Current Thoughts

I started tweeting way too many thoughts and figured it best to just write a short blog post instead.

Mark Hughes getting fired:

I'm not sure he exactly deserved it, but i see this as a profile switch. Basically, Mancini is a higher profile coach and could likely attract bigger talent than Mark Hughes could (it still is Man City, and it is a Man City that has yet to have a high profile season). Mancini is good, but people will argue that 2 out of the 3 Scudetti that he won in Italy with Inter Milan weren't really true (1 was awarded after it was stripped from Juventus, the other was after Inter's main rivals suffered point deductions due to match fixing).

I'd like to see Real Madrid sign another defender. They keep getting dinged up and haven't exactly been convincing on the defensive side of the ball.

I'm not a huge fan of the Landon Donovan move to Everton. Yes, I think it is good experience, yes it may help him develop as a player, bla bla, I get all of that. But, I don't like it for a couple of reasons. First: Everton are sitting in 15th in the midst of a relegation battle. It is a far from ideal situation to put Donovan on a mediocre team. He may struggle since the team as a whole has struggled. Second: He's basically going to have to play football for 365 days. While experience is good and he will be "in form" he may also be completely exhausted by the time the World Cup rolls around, I'd rather have a fresh Landon Donovan than one who scored a few goals and helped Everton avoid relegation.

Thats all for now.

College Football Picks Week 10

It is the time of the year where I start getting bitter about college football. I think that will translate into this blog:

Vanderbilt @ #1 Florida: With Spikes suspended and not able to gouge peoples eyes out, this may be a tougher game for Florida. Just kidding, Florida will find some other way to cheat, get help from the officials, or play dirty. Florida wins big.

#9 LSU @ #3 Alabama: Home game for Alabama, they keep finding a way to do it. LSU doesn't commit many turnovers, so this could be a tough one for Alabama. I'll take LSU in a close upset.

#21 Wisconsin @ Indiana: Indiana is an impossible team to explain, other than the fact that they always lose. Wisconsin wins based off of another terrible officiating call or three.

Navy @ #22 Notre Dame: This game features teams with two completely different styles. Navy has had games recently where they don't even attempt a pass. Then there is Notre Dame which is one of the best passing teams in the country. I'll take Notre Dame....its Navy, come on.

Florida State @ Clemson: FSU's defense is terrible. If FSU loses this game, they are going to have a really really hard time getting bowl eligible. I think Clemson wins at home in Death Valley.

#16 Ohio State @ #11 Penn State: This is the game of the week in the big ten. Night game, white out. I like Penn State. Lets also not forget that Purdue beat OSU this year...so that scares me off of OSU.

Kansas @ Kansas State: The battle of Kansas. Both teams have a chance to get bowl eligible. I like Kansas State. This is Bill Snyder's second time coaching Kansas State, and he's the guy that put them on the map the first time. Kansas has struggled lately and their early weak schedule is shining through now.

Duke @ North Carolina: This game reminds me a lot of when IU and Kentucky play in football. UNC is like Kentucky in the football matchup, almost always better than IU and Duke. But, shockingly, Duke is one win away from bowl eligibility this year as is North Carolina. I hate both of these schools in terms of basketball and I don't really care or know anything about them in football. But, I believe in Butch Davis, as he was the guy that built the team at Miami that Larry Coker took to the BCS championship in 2001. UNC wins.

kind-of a weak sauce week in College Football

Quick Weekend-wrap up and CL preview

Quick story lines from the weekend:

1. Barca drop two points at Osasuna and remain 1 point ahead of Real Madrid.
2. Real win at home to Getafe and end a terrible week on a good note.
3. Liverpool lose again and are 9 points off the pace set by league leading Chelsea. I think we can start the Rafa Benitez hot seat countdown. As good as he is and as much as he has done as manager for Liverpool, this team just isn't responding
4. After Juventus thrashed Sampdoria midweek, even though Juve lost at the weekend, they have moved into 2nd place in Serie A, seven points behind Jose Mourinho's Internazionale.
5. In France, Lyon continue to creep up the table and now are only 2 points back of last year's champion, Bordeaux.

Champions league

The big Tuesday games are Real Madrid at AC Milan, and Bordeaux at Bayern Munich. AC Milan surprised Los Blancos in Spain a couple of weeks ago, and it will be interesting to see if Real Madrid can bounce back for what should be a tough game on the road. Bayern currently sit third in their group and could really use a win to bounce towards the top of their group and closer to advancing to the next round.

In the not surprising news of the week, AC Milan have announced that David Beckham will return to the San Siro in the January transfer window. Beckham hopes the move will increase his chances of making the England World Cup roster.

College Football Picks Week 8

I had a dismal record last week, 1-7 or 1-8, either way, it was ugly.

Indiana @ Northwestern: This is a match-up of two 4-3 teams desperate for a win to try to inch closer to bowl eligibility. I said I wouldn't pick IU again the rest of the year and I still won't. I have a feeling its 'lay an egg' time for IU and play like they did against Virginia (40 point loss). I have no faith in this team; mostly because they still make comments as if they were/are a great team.

#1 Florida @ Mississippi State: Still not picking against Florida until either the SEC championship or BCS bowl game. I don't think they deserve the number 1 ranking though. You can see they miss the speed of guys like Mercy Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy.

Tennessee @ #2 Alabama: Tennessee has some toughness, but I can't imagine Nick Saban letting his guys lose this one.

#3 Texas @ Missouri: This is a night game at Missouri. Missouri gave a tough Nebraska team a great game until the 4th quarter. Common sense tells you that Texas is too talented to lose this game.

#6 Iowa @ Michigan State: Ok, I'll start buying into the Hawkeyes. Read a good email to SI's college football sports writer. If it were U of M, OSU, or PSU that were undefeated...wouldn't they be getting a lot more respect? Answer, yes. Is that fair, no. But it is what it is. I'll take Iowa and drink the Kool-Aid.

#13 Penn State @ Michigan: I hate Tate Forcier. But, I'll pick my first upset this week. When Michigan's offense is clicking, it is really damn good.

Minnesota @ #19 Ohio State: As unfair as it is, this is the make or break game for Pryor. If he stinks up the joint and barely wins or worse-case scenario, loses, it may get ugly at OSU. Problem is, OSU doesn't really have a person to throw in the game to take over for Pryor. Unlike UF or USC, they do not have an embarrassment of riches at QB. I'll take OSU in a must win for the sanity of Buckeye Nation.

Florida State @ UNC: Homer pick alert! FSU coming off a bye week, maybe they figure something out.

Illinois @ Purdue: I think the wheels have officially come off the wagon for Illinois after they weren't really even competitive against IU. Purdue is going to be all sorts of jacked-up after the OSU win, and thus, this is your typical "let down game." But, man, Illinois is bad.

Boston College @ Notre Dame: This BC team has had ND's number lately. I enjoy the chaos of the Weis hot-seat discussion. So maybe my dislike of ND is showing through since I know nothing about BC and I'm picking BC. Still owe BC for FSU's 1993 National Championship.

Oklahoma @ #25 Kansas: To me, this is the most intriguing game of the week. Oklahoma isn't as bad as their 3-3 record indicates and Kansas (5-1) may be pretty good. Kansas' loss last week was to a hungry Colorado team who finally benched the coaches son, the QB. Lets not forget Todd Reesing's Heisman run and Orange bowl appearance, a very talented QB. But, I'll take Landry Jones and my Grandpa's Oklahoma Sooners.

Thoughts??

Quick Champions League thoughts

I'll start with the champions league. A few big notes:

1. Liverpool loses 2-1 at home to Lyon. Granted Lyon don't suck and I think they'll end up winning the French League, you still have to protect your home turf if you claim to be a European giant. Maybe things are getting stale at Liverpool finally. Benitez has been there since 2005 I believe, and it may be about time to switch it up. Liverpool are 0-2 in their last two and have scored zero goals in those matches. Sometimes managers get stale and just lose the motivation of the players. That probably isn't the case here, but if Liverpool fails to win anything this year, I won't be surprised if Rafa is gone...and then maybe he can go to Real Madrid where he belongs.
2. Pretty shocking result at the Camp Nou. Barca losing 2-1 at home to defending Russian Champions Rubin Kazan. Barca have a wealth of talent, just very surprised that they lose at home to an inferior team (talent and payroll wise) in the Champions League. I wouldn't sound the alarm bells though. This team is still ridiculously good.
   
3. The match for today is Real Madrid hosting AC Milan. They have a combined 15 or 16 European Cups between them. AC have lost their best player in Kaka to Real Madrid. I think it will come down to how many Real score versus if this will actually be a game.
   

College Football Picks Week 7

Picks Again, with limited analysis:

Last week I went 8-2, granted many of those were easy to pick, I realize that. My picks focus on big games or are on Big Ten Region, State of Florida oriented.

#8 Cinncinatti @ #21 South Florida: When faced between picking Florida speed versus midwestern muscle (stereotypes) I always pick speed. South Florida at home on Thursday...too much going against Cincy here.

Arkansas @ #1 Florida: Get serious, until Florida doesn't have all returning players on defense from last year's national championship team I can't begin to think about picking against them until the SEC Title game or a bowl game.

#20 Oklahoma v. #3 Texas in Dallas: Oklahoma has nothing left to play for in terms of a National Title, but could still make a BCS game and could spoil Texas' season. Its time for Big Game Bob to live up to his nickname. I'll take Bob Stoops and the Sooners to spoil Texas' season.

#4 Virginia Tech @ #19 Georgia Tech: Virginia Tech has the speed on defense to stop GTech's option attack.

#6 USC @ #25 Notre Dame: I don't think either one of these teams is very good. USC seems to be massively overrated. I'll take great offense beating good defense. I hate to say it, but Notre Dame wins a "big one"

#7 Ohio State @ Purdue: Purdue is garbage. OSU big.

#11 Iowa @ Wisconsin: Iowa seems ripe for a let-down. Camp Randell Stadium will be the place, the Badgers in a redeeming effort after their OSU loss.

Illinois @ Indiana: I won't pick Indiana the rest of the year unless something drastic changes. IU is the most dillusional team, the players constantly drop quotes about being a good team. It is disturbing how out of touch with reality they are. I'm sick of it. Losing by 40 at Virginia was inexcusable. Illinois has just about as bad of a coach as we do, but they have better athletes. Illinois wins.

College Football Picks

Here are my picks this week with limited analysis:

I picked Nebraska last night, which seemed like a horrible idea until the 4th quarter

#3 Alabama @ #21 Mississippi: Tough call, afternoon game; unless Houston Nutt's team has done something remarkable since the meltdown at South Carolina, I'm taking 'Bama

Wisconsin @ #9 Ohio State: I have no idea how good Wisconsin is, I couldn't tell you one thing about their team. So, I'll take OSU

Michigan @ #12 Iowa: I hate Tate Forcier. Iowa wins.

#22 Georgia Tech @ Florida State: Obviously I am a homer, FSU should have won in Atlanta last year...they will rally around Bobby Bowden and win this one

Purdue @ Minnesota: Eric Decker and Minnesota rout a terrible Purdue team...the only thing that is making IU's season any better.

Indiana @ Virginia: If Indiana has any prayer of becoming bowl eligible this season, this is a MUST WIN game. Therefore, I'll pick against any shred of logic and choose IU to win a game in a clutch situation.

Connecticut @ Pitt: In a game matching teams with a combined 7-2 record...both of these teams could be bowling this year. I'll take Pitt at home.

Michigan State @ Illinois: Coming off of a big win against in-state rival Michigan this should be a let down game for MSU. But Illinois is bad and Juice Williams from my understanding has been benched. Only one way to go on this, Michigan State on the road.

Game of the Week:
#1 Florida @ #4 LSU: LSU is overrated. There are only 2 things in their favor in this game and maybe only 1; the game is at night and the Tigers are shockingly better playing at home at night than during the day, look it up. The other is Tebow. This game is so hard to pick not knowing his status. Even if Tebow doesn't play, I have a hard time picking against a team that has a defense that returns every starter from last year's National Championship team. So, I'll pick Florida in a hopefully defensive, loud, crazy ass game.

Joke that I stole from another article:

Notre Dame @ Bye Week: Notre Dame wins a thrilling, last-second, high-scoring game against the bye week.

the Bar Weekend

On a weekend where I went down to Bloomington, Indiana to celebrate my bar victory, there were some pretty interesting results in Europe.

First, Liverpool drop 0-2 at Chelsea. Drogba is just a beast. When he feels like playing and really gets into the game, he can boss anybody around. The win coupled with Manchester United's draw puts Chelsea back on top of the Premier League. Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson found a new way to shoot his mouth of after the 2-2 draw at home with Sunderland. He accused the ref of being out of shape and unable to keep up with the game. Ferguson is often criticized by other mangers like Wenger, Mourinho, and Benitez for shooting his mouth off and not ever feeling the consequences like other mangers would. This time, it seems the FA is more serious about giving Sir Alex some sore of touchline ban. If they don't, don't be surprised at a pretty big backlash from some of the other teams and managers.

The thing I take away from the Prem this weekend is how good Fabregas is and wondering if Arsenal have any way of holding on to him at the end of the season. Arsenal are scoring an unbelievable amount of goals this year and Fabregas just really seems like the straw that stirs the drink on that team. If he goes to Barcelona next year, the scariest team in the world would get a whole helluva lot scarier.

Oh Spain. The big game of the weekend was Real Madrid at Sevilla. C. Ronaldo was on the bench for Real with an injury and it really showed for Madrid as their attack looked much weaker. Benzema looked ineffective and was subbed off for the Argentine Gonzalo Higuain who to his credit was more involved than the Frenchman he replaced. Guti had a terrible first half and was able to somewhat redeem himself. Even after that game I still like Guti and I feel like he has a lot to offer that team after a few recent frustrating years mostly on the bench. The man of the match for Real was Iker Casillas. Iker made some absolutely incredible saves and appears to be head and shoulders the best keeper in the world right now. Real could have easily lost this game 4-1 or 5-1. Sergio Ramos had his hands full all night with Sevilla. Navas and Perotti kept destroying Real on the wings. As far as Real have come, they still are not there yet...and Sevilla made a big statement that they are a team to look out for and spoil the 2 horse race between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Inter go tops in Italy after Juventus laid an egg at Palermo and surprising Antonio Cassano and Sampdoria fell to 2nd on goal difference after a draw with Parma.

Adebayor et al

Aside from his horrific incident with van Persie, basically, Adebayor was charged with inciting the fans. I think this is absolutely ridiculous. I fully understand fan violence and its history in Europe. That being said, the English game has come a long way. A line in the sand has to be drawn at some point. When do we hold fans accountable?

If you decide to throw things onto the field or cause a massive disturbance in an American stadium you get banned for the season or even banned for life. At some point, fans need to have thicker skin.

Adebayor, sure he taunted you. You know what?? How about have your team go out and win the game...and then his celebration is pointless. Just because he played for you and moved on doesn't mean it gives you the right as a fan to just completely go nuts and then blame the player for your actions. I understand the whole concept of don't celebrate against your former team. But SUCK IT UP, the game is money driven now...and fans need to be held accountable instead of simply blaming Adebayor for wanting to rub some salt in Arsenal's wounds. Next time Arsenal fans, cheer your team onto victory instead of claiming Adebayor incited you to violence.

Saturday's results

I stayed up until about three a.m. watching 3 games on DVR. Manchester United/Arsenal, then Internazionale / A.C., and finally the Real Madrid experiment against Deportivo La Coruna.

Manchester/Arsenal gets the award for most exciting. Arsenal really self destructed. The Gunners had outplayed Manchester United throughout the entire game until Almunia the keeper took out Rooney in the Penalty area. I appreciate how Rooney took the penalty, no eye contact, had made his mind up and perfectly executed it...no stutter steps. Arsenal's self destruction was complete after van Persie's free kick hit the crossbar. Shortly after, Abou Diaby scored a beautiful header for Arsenal...except it was an own goal... So Manchester United took a 2-1 lead without really doing anything positive, it was Arsenal completely gift wrapping the game for them.

I couldn't have been more wrong about Inter/AC in my prediction. A.C. Milan looked like they did not belong on the field, it was so completely one-sided you almost wished that Jose Mourinho call of the dogs and be merciful. Maicon, the Brazilian continues to amaze me and remain a really really underrated player. Inter's new additions looked really impressive and Sneijder (coming over from Real Madrid in the midweek) looked like he should have looked for Madrid; creative player, great ball striker. Inter won 4-0.

The Real Madrid experiment was a bit too close for comfort winning 3-2 with goals from the timeless Raul, new boy Cristiano Ronaldo with a penalty and a really great strike from Lassana Diarra. Real Madrid's defense remains suspect, but Pepe is still serving a suspension from last year. Not really sure why the big German Metzelder didn't start, Real was getting punished on crosses and his size may have helped prevent at least one of Deportivo's goals. I was probably most disappointed with Benzema, he just didn't do a whole lot. Plus, I was a fan of Gonzalo Higuain last year and it is going to be interesting to see how Real Madrid rotates all of their talent at the striker position especially when Ruud Van Nistlerooy is totally healthy again.

One last note...I see that Manchester City won again this morning...and it was Adebayor with the goal...dude is having a great start to the season.

huge day

Picks for this saturday: I'll take a 2-2 draw for Arsenal/Man U, a 1-1 draw for AC Milan and Inter Milan, and a 3-1 win for Real Madrid over Deportivo La Coruna.

Just for trump, i'd love to see Arsenal win at Manchester

I think Inter will be a much better team than AC this year, but this derby has a way of spiraling into a terrible game sometimes, so thats kind-of what i expect today, especially this early in the year.

In Germany, Wolfsburg, last year's champion takes on giants Bayern Munich.

What do you think?

Midweek

I know i didn't write anything regarding the matches this weekend, so here goes. First, Inter drawing newly promoted Bari in the first round. I think it is an understatement to say that result is a disappointment. AC Milan won a tough game against Siena. AC doesn't seem to quite have it together yet, and their defense worries me. Juventus also won.

In the Prem, Chelsea and Arsenal continue to steam on while the big shocker was Liverpool losing at home 3-1 to Aston Villa. Obviously, they are missing Alonso. It was a bit of redemption for Aston Villa too as they had lost on the opening day to Blackburn Rovers. It is too early to hit the panic button if you are Liverpool, but they are losing ground fast to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.

There was some midweek Champions League play as Olympique Lyon and Atletico Madrid have advanced. Atletico advanced at the expense of Greek giants Panathanaikos.

And Finally...some transfer drama has been resolved as Everton have agreed to a fee with Manchester City for Joleon Lescott. Maybe Everton can finally focus on football and craw out of the cellar in the Premiership.

And Finally...La Liga and the Real Madrid experiment kicks off this weekend. Strap in and hold on.

jumped the gun

I can't read a calender and in my excitement I failed to notice that La Liga and Serie A won't start this weekend.

But, if you don't like Liverpool, today was a great day for you as they lost 2-1 at Tottenham. So if you are keeping track, Liverpool is the only team of the big 4 (Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool) to not gain a maximum 3 points on the opening weekend; while new money Manchester City got the maximum points in their defeat of Blackburn. Obviously it is early, but with the amount of talent at the top, Liverpool can't afford to drop a ton of points at the early part of the season and create a huge hole they will have dig themselves out of. Also, many have picked Liverpool to win the title, mostly I think on how they performed last year, but this is a team that lost Alonso and haven't really found a healthy replacement for him.

In the Bundesliga, the top three of Wolfsburg, Schalke and Hamburg are all where they are supposed to be, while Bayern Munich dropped two points at home in a tough match against Werder Bremen.

In Ligue 1, Bordeaux and Marseille are on target with maximum points from two matches while former 7 time consecutive champions Lyon sit two points adrift.

There are some midweek matches to look forward to.

6-1? Really??

Arsenal v. Everton. I think one has to ask one's self after a 6-1 loss whether or not David Moyes was more preoccupied about the Joleon Lescott transfer saga with Manchester City versus actually preparing for Arsenal at Goodison Park. Its opening day, no team should score 6 on you if you are Everton. Arsenal are talented, but 6 goals?? Seriously? Sorry, Trump, that is ridiculous.

Tomorrow the multi-million dollar experiment that is Real Madrid kicks off, plus Manchester United and Liverpool. We have to wait another week for Italy to get started.

Big result in Ligue 1 in France as Toulouse get the win and my favorite named player Andre-Pierre Gignac scores a goal.

the results come pouring in

Not really surprised that Man City won today, more surprised by the fact that Tevez came off the bench, I wonder how he feels about, since that was one of his essential complaints about life at Manchester United.

Chelsea escaped 2-1 against Hull City but a win is a win. Also no Jozy Altidore today for Hull City, maybe all of his paper work and physical was not in order.

Aston Villa, who had a strong season last year really put up a stinker at home today losing to mid-table hopefuls Wigan Athletic 2-0

Also, curious that Ribery comes off the bench for Bayern Munich in their 1-1 draw with Werder Breman. Is he injured, does anybody know?

Currently watching Newcastle/Reading in the match of premier league has-beens

The season begins...

Tomorrow most of the big European leagues kick off. Lots of huge moves in the offseason. Kaka, C. Ronaldo, Alonso to Madrid, Inter and Barca swapping strikers...Tevez swapping Trafford for the City, and of course Manchester City and the millions they have spent in the offseason.

My prediction for the league Winners: Madrid, Chelsea, Inter, Bayern, Celtic, FC Porto, Lyon, Olympiakos

Champions League: Real Madrid

Europa League: Werder Bremen

some good games on the sched tomorrow too, werder/bayern, arsenal/everton

man, i hope espn doesn't make the premier league unwatchable