0 on the road to pull within just 2 points of leaders Barcelona. Valencia stumbled to a 1-1 defeat at Sporting Gijon while Sevilla won 1-0 at home over Osasuna to pull within 4 points of 3rd place Valencia. As in Spain, the leaders in Italy lost points on the weekend as Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw at high-flying Napoli, who is currently in 4th place in Serie A. AC Milan coasted to a 3-2 defeat of Udinese on the heels of a Klaas-Jan Huntelaar brace in a warm-up for the massive mid-week match against Manchester United. AS Roma held onto their second place position with a 4-1 win over Palermo, but they still sit 7 points behind leaders Inter Milan. Sampdoria defeated Fiorentina 2-0 and Juventus secured a thrilling 3-2 win over Genoa in other Serie A action. In Germany the status quo held as Bayer Leverkusen defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 and Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-1. Those two squads remain tied atop the Bundesliga table with 48 points from 22 games. Schalke 04 remained 3 points behind the leaders with their 2-0 win at home against FC Cologne. Hamburg rolled to an impressive 3-1 at Stuttgart to remain in the hunt for a Champions League spot. In France, leaders Bordeaux rolled to a 3-1 win against St. Etienne on the back of a Wendel brace. Montpellier stretched their win streak to 4 games with a 1-0 win at home against Grenoble to remain within 3 points of the leaders. Lille, Lyon, Marseille, and AJ Auxerre all won as well, incredibly giving the top 6 in France a win for the weekend. In Scotland, Rangers took advantage of Celtic’s 4-4 draw by defeating Hibernian 3-0 to take a 10 point lead in the table, effectively ending the race in Scotland this season. Twente Enschede, Ajax Amsterdam, and PSV Eindhoven were all victorious for the weekend, albeit only by a combined 4 goals.
And here are the rankings:
Rank Team Country Points
1. Barcelona (Esp) 25
2. Real Madrid (Esp) 24
3. Chelsea (Eng) 23
4. Manchester United (Eng) 22
5. Inter Milan (Ita) 21
6. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 20
7. Bayern Munich (Ger) 19
8. AC Milan (Ita) 18
9. Arsenal (Eng) 17
10. AS Roma (Ita) 16
11. Schalke 04 (Ger) 15
12. Bordeaux (Ita) 14
13. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 13
14. Valencia (Esp) 12
15. Manchester City (Eng) 11
16. Benfica (Por) 10
17. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 9
18. Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 8
19. Montpellier (Fra) 7
20. Aston Villa (Eng) 6
21. Lyon (Fra) 5
22. Braga (Por) 4
23. Twente Enschede (Ned) 3
24. Sevilla (Esp) 2
25. Liverpool (Eng) 1
Also Receiving Votes: None
Next five in for Tom, in order of how good I think they are: Mallorca (Esp), Napoli (Ita), FK Rubin Kazan (Rus), Lille (Fra), FC Porto (Por)
Champions League Preview
It is finally time for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League! It will be held over 4 weeks this time around instead of 2 weeks, which means we just get more weeks with some tasty European matches. All times are 14:45 ET, and the home team is listed first. Return legs will be played March 9-17.
Tuesday, February 16
(8) AC Milan v (4) Manchester United
David Beckham faces off with his old team Manchester United in a match-up of two of the strongest teams in Europe.
(21) Lyon v (2) Real Madrid
Lyon will look to compensate for a somewhat dissappointing domestic campaign by taking on the giants of Europe in Real Madrid.
Wednesday, February 17
(7) Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
These are two teams going in opposite directions in their domestic campaigns. Bayern Munich has been skyrocketing in the table while Fiorentina has been plummeting.
FC Porto v (9) Arsenal
FC Porto had no luck against English side Chelsea in the group stage, and will need a lot of luck to get past Arsenal in the knockout stages.
Tuesday, February 23
Olympiakos v (12) Bordeaux
Olympiakos got through to the knockout stages by virtue of a somewhat weak group and will have to work hard to take down high-flying Bordeaux, who has been dominant in both the league and in Europe this season.
Stuttgart v (1) Barcelona
Stuttgart is floundering in the middle of the Bundesliga table, so this match-up could define their entire season. Continuation in the tournament for Stuttgart would be stunning.
Tuesday, February 24
CSKA Moscow v (24) Sevilla FC
CSKA Moscow is back in action after a very long lay-off as Russia runs a summer league. It will be interesting to see what kind of form they are in and if they can pull off a minor upset against Sevilla.
(5) Inter Milan v (3) Chelsea
The leaders in Italy face off with the leaders in England. Jose Mourinho will look to haunt his former employer.
Europa League Preview
The Europa League will be heating up the next two weeks as the Round of 32 plays out. First legs will be played on February 18 (Everton-Sporting Lisbon on the 16th) and second legs will be played on February 25 (Benfica-Hertha Berlin on the 23rd). Home team in the first leg is listed first.
Everton v Sporting Lisbon
(18) Ajax Amsterdam v Juventus
Club Brugge v (14) Valencia
FK Rubin Kazan v Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Lille v Fenerbahce
Standard Liege v SV Salzburg
(23) Twente Enschede v Werder Bremen
Villarreal v VfL Wolfsburg
Athletic Bilbao v Anderlecht
Atletico Madrid v Galatasaray
FC Copenhagen v Marseille
Fulham v Shakhtar Donetsk
Hamburg SV v (13) PSV Eindhoven
Hertha Berlin v (16) Benfica
(25) Liverpool v Unirea Urziceni
Panathinaikos v (10) AS Roma
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Big Hurt Calls it a Career
(Baseball Evolution)Frank Thomas is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement award on Comcast SportsNet tonight and it just so happens that he is officially retiring from the game of baseball as well. I wanted to use this space to just congratulate the man who I looked up to while he played in Chicago and finished his career in Oakland and Toronto. 2005 was the greatest year for Sox fans, and even though Frank didn't play much when he did he left me with a lot of great memories. He had an OPS of .905 in just 34 games, slugged .590 and hit 12 home runs in that limited time. He has back-to-back MVPs (he should have a third but some cheater named Giambi roided his way to the 2000 MVP), a batting title, a 5 time all-star, and 4 silver sluggers. He's 15th all-time in OPS, 18th All-Time in home runs, and 22nd All-Time in RBIs.
Frank Thomas is a first ballot Hall of Famer and should be commended for playing the game PED-free. Thank you Frank for being a great hitter and getting me interested in not only the White Sox, but the game of baseball. Anyone up for a roadtrip to Cooperstown around say 2014? Here's to you Frank, you were to me what Michael Jordan was and is to so many people. I'd stop what I was doing just to see what you would do in your next at bat. You were the epitome of what the White Sox stand for, underrated greatness, the hype is never there nationally but my god you just did your work day in and day out and it was for the pure love of the game, not the notoriety. Enjoy retirement Big Frank, and thank you again for all you gave me as a baseball and White Sox fan.
(MITAdmissions.org)Texas to the Big Ten?
Reports today say that the Big Ten have had discussions with the University of Texas joining the conference. Now when I read this I was at first really excited at the idea of having a powerhouse of a school like Texas join the Big Ten, but I have been going back and forth on this all day. It obviously makes a ton of sense for the Big Ten because Texas' athletic department is such a money maker, and it would increase Big Ten Network viewership drastically which would bring in more TV revenue for all the schools, and it gives the Big Ten the conference championship game they have been looking for in football. There is no need to really look at this from the Big Ten's point of view because it makes almost perfect sense. What needs to be looked at is why would Texas leave the situation it is in with the Big 12 where they are the dominant program or top program in the two revenue generating sports of football and basketball?
The first reason and probably largest reason is money. Yes, Texas earns a lot of money through its athletic department, but we're talking TV money. Big Ten schools earned almost double what Texas earned in TV revenue in the last year and that's in large part to the Big Ten Network. For as much as sports fans don't want to admit it, sports are becoming more and more like big business everyday where money is slowly becoming more important than winning and losing to some schools. So if the invitation is out there why wouldn't Texas want to jump ship and join a new conference where they can earn almost twice as much as they are currently earning and also add to that TV revenue for all the other schools.
The next reason is location. Texas is not a midwestern state so traveling to contests for all sports, not just football and basketball would be difficult. The trip to Iowa City for example would be 1,042 miles and that would be one of the shorter trips for Texas. When you have students on your teams whose first priority should be school, you're asking a lot of them to travel thousands of miles for one contest at a time and that's something Texas I am sure is looking at.
Another reason is the fact that there are rumors of other Big 12 schools jumping ship for other conferences. Colorado for example is rumored to be interested in joining the Pac-10 and there have been the rumors of Missouri to the Big Ten as well. So it would make sense for Texas to leave now rather than waiting back and being left with a poached conference.
My last reason is rivalries. Texas, like many other schools has their share of rivalries and none of those rivalries currently reside in the Big Ten. Games with Oklahoma and Texas A&M are rivalries that would have to be played out of conference and in the day and age of scheduling cupcakes, this probably isn't something Texas is wanting to do. My solution is simple, bring Texas A&M with to the Big Ten and throw Texas Tech in there as well. This way the Big Ten gets 14 teams (2 divisions of 7 teams) and Texas can now just worry about keeping Oklahoma on the non-conference schedule and can still schedule three terrible high schools to play.
Texas is probably the most realistic shot the Big Ten has at landing a powerhouse school if they are serious about expansion. They could go the route of adding 4 smaller schools, but when that big prize is out there, you have to at least make an attempt at it.
The first reason and probably largest reason is money. Yes, Texas earns a lot of money through its athletic department, but we're talking TV money. Big Ten schools earned almost double what Texas earned in TV revenue in the last year and that's in large part to the Big Ten Network. For as much as sports fans don't want to admit it, sports are becoming more and more like big business everyday where money is slowly becoming more important than winning and losing to some schools. So if the invitation is out there why wouldn't Texas want to jump ship and join a new conference where they can earn almost twice as much as they are currently earning and also add to that TV revenue for all the other schools.
The next reason is location. Texas is not a midwestern state so traveling to contests for all sports, not just football and basketball would be difficult. The trip to Iowa City for example would be 1,042 miles and that would be one of the shorter trips for Texas. When you have students on your teams whose first priority should be school, you're asking a lot of them to travel thousands of miles for one contest at a time and that's something Texas I am sure is looking at.
Another reason is the fact that there are rumors of other Big 12 schools jumping ship for other conferences. Colorado for example is rumored to be interested in joining the Pac-10 and there have been the rumors of Missouri to the Big Ten as well. So it would make sense for Texas to leave now rather than waiting back and being left with a poached conference.
My last reason is rivalries. Texas, like many other schools has their share of rivalries and none of those rivalries currently reside in the Big Ten. Games with Oklahoma and Texas A&M are rivalries that would have to be played out of conference and in the day and age of scheduling cupcakes, this probably isn't something Texas is wanting to do. My solution is simple, bring Texas A&M with to the Big Ten and throw Texas Tech in there as well. This way the Big Ten gets 14 teams (2 divisions of 7 teams) and Texas can now just worry about keeping Oklahoma on the non-conference schedule and can still schedule three terrible high schools to play.
Texas is probably the most realistic shot the Big Ten has at landing a powerhouse school if they are serious about expansion. They could go the route of adding 4 smaller schools, but when that big prize is out there, you have to at least make an attempt at it.
Weekend Soccer Preview
First off, I owe everyone an apology for no rankings last weekend! That pesky little thing called school once again reared its ugly head and I was slightly under the weather. I have modified the most recent rankings slightly to reflect the games of the past weekend and mid-week. They are what I predict would have been the rankings had we done them!
Like I said, these are somewhat thrown-together rankings. There were an incredible amount of losses in the top 30+ so it is near impossible to decide who deserves to be ranked.
Game of the Week
14:45 ET Sunday
(23) Napoli v (5) Inter Milan
This is the only match up between ranked teams this week in European football. Inter Milan effectively has a choke hold on Serie A, with a 9 point lead over second place AS Roma, and a 15 point lead over Napoli, who sits in 4th place. This is still an important match for Napoli because while they have no hope of taking part in the title race, they will want to remain in a Champions League spot. This would finish the incredible rise of Napoli, who was in Serie C as recently as 2006. Still, this will be a tough task for Napoli. Inter Milan has not lost since a 2-1 defeat at Juventus on December 5.
Big Games in Small Leagues
10:00 ET Saturday (English Conference)
Rushden & Diamonds v Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Borough is currently on top of the Conference with 63 points. Rushden and Diamonds are 11 points back in third with a game in hand. The Conference is the highest non-league level in English football, so promotion from this level is very prestigious for these teams. The first place team is automatically promoted while the second through fifth placed teams compete in a playoff for promotion. This game is vital for both squads as they look to become a part of the Football League in England.
14:30 ET Sunday (Belgian Jupiler League)
KAA Gent v Club Brugge
KAA Gent and Club Brugge are in a battle for the second Champions League spot out of Belgium. Anderlecht is solidly in first place, 8 points ahead of second-place Club Brugge and 13 points ahead of third-place Gent. A win for Gent would pull them within two points of Brugge and the lucrative second Champions League spot, while a win for Brugge would go a long way to ensuring their spot in Europe's premier club competition. In the first meeting of the season, Club Brugge came away with a 1-0 at home over KAA Gent.
England’s FA Cup (Round 5)
7:00 ET Saturday
(2) Chelsea v Cardiff City
7:30 ET Saturday
Southhampton v Portsmouth
10:00 ET Saturday
Derby County v Birmingham
Reading v West Ham
12:15 ET Saturday
(12) Manchester City v Stoke City
8:30 ET Sunday
Bolton Wanderers v (15) Tottenham Hotspur
10:00 ET Sunday
Fulham v Notts County
10:45 ET Sunday
Crystal Palace v (20) Aston Villa
Scottish Premier League
7:30 ET Saturday
Aberdeen v Celtic
8:30 ET Sunday
Rangers v Hibernian
Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
Sporting Gijon v (11) Valencia
14:00 ET Saturday
Xerex v (3) Real Madrid
16:00 ET Saturday
Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao
11:00 ET Sunday
Espanyol v Deportivo La Coruna
13:00 ET Sunday
Sevilla FC v Osasuna
15:00 ET Sunday
Atletico Madrid v (1) Barcelona
15:00 ET Monday
Tenerife v (22) Mallorca
Italy’s Serie A
14:45 ET Friday
(6) AC Milan v Udinese
12:00 ET Saturday
(13) AS Roma v Palermo
14:45 ET Saturday
Sampdoria v Fiorentina
9:00 ET Sunday
Juventus v Genoa
Parma v Lazio
14:45 ET Sunday
(23) Napoli v (5) Inter Milan
German Bundesliga
9:30 ET Saturday
(10) Bayer Leverkusen v Wolfsburg
Hannover 96 v Werder Bremen
Stuttgart v Hamburg SV
12:30 ET Saturday
(7) Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund
9:30 ET Sunday
(19) Schalke 04 v FC Cologne
France’s Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
AS Monaco v Marseille
Lille v Boulogne
(24) Montpellier v Grenoble
15:00 ET Saturday
Lyon v Lens
15:00 ET Sunday
(9) Bordeaux v St. Etienne
Dutch Eredivisie
12:45 ET Saturday
Vitesse Arnhem v (18) Twente Enschede
13:45 ET Saturday
Heerenveen v (17) Ajax Amsterdam
14:45 ET Saturday
AZ Alkmaar v Roda JC Kerkrade
8:30 ET Sunday
SC Heracles Almelo v (16) PSV Eindhoven
Portuguese Liga15:15 ET Friday
Pacos de Ferreira v Sporting Lisbon
12:00 ET Saturday
(21) Benfica v Beleneses
16:15 ET Saturday
Leixoes v FC Porto
13:00 ET Sunday
Braga v Maritimo
Turkish Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
Gaziantepspor v Besiktas
12:00 ET Sunday
Manisaspor v Fenerbahce
Greek Super League
9:45 ET Sunday
Panathinaikos v Kavala
12:00 ET Sunday
Asteras Tripoli v Olympiakos
Belgian Jupiler League
12:00 ET Saturday
Royal Charleroi SC v Anderlecht
12:00 ET Sunday
Standard Liege v KVC Westerlo
14:30 ET Sunday
KAA Gent v Club Brugge
Austrian Bundesliga
12:00 ET Saturday
Austria Vienna v Kapfenberg SV
SV Josko Ried v SV Salzburg
9:30 ET Sunday
FC Karnten v SK Sturm Graz
Swiss Super League
11:45 ET Saturday
Young Boys v Lucerne
10:00 ET Sunday
FC Sion Sitten v FC Zurich
Neuchatel Xamax v FC Basel
| 1. Barcelona | 2. Chelsea | 3. Real Madrid | 4. Manchester United | 5. Inter Milan |
| 6. AC Milan | 7. Bayern Munich | 8. Arsenal | 9. Bordeaux | 10. Bayer Leverkusen |
| 11. Valencia | 12. Manchester City | 13. AS Roma | 14. Liverpool | 15. Tottenham Hotspur |
| 16. PSV Eindhoven | 17. Ajax Amsterdam | 18. Twente Enschede | 19. Schalke 04 | 20. Aston Villa |
| 21. Benfica | 22. Mallorca | 23. Napoli | 24. Montpellier | 25. Landon Donovan |
Like I said, these are somewhat thrown-together rankings. There were an incredible amount of losses in the top 30+ so it is near impossible to decide who deserves to be ranked.
Game of the Week
14:45 ET Sunday
(23) Napoli v (5) Inter Milan
This is the only match up between ranked teams this week in European football. Inter Milan effectively has a choke hold on Serie A, with a 9 point lead over second place AS Roma, and a 15 point lead over Napoli, who sits in 4th place. This is still an important match for Napoli because while they have no hope of taking part in the title race, they will want to remain in a Champions League spot. This would finish the incredible rise of Napoli, who was in Serie C as recently as 2006. Still, this will be a tough task for Napoli. Inter Milan has not lost since a 2-1 defeat at Juventus on December 5.
Big Games in Small Leagues
10:00 ET Saturday (English Conference)
Rushden & Diamonds v Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Borough is currently on top of the Conference with 63 points. Rushden and Diamonds are 11 points back in third with a game in hand. The Conference is the highest non-league level in English football, so promotion from this level is very prestigious for these teams. The first place team is automatically promoted while the second through fifth placed teams compete in a playoff for promotion. This game is vital for both squads as they look to become a part of the Football League in England.
14:30 ET Sunday (Belgian Jupiler League)
KAA Gent v Club Brugge
KAA Gent and Club Brugge are in a battle for the second Champions League spot out of Belgium. Anderlecht is solidly in first place, 8 points ahead of second-place Club Brugge and 13 points ahead of third-place Gent. A win for Gent would pull them within two points of Brugge and the lucrative second Champions League spot, while a win for Brugge would go a long way to ensuring their spot in Europe's premier club competition. In the first meeting of the season, Club Brugge came away with a 1-0 at home over KAA Gent.
England’s FA Cup (Round 5)
7:00 ET Saturday
(2) Chelsea v Cardiff City
7:30 ET Saturday
Southhampton v Portsmouth
10:00 ET Saturday
Derby County v Birmingham
Reading v West Ham
12:15 ET Saturday
(12) Manchester City v Stoke City
8:30 ET Sunday
Bolton Wanderers v (15) Tottenham Hotspur
10:00 ET Sunday
Fulham v Notts County
10:45 ET Sunday
Crystal Palace v (20) Aston Villa
Scottish Premier League
7:30 ET Saturday
Aberdeen v Celtic
8:30 ET Sunday
Rangers v Hibernian
Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
Sporting Gijon v (11) Valencia
14:00 ET Saturday
Xerex v (3) Real Madrid
16:00 ET Saturday
Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao
11:00 ET Sunday
Espanyol v Deportivo La Coruna
13:00 ET Sunday
Sevilla FC v Osasuna
15:00 ET Sunday
Atletico Madrid v (1) Barcelona
15:00 ET Monday
Tenerife v (22) Mallorca
Italy’s Serie A
14:45 ET Friday
(6) AC Milan v Udinese
12:00 ET Saturday
(13) AS Roma v Palermo
14:45 ET Saturday
Sampdoria v Fiorentina
9:00 ET Sunday
Juventus v Genoa
Parma v Lazio
14:45 ET Sunday
(23) Napoli v (5) Inter Milan
German Bundesliga
9:30 ET Saturday
(10) Bayer Leverkusen v Wolfsburg
Hannover 96 v Werder Bremen
Stuttgart v Hamburg SV
12:30 ET Saturday
(7) Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund
9:30 ET Sunday
(19) Schalke 04 v FC Cologne
France’s Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
AS Monaco v Marseille
Lille v Boulogne
(24) Montpellier v Grenoble
15:00 ET Saturday
Lyon v Lens
15:00 ET Sunday
(9) Bordeaux v St. Etienne
Dutch Eredivisie
12:45 ET Saturday
Vitesse Arnhem v (18) Twente Enschede
13:45 ET Saturday
Heerenveen v (17) Ajax Amsterdam
14:45 ET Saturday
AZ Alkmaar v Roda JC Kerkrade
8:30 ET Sunday
SC Heracles Almelo v (16) PSV Eindhoven
Portuguese Liga15:15 ET Friday
Pacos de Ferreira v Sporting Lisbon
12:00 ET Saturday
(21) Benfica v Beleneses
16:15 ET Saturday
Leixoes v FC Porto
13:00 ET Sunday
Braga v Maritimo
Turkish Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
Gaziantepspor v Besiktas
12:00 ET Sunday
Manisaspor v Fenerbahce
Greek Super League
9:45 ET Sunday
Panathinaikos v Kavala
12:00 ET Sunday
Asteras Tripoli v Olympiakos
Belgian Jupiler League
12:00 ET Saturday
Royal Charleroi SC v Anderlecht
12:00 ET Sunday
Standard Liege v KVC Westerlo
14:30 ET Sunday
KAA Gent v Club Brugge
Austrian Bundesliga
12:00 ET Saturday
Austria Vienna v Kapfenberg SV
SV Josko Ried v SV Salzburg
9:30 ET Sunday
FC Karnten v SK Sturm Graz
Swiss Super League
11:45 ET Saturday
Young Boys v Lucerne
10:00 ET Sunday
FC Sion Sitten v FC Zurich
Neuchatel Xamax v FC Basel
Monday, February 8, 2010
Super Bowl Observations
With the Super Bowl yesterday, we of course have been bombarded with Super Bowl reaction from sports outlets around the country. There are a few things that have been said today that I want to take a little look into.
Peyton Manning's legacy was at stake last night. Now if this was Brett Favre I could see why people keep talking about it, but this is Peyton Manning, the guy isn't debating whether or not he is retiring. This game has no impact on his legacy unless he never gets back to the Super Bowl again. Yes he's 9-9 in the playoffs, but guess what, he'll likely be back there again next year and will likely improve that record next year in the process. To debate a man's legacy when he still in the process of playing is a little ridiculous. Yes the man lost the Super Bowl, but to compare him to Greg Maddux and the Braves at this point is ridiculous.
The Saints winning the Super Bowl is great for the city of New Orleans. Yes, when a sports team wins a championship the city goes bonkers and celebrates their accomplishment for a while. And yes, New Orleans will likely party a little harder than most cities do when their team wins a championship. But to say that a Super Bowl will help rebuild a city devastated from a hurricane is ludicrous. Sports is great because it allows us as fans to escape reality for three hours or however long a contest lasts, but the truth is, people have to return to reality and sports can't fix a destroyed city.
Sean Payton has incredibly large cajones. Everyone is talking about Payton's guts for deciding on the onside kick to start the second half of the game. I still am in disbelief at the decision, but am believing that it was the absolute right call. Peyton Manning is going to probably score no matter where he starts with the ball, so why not risk it and if you don't get it then the Colts have a short field and won't take as much of time off the clock as they would if they were starting at their 30 yard line. I kept watching the game last night thinking, man I wish the Bears had a coach like Sean Payton, his intensity, smarts, and cajones are something every coach should have.
You might have seen my top 3 commercials from last night but I want to give another shout out to the ETrade babies commercial. The Milkaholic was genius, but was I the only one thinking that if they used a black baby instead, we would have seen a lot of jokes and references to Tiger Woods? Think about it.
Now football is officially over (though we won't know it by watching ESPN where they're about ready to start Brett Favre watch 2010) baseball will start to heat up, only 12 days until Spring Training starts for my White Sox and it's one of the best days of the year in my life.
Peyton Manning's legacy was at stake last night. Now if this was Brett Favre I could see why people keep talking about it, but this is Peyton Manning, the guy isn't debating whether or not he is retiring. This game has no impact on his legacy unless he never gets back to the Super Bowl again. Yes he's 9-9 in the playoffs, but guess what, he'll likely be back there again next year and will likely improve that record next year in the process. To debate a man's legacy when he still in the process of playing is a little ridiculous. Yes the man lost the Super Bowl, but to compare him to Greg Maddux and the Braves at this point is ridiculous.
The Saints winning the Super Bowl is great for the city of New Orleans. Yes, when a sports team wins a championship the city goes bonkers and celebrates their accomplishment for a while. And yes, New Orleans will likely party a little harder than most cities do when their team wins a championship. But to say that a Super Bowl will help rebuild a city devastated from a hurricane is ludicrous. Sports is great because it allows us as fans to escape reality for three hours or however long a contest lasts, but the truth is, people have to return to reality and sports can't fix a destroyed city.
Sean Payton has incredibly large cajones. Everyone is talking about Payton's guts for deciding on the onside kick to start the second half of the game. I still am in disbelief at the decision, but am believing that it was the absolute right call. Peyton Manning is going to probably score no matter where he starts with the ball, so why not risk it and if you don't get it then the Colts have a short field and won't take as much of time off the clock as they would if they were starting at their 30 yard line. I kept watching the game last night thinking, man I wish the Bears had a coach like Sean Payton, his intensity, smarts, and cajones are something every coach should have.
You might have seen my top 3 commercials from last night but I want to give another shout out to the ETrade babies commercial. The Milkaholic was genius, but was I the only one thinking that if they used a black baby instead, we would have seen a lot of jokes and references to Tiger Woods? Think about it.
Now football is officially over (though we won't know it by watching ESPN where they're about ready to start Brett Favre watch 2010) baseball will start to heat up, only 12 days until Spring Training starts for my White Sox and it's one of the best days of the year in my life.
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