we are going down

Fulham once again showed why they hate America this weekend, with a thrilling late goal followed by the concession of a thrilling late goal - a 2-2 tie with Derby that doesn't them barely any good. Each week I hold on to a slim bit of hope that they'll not be relegated, but it's time to LET IT GO.

With that in mind I've paid close attention to this weeks opening MLS action.

RSL looked positive in their match against the Chicago Fire, with stretches of strong possession and quite a bit of spark from forwards who's names I've yet to learn. A late goal seemed to sure up the win but then Blanco got a little too much space and equalized even later. That's the kind of crap result I expect out of my teams. 1-1.

Afterwards over in Denver, my young teenage hero Ruud Gullit learned that his team is complete shit when the Rapids spanked a lackluster LA Galaxy. The most striking thing about this match is how easily LA's defenders quit on plays. Perhaps it's because I'm used to the premiership, but I always thought that when you got burnt on a play you'd work your ass off to get back into the play. Not so if your name is Chris Klein of Abel Xavier, I guess. I would have mentioned the other defenders but they probably don't belong in MLS. Late in the match Beckham ended playing what positionally looked like defensive mid, except Beckham doesn't really play defense. He does dive in pretty well, which is good for those ankles he likes to injure. Hits a pretty nice long ball, though.

I didn't watch too much of Houston/New England, because by the time I turned the channel there it was already 2-0. What struck me upon first viewing of this game is that the quality of both squads seemed to be pretty evident - I suppose those early season tournament matches are good for from. New England looked especially tough - Chicago is probably lucky they got the late point in Salt Lake because I think NE will probably beat them Thursday.

Caught the end of the Columbus/Toronto match, but I didn't really pay any attention. And I missed KC/DC completely. I'll need to pay more attention to scheduling.

Anyway, I'm going to stick with rooting for RSL this year... and probably until St. Louis gets a team. Seems to make the most sense to me.

Unrelated Title

Last night in honor of Gina and my* 45th anniversary or whatever (and Jim's new daughter) I sat down and watched RSL play DC United.

I haven't followed RSL all that much lately - my DirectKick MLS TV package was actually turned off for a few weeks and I didn't realize - but I do know that they've continued making changes after the Beckerman/Ballouchy deal (the deal that pushed me over the ledge).

For example, I know they recently had a bunch of Argentinian guys come in on trial, and that they ended up signing all of them. So I turn on the game last night, and I don't recognize like half the team.

Half the team, really.

Anyway, it was a wide open attacking game, with RSL showing a spark that they never had before. Interesting. They lost anyway. But at least there was a spark.

If you catch the right MLS game, they really are every bit as entertaining as a lot of Premiership matches. Like say Pompy vs. Wigan or something.

*Whats the correct grammar here?

RSL trades Mehdi Ballouchy

Well, RSL have traded away the reason I ever liked them in the first place... depending on who you ask, Mehdi Ballouchy was either good, but more likely horrible... but he was my guy. And so.

As an added insult, RSL traded him for Kyle Beckerman, who is a white guy with dreadlocks. I don't care how good you are...

I dunno. I'll worry about who I'm gonna root for next year. Probably Columbus. Something about those horrible uniforms...

MLS ACTION: IT'S.... Ok if you know what to watch for.

Gina and I just got back from a trip up to Chicago for a MLS game between your RSL Tiemasters versus The Chicago Smolder.

Despite the zero zero score, I had a good time. Toyota Park, Chicago's purpose built MLS stadium, is a fantastic facility - a facility that doesn't sell Fire merchandise, somehow, but a fantastic facility nonetheless.

It's true - I walked around the entire building looking to buy something to commemorate my trip up for the game, and found not one merch booth. I'm not sure why... maybe they're waiting until the team starts winning again. I don't know.

While we were up in Chicago we took the opportunity to drive around downtown with the top down on the mx-5. All you really need for a good time is a big city and a convertible.

Tomorrow the HBG's are meeting with a staffer from InTake (one of Indy's entertainment papers, kinda like St. Louis' Get Out in that it's put together by the big local paper, the Indy Star...) to discuss summer beers. I think. Should be fun.

I cut my hair. What else...

Mowed my lawn. Saw some frogs in the yard.

The Color Purple is on Oprah's channel right now. I feel like Danny Glover.

Re-evaulating RSL (and a sprawling gigantic mess of everything else)

Ok, so I'm probably not jumping ship yet...

Maybe the Eskandarian/Cunningham trade is going to be good for the team. At least they're attempting to do something, which is probably better than watching the same team trot out and lose every week.

So.

Yup.

* * * * *

Now this:

May Rides 17 Distance (miles) 527.48 Average Speed (mph) 16.00 Calories Burned 24,290

The local bike club (to which I don't belong), CIBA, has a 500 miles in May goal to coincide with the race... Well I'm gonna kill that goal. I'm not happy with my average speed.. that could use some improvement.

How many miles have you ridden?

To lose a pound, you need to burn 3500 calories than you consume... which means that theoretically, I should be down 6.94 pounds... though I don't always track calories when I ride. I'm actually pretty close to that on the weight loss. Hmm.

Hoping to hit 170 or less this summer. We'll see how it goes. When it gets cold again I'm hiring a trainer. That should be exciting. Or deadly. I'm still carrying a really high body fat percentage. Like 23% or something.

YAY! BEER TONIGHT!

* * * * *

Went to IU Dental School for my initial checkup diagnosis thing, looks like it's gonna be quite a bit easier on my budget than my original $8000 estimate. So good. I can spend more money on bike stuff.

*

Just received Old Joy on dvd. It's a movie I'd like to share with my camping/hiking friends, but I fear they'll just say it's boring. Anyway.

*

New Queens of the Stone Age leaked. Sounds pretty good at low work-level volume. They're playing a show in Indy... two tickets would be like $90. But QOTSA have released nothing but great albums, in my opinion, so maybe it's worth the money. I dunno. Kickin' it around. I dig em.

*

Anybody read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle? That just showed up too.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!

Sunday is perhaps the most important day in the short history of Real Salt Lake. "Why?" you might ask...

Well, because Sunday Gina and I are driving up to Chicago for this year's Fire/RSL match. RSL is currently in dead last place...

WAIT WHAT THE FUCK.

So I go over to RSL's website to confirm their record (0 wins, 3 losses, 4 ties) and find out that they've traded Jeff Cunningham. The Jeff Cunningham who was the sole reason the team scored any goals last year. Steve's guy, Jeff Cunningham.

You know what? This fucking team....

If they don't win in Chicago I'm looking for someone else to root for. I know that's like a high crime for a sports fan... but seriously? They're horrible. And they just traded away the only guy who's interested in scoring. For a guy that wears headgear.

Goddamn it. Jeff Cunningham was not the problem.

the weekend

Friday, Gina and I went to Brugge for dinner - I can't say enough about Ted's beers... the guy just gets it completely right every time. I haven't had anything ever remotely questionable out of a Brugge tap. Everything is just dead on.

Saturday I decided to Tivo the Fulham match and get a bike ride in. My friend and I did 56 miles north of Eagle Creek Park. It was alright.

Then I got home and watched Fulham - expecting a loss, because that's just the way things have gone lately. Liverpool played a bunch of guys I've never seen before... Clint Dempsey didn't start (a mistake, I thought), and the game dragged on and on in the Fulhamish tie/loss sort of way. Then this:



I jumped off the couch, screaming, accidentally kicking a plate of General Tsao's chicken off the living room table and all over the carpet. Gina was nice enough to clean it up for me.

What a way to start your EPL goalscoring, though - A game winner that keeps Fulham from being relegated.

Gina and I then got in the convertible and headed out to get lost, which we did for a while, but eventually we ended up somewhere south of Bloomington, where we ate at a random roadside restaurant. It was good, I had the salsa/talapia.

I did not watch RSL, because it was on a channel I don't get. Even though I'm paying for the DirectKick package. They tied 3-3. A surprise.

Sunday Gina and I rode 43 miles - She didn't seem to like it.

I now have a really wonderful sunburn.

Yuck.

So the reason I became a Real Salt Lake fan (aside from the play of Mehdi Ballouchy) has left RSL... Steve Pastorino has resigned. Although the results as of late have been pretty much horrible, I can't say I ever expected this.

Steve's a quality guy, and I'm sure he'll land on his feet somewhere better. But I feel for him today. Good luck, Steve.

RSL Loses

Instead of ranting about the game, a 2-0 loss, I'm going to complain about other things I see in soccer games and broadcasts that drive me nuts.

1) "The Mixer" - I've been alive 31 years, and in 29 of those years I've never heard the 18 yard box called "the mixer". Last summer Dave O'Brien, a clueless (though well intentioned) hack announcer gets the World Cup gig, starts calling the 18 yard box "the mixer" (because I'm sure he has no idea that it's 18 yards), and now EVERYONE is calling the 18 yard box "the mixer". IT'S THE 18 YARD BOX.

GO FUCK YOURSELF IN THE MIXER.

2) If you've got a free kick, and can put the ball into the 18 YARD BOX, why are you making an extra pass to get it there? Same thing with corner kicks... the short corner kick is a fucking waste. DON'T THROW AWAY OPPORTUNITIES.

3) If you play cautious formations, like the 4-5-1, and you don't have Thierry Henry sitting up top, you're going to end up losing. Because 1 striker never scores when he's playing four fullbacks. Unless he gets lucky.

4) If you're up by a goal with 30 minutes left in the game, and you sit everyone back and play in a shell, you're going to end up in a tie or loss. IT ALWAYS HAPPENS. No one wins by playing half-assed.

OH FUCK IT.

RSL has the undefeated NY Red Bulls next, and at some point you just have to say "well this isn't fucking working". 4-5-1? Sure the midfield is having fun. Freddy Adu can run by guys all day. Mehdi Ballouchy is all over the place, but isn't going to work as the up midfielder, because he won't shoot, or can't create his own shots. I know the defense was a mess last year, but they were a lot better in the second half of the year... the team was the best team in the second half. So why not build on that? Why change it up? Why are they playing a 4-5-1?

I just think they're too loyal to their guys. Sure, Jason Kreis has a million goals, but that was 5 years ago. Carey Talley is a nice guy, but someone's gotta sit. It's time to do something different. It ain't working.

This RSL team reminds me every team I ever played on... things not going your way? Foul and bitch at the referee. I don't like it when I'm playing, and I don't like watching it on tv.

oh yeah, that.

You might be wondering how RSL's season has started this year... RSL currently are 0-1-2, and sitting in last place. They've become the team I'm most attached to, which makes things all that much more worse. I actually just paid $5 to watch crappy online video of the game against Chivas USA - and then the feed didn't work for the first 20 minutes of the game. When it finally did work, the score was already 2-0.

There's nothing worse than feeling like an idiot for sitting at home watching soccer online on a Saturday night - unless the soccer you paid to see doesn't work. Then you just cuss at the computer.

I called for a refund but they basically told me to get a life.

As for Fulham, no game on tv this week, which didn't matter because I'm in Illinois for the funerals. And Fulham tied, which means they've got to beat Arsenal or Liverpool in the coming weeks, or there's a REALLY good chance they're getting relegated.

Looking for a Premiership team to root for next year...

Trying to figure out what I've gotten myself into with RSL...

Crap weekend.

HE IS RISEN!

Who's risen? Jeff Cunningham. And RSL.

The MLS season started Saturday, and RSL battled to... a 2-2 tie. They played really well though, and probably deserved better. Shaky goaltending once again could be pointed to as a culprit.

Jeff Cunningham, who started last year cold before getting really hot and winning the golden boot for most goals scored, scored twice for RSL, and kissed a picture of himself. He was also sporting a fantastic new hairstyle.

All in all, an ok start for RSL. It wasn't a loss. And I expect a win next week.

Go Go Gone

Rumor has is that RSL goaltender and international sex symbol Scott Garlick will be retiring from the team to pursue an outside business opportunity. I'd imagine it's probably something like filling the long empty roll of Jim Palmer in modeling jockey underwear.

This leaves RSL with draftpick Chris Seitz at number one in the nets, which is definitely not the plan. Not a knock on Seitz, but he's pretty green.

Suddenly I feel like I'm rooting for Columbus.

So it's Real SALT LAKE after all...

And so after months of debate and the very real threat of the team moving to St. Louis, RSL have a stadium deal. Congrats to Steve Pastorino and the rest of the fine folks at RSL - I'll be visiting in 2008.

While this would appear to be a bad thing for St. Louis, according to reports the process has actually advanced St. Louis' prospects for a team. They're talking about a team in 2008, which would be pretty amazing.

* * * * *

If you read my previous post, then you know I've considered breaking the soccer out of my blog. Today I'm not so hot on that idea. It's still up in the air.

The other blog does look nice, though.

The other thought I had was to just quit blogging.

BY THE POWER OF LANDON

This seems like a pretty good idea. (link) You might be thinking "hey, didn't someone do that already?" - and the answer is yes. But they didn't have the free time I do. And I bet they don't think that playing with layouts for hours and hours is a good way to pass time. And I bet they wear pants.

This isn't the official announcement - but there's a good chance that one is coming. In addition to a nice resource for local soccer info (which is really hard to find, actually), I hope to have a guest column here and there - perhaps a preseason write up on the prospects for your favorite MLS team, or stories about how you came to love the game, favorite players, or stories about how you came to love the Adidas Tango soccer ball (it's the only ball I'll buy, and I have no idea why).

And I might move the Fulham and RSL stuff there too.

Stay tuned.

nobody home

No one has left any comments about the US/Mexico game, so I'm just going to assume you've all decided to become Mexico fans.

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Dear Indianapolis area Chicago Fire / Columbus Crew fans:

Prepare to have your teams destroyed by the multifaceted Cerberus-like attack of Real Salt Lake on the dates of Sunday, May 27th @ 3PM and Saturday, July 7th and 5:30PM. I am currently planning to make road trips to both games, so if you're interested in making the voyage in the company of a fan of the greatest football club to ever grace the planet*, leave a comment. It's never too early to start planning.

The MLS schedule is out, for those interested. Man is Kyle Beckerman ugly.

* * * * *

*not necessarily even close to true

anyone caught leaving a comment will be shot

While I'm sure most folks who read this blog are excited about the big game Sunday, I find that I'm actually a little more excited about Saturday's big game, when Fulham, featuring Americans Brian McBride, Clint Dempsey, and Carlos Bocanegra, take on Newcastle, featuring new signing Oguchi Onyewu. Hopefully Gooch gets some minutes in.

Wednesday the national team takes on Mexico at 9PM Eastern (I think)... for those Indianapolis locals reading - where's the party at? Anyone know the guy at Radio Radio well enough to suggest a viewing? It appears that their calendar is open for Wednesday... either way, it would be good to get some folks together to watch the game in a proper environment. If you're up for it, leave a comment. I was just kidding about the shooting.

* * * * *

Oh, and in other news, it's either Sandy, Utah or Collinsville, Illinois (a sort of suburb of St. Louis) for Real Salt Lake. I'm leaning towards Sandy - and the same team ownership - instead of St. Louis.

As much as I'd love St. Louis to have a team (and MY team would be even better) - it doesn't seem right to take someone else's. When St. Louis gets an MLS team, I'll be first in line to buy season tickets - because MLS season tickets are pretty much dirt cheap, and I can always let someone else I know use them when I can't. My concern about the St. Louis ownership group buying the team from Dave Checketts lies in what direction the new ownership would go with the GM - I've got a pretty good friend in Utah.

And when Indianapolis get its own MLS team, I'll still be rooting for RSL. But I don't think I'll have to worry about that for a long long time.