The solid victory in the Brut Sun Bowl today, over the number 25 ranked South Florida Bulls, was a very nice way for the Oregon Ducks to rid themselves of the doledrums that accompanied the three game losing streak that ended their 2007 regular season.
The Ducks exploded in the third quarter for four touchdowns, expanding on an 18-14 lead to blast the game out of reach for the Bulls, who were trying for their first 10 victory season in the 11 years of the schools football program. The Ducks themselves were trying to break a four-game bowl losing streak, not having one since the 2002 Fiesta Bowl when Joey Harrington was the quarterback.
Duck tailback Jonathan Stewart, in what may have been his last appearance in a Duck uniform, certainly gave the Oregon fans a performance to remember gaining 253 yards on 23 carries, his big run of 71 yards answering the sole South Florida touchdown nicely late in the first half.
Redshirt freshman Justin Roper continued his steady play from the Civil War with a more than respectable showing on a national stage, completing 17 of 30 passes for 180 yards and four touchdown passes to guide the Oregon offense nicely (only four punts for the game), and the opportunistic Oregon defense aided the cause by intercepting four Matt Grothe passes, returning two of them for touchdowns and setting up the offense in excellent field position on the others.
I personally expected a full-game battle much like the first half featured, and South Florida put together some good, time consuming drives that put points up on the board. Particularly striking was the drive that culminated in a touchdown on a pass from Grothe to Taurus Johnson, a play in which he escaped the clutches of Duck defender David Faaeteete to avoid a certain sack and instead wound up making a great pass to Johnson at the 2 yard line. Grothe also made a key scramble, on a 3rd and 18 play, earlier on the drive with a 22 yard run that brought to mind the abilities of injured Duck quarterback Dennis Dixon.
However, if the philosophy of the Duck defense in the first half was one of the usual "bend but don't break" style, that approach was scrapped for a more aggressive style in which they allowed only two Bull first downs, those occurring on separate drives. Oregon got their four third quarter touchdowns in a matter of about six minutes, a period in which the Bulls seemingly lost their idea of what to do on the field. How else to explain the lackadaisical way that Johnson was carrying the ball before being tackled and fumbling it, a play which set up the Ducks second touchdown of the quarter, a 15 yard pass from Roper to tight end Ed Dickson? By falling behind 32-14 at that point, and with no running game to speak of, the Bulls were forced to pass, and on the next offensive possession by the Bulls, Grothe threw a ball into double coverage, which Walter Thurmond III returned 25 yards for the score that settled the game for all practical purposes.
The bad news for the Ducks was the incredible number of dumb penalties, a Sun Bowl record 13 of 'em for 138 yards, most of which seemed to lengthen South Florida drives.
At any rate, it was a great way to end a very interesting Oregon football season, one that had the Ducks reaching for the top of the mountain; even if it did take some time to recover from the key injuries, this was still a helluva season, one I'll always remember for the good and the bad, and as I always say to the rodents in my area, if I want to feel bad about myself, I'll just start wearing orange and black. Thank you Ducks, and all of the seniors, for a memorable season! Can't wait for the 2008 to start already!
Also have to note down what Rece Davis of ESPN said at the start of the halftime show of the Oregon State/Maryland Emerald Bowl game on Friday, after a Sean Canfield pass was picked off in the end zone to snuff out an Oregon State drive late in the first half: "maybe the worst pass attempt in organized football history!". I was in a Nyquil daze at that point of the evening, what I had seen of the game up until that time wasn't helping to keep my eyes open, so I had to ask my Beaver coworkers if that was indeed what he had said; they all nodded and shook their heads at the memory. Actually, I'd change the description for that pass attempt to "college history", the memory of Miami Dolphin kicker Garo Yepremian trying to throw the ball in Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins is probably worse than that one.
ESPN SUN BOWL RECAP
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Tottenham 6 Reading 4; Berbatov Strikes For 4
Not on FSC, but it was on Setanta, so it was back to following the match via GameTracker again (not a bad way to follow today's crazy action, from what I've gathered from other quarters).
The seemingly usual Spurs approach to facing prosperity reared its ugly head again as they gave up three (!!!) goals via set pieces and shoddy goalkeeping, so it was up to Bulgarian superstar Dimitar Berbatov to strike for four (!!!!) goals to pace Spurs to the come from behind victory.
The match was tied at 1-1 at the half, which barely hinted to the breakneck pace yet to come. That would include eight goals in the last 40 minutes or so, three goals in six minutes, six goals in 17 minutes, and seven of them in 20 as both teams fell behind and then rallied to take the lead in front of the White Hart Lane crowd.
Robbie Keane missed another penalty, but Jermaine Defoe knocked the rebound in, and Steed Malbranque had a beautiful shot sail to the back of the net in the midst of the second half scoring orgy. Berbatov's goals came in the 7th, 63rd, 73rd and 83rd minutes, whilst for Reading, Dave Kitson, who was a fan of the Spurs growing up, had a brace within five minutes to lead the Royals charge for a 4-3 lead in the 74th minute, just before being answered by Malbranque, Defoe and Berbatov's goals in the latter stages of the game. At that point, watching the Gametracker was kind of maddening, it seemed that every time the page refreshed, another goal had been scored (which obviously was the case, but even as porous as Spurs backline has been at time this season, there was still no reason to think before the match that Reading would put up four on them!).
It was certainly a very hard fought victory, and Berbatov certainly looked a bit tired at the end of the match, but it was a vital three points taken against the team that was in front of them in the standings. COYS!
ESPN REPORT
DAVE KITSON ON FACING SPURS
The seemingly usual Spurs approach to facing prosperity reared its ugly head again as they gave up three (!!!) goals via set pieces and shoddy goalkeeping, so it was up to Bulgarian superstar Dimitar Berbatov to strike for four (!!!!) goals to pace Spurs to the come from behind victory.
The match was tied at 1-1 at the half, which barely hinted to the breakneck pace yet to come. That would include eight goals in the last 40 minutes or so, three goals in six minutes, six goals in 17 minutes, and seven of them in 20 as both teams fell behind and then rallied to take the lead in front of the White Hart Lane crowd.
Robbie Keane missed another penalty, but Jermaine Defoe knocked the rebound in, and Steed Malbranque had a beautiful shot sail to the back of the net in the midst of the second half scoring orgy. Berbatov's goals came in the 7th, 63rd, 73rd and 83rd minutes, whilst for Reading, Dave Kitson, who was a fan of the Spurs growing up, had a brace within five minutes to lead the Royals charge for a 4-3 lead in the 74th minute, just before being answered by Malbranque, Defoe and Berbatov's goals in the latter stages of the game. At that point, watching the Gametracker was kind of maddening, it seemed that every time the page refreshed, another goal had been scored (which obviously was the case, but even as porous as Spurs backline has been at time this season, there was still no reason to think before the match that Reading would put up four on them!).
It was certainly a very hard fought victory, and Berbatov certainly looked a bit tired at the end of the match, but it was a vital three points taken against the team that was in front of them in the standings. COYS!
ESPN REPORT
DAVE KITSON ON FACING SPURS
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tottenham 5 Fulham 1
Always sucks having to work on Boxing Day and miss all of the football, but seeing as how the Spurs/Fulham match wasn't going to be on TV in my household, there was no great loss in forgoing following the match live online, particularly since the visitors had been in bad form as of late.
The good news: Ledley King was back on the defensive line and Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone both netted a brace of goals to lead the attack past the indeed-woeful visitors. Keane's goals were more the benefit of placement, the first of a rebound off of a missed kick and the second a deflection from a shot on goal from Dimitar Berbatov, but Huddletstone's goals were nice shots that, maybe, a better keeper might've kept out. Jermaine Defoe ended the home side scoring with a goal late in the contest to send the home crowd very happy indeed.
The only good news for Fulham came with the goal scored, on a rebound, by Clint Dempsey, the rest of the afternoon, at least from the highlights I saw, was that of being hopelessly outmatched. That was Dempsey's second goal against Spurs, his sixth for the season, and the third time his goal was the only scoring. In those games, Fulham lost twice and forced one draw. With the loss on Wednesday, Fulham is now in the relegation zone at the halfway point of the season.
However, there was more good news from the south coast with the Arse drawing nil all with Portsmouth, losing first place in the EPL to Manchester United, who thrashed Roy Keane's Sunderland 0-4. This is definitely not a bad thing at all. The match I watched a lot of was quite entertaining indeed, with Aston Villa visiting Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Anybody who thought this one would end up a 4-4 draw would've made a lot of money, particularly with the home side who hadn't scored that many goals in a couple of months.
Villa took a 2-0 lead via an error from Chelsea goalie Petr Cech in addition to a good shot, but the Blues came storming back to a 3-2 lead after playing some aggressive football, the quick strike by Alex in the 66th minute to take the lead was a lovely bit of skill indeed on a quick pass from a teammate before the defense was cognizant of what was happening.
Some questionable defending, particularly by Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho, with an thuggish two-footed tackle on a Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor allowed the game to deteriorate into controversy as well as the 4-4 draw, which probably left neither side particularly happy with the outcome.
SPURS SITE REPORT
POMPEY/ARSE
CHELSEA/VILLA
Anyway, the next match, at White Hart Lane, is this Saturday against Reading, who have yet to win away from the Madjeski this year, compiling an 0-3-6 record so far. This is not a time for the Royals, a scrappy team that I kind of pull for, to change that record. COYS!.
The good news: Ledley King was back on the defensive line and Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone both netted a brace of goals to lead the attack past the indeed-woeful visitors. Keane's goals were more the benefit of placement, the first of a rebound off of a missed kick and the second a deflection from a shot on goal from Dimitar Berbatov, but Huddletstone's goals were nice shots that, maybe, a better keeper might've kept out. Jermaine Defoe ended the home side scoring with a goal late in the contest to send the home crowd very happy indeed.
The only good news for Fulham came with the goal scored, on a rebound, by Clint Dempsey, the rest of the afternoon, at least from the highlights I saw, was that of being hopelessly outmatched. That was Dempsey's second goal against Spurs, his sixth for the season, and the third time his goal was the only scoring. In those games, Fulham lost twice and forced one draw. With the loss on Wednesday, Fulham is now in the relegation zone at the halfway point of the season.
However, there was more good news from the south coast with the Arse drawing nil all with Portsmouth, losing first place in the EPL to Manchester United, who thrashed Roy Keane's Sunderland 0-4. This is definitely not a bad thing at all. The match I watched a lot of was quite entertaining indeed, with Aston Villa visiting Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Anybody who thought this one would end up a 4-4 draw would've made a lot of money, particularly with the home side who hadn't scored that many goals in a couple of months.
Villa took a 2-0 lead via an error from Chelsea goalie Petr Cech in addition to a good shot, but the Blues came storming back to a 3-2 lead after playing some aggressive football, the quick strike by Alex in the 66th minute to take the lead was a lovely bit of skill indeed on a quick pass from a teammate before the defense was cognizant of what was happening.
Some questionable defending, particularly by Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho, with an thuggish two-footed tackle on a Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor allowed the game to deteriorate into controversy as well as the 4-4 draw, which probably left neither side particularly happy with the outcome.
SPURS SITE REPORT
POMPEY/ARSE
CHELSEA/VILLA
Anyway, the next match, at White Hart Lane, is this Saturday against Reading, who have yet to win away from the Madjeski this year, compiling an 0-3-6 record so far. This is not a time for the Royals, a scrappy team that I kind of pull for, to change that record. COYS!.
Big Boffo Box Office: $384.00. Eight Theaters.
That's the reported box office take of Jessica Simpson's latest movie venture,Blonde Ambition. The amount of screens playing this movie certainly define the term, limited engagement, even for Simpson's home state of Texas. Dallas Cowboy fans, pissed off with the woeful performance their team played against the Philadelphia Eagles on December 16th, losing 10 to 6, which Simpson attended wearing a Tony Romo jersey, certainly have as good a reason as anybody to avoid this cinematic debacle heading straight to DVD; count me as one who can't even be bothered to watch Jessica in her Daisy Dukes when the remake of Dukes Of Hazzard is on HBO. There are many other things that would benefit from my time and money than anything that features Ms. Simpson. Sad, really, cause I actually did like her Irresistible single. More details, and some math for the numbers, is HERE.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmm! (That's Good Snake Soup!)
A much more appealing report on creatures being used in food for human consumption than Dan Aykroyd's Bass-O-Matic skit on Saturday Night Live. This National Geographic video shows how snakes are prepared as part of a popular soup. I would certainly try this soup if I were in Hong Kong, not so sure if I'd try eating live baby octopus as they do in South Korea though.
VIDEO
VIDEO
From The Jam In Oregon Gig Shocker!
With the news from NEARLY ONE YEAR AGO about Jam bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler getting back together with a couple of other lads to play Jam songs, the new group, known as From The Jam, have now added some newly written tracks and are in the process of reworking early Foxton Jam tunes for their first U.S. tour since the group's end in 1982 when group founder and main songwriter Paul Weller quit.
Personally would've loved to have seen The Jam around the time of the Setting Sons/Sound Affects era, so I'm still not sure how to respond to revisiting a lot of those songs 25 years later, especially without Weller. The date, at this point in time, is set for late January so there's still time to debate the relative merits of this association. However, playing Weller tracks such as Strange Town and Going Underground versus Foxton tracks such as News Of The World and London Traffic would seem to scuttle the option of attending the gig.
CMJ STORY
PRESS RELEASE
ALADDIN THEATER PAGE
Dec. 23rd EDIT: January 30th, a Wednesday night, at the Aladdin Theater is the place to be, big thanks to the passionate fans who've pointed out to me how good this experience will be.
Personally would've loved to have seen The Jam around the time of the Setting Sons/Sound Affects era, so I'm still not sure how to respond to revisiting a lot of those songs 25 years later, especially without Weller. The date, at this point in time, is set for late January so there's still time to debate the relative merits of this association. However, playing Weller tracks such as Strange Town and Going Underground versus Foxton tracks such as News Of The World and London Traffic would seem to scuttle the option of attending the gig.
CMJ STORY
PRESS RELEASE
ALADDIN THEATER PAGE
Dec. 23rd EDIT: January 30th, a Wednesday night, at the Aladdin Theater is the place to be, big thanks to the passionate fans who've pointed out to me how good this experience will be.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Pete Maravich Video
Channel surfing on Tuesday night, I decided to spend a little time at NBA TV and catch the highlights of the Trail Blazers/Jazz game, won by the Blazers in Utah by a score of 97-89.
The team looked good in a place the franchise has traditionally never done very well at, but as it was apparently Heritage Week on NBA TV, the hosts of the show introduced another segment of highlights after that game, the latter coming from a January 8, 1978 game in Portland between the Blazers and the then-New Orleans Jazz, won by the Blazers 122-100. Besides the usual sickening feeling that one gets around these parts from watching that well-coached team perform, in comparison with some of the massive collection of underachieving players that had been performing up until the last couple of years, there was Pete Maravich in his prime, a wizard with the ball and a true thrill to watch play.
Being as I used to be a huge basketball junkie back then (heck, I was even a fan of the American Basketball Association, and still regret to this day the fact that the Blazers traded away Moses Malone), I was shocked that I had never seen the play that made me sit upright; a 60-foot underhanded pass from the right of the key down the court to a streaking Gail Goodrich in the paint, for a perfect layup just ahead of an effort to block the shot by Maurice Lucas. As the excellent mix video shows, Pistol Pete had made that move before, it's right before the Blazer highlight at about 5:50 mark of the video, almost near the end. Still, this video is really worth viewing, in spite of some of the horrible uniforms that teams had back then, such as those by the Atlanta Hawks, where Maravich first played (pic above).
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Because Inter Are The New Knights Templar?
News that a Turkish lawyer is suing Italian football club Inter Milan for wearing a kit whose shirt resembled a red cross on a white background which would be considered ”offensive to Muslim sensibilities” as these shirts apparently recall the Crusades. Not just suing the club is enough for this gentleman, he's also seeking to overturn the results of Inter's match with Turkish side Fenerbahce as well, which is when the Italian club wore the new shirt. Have to wonder why the St. George's Cross flag hasn't come under more scrutiny by this point in time. The rest of the story of this PC-world gone mad, from the London Times, is HERE, a pic of the new strip is on the right, photo by Marco Bucco.
Rangers 0 Lyon 3: Laughing At The Gers
(Apart from DeMarcus Beasley, that is, who didn't play). Always love the Wednesday UEFA Champions League lunchtime kickoffs, it was a bit of a surprise to see that Rangers/Lyon was televised here rather than Roma/Man United, but it sure promised to be an entertaining match, what with Rangers only needing a draw to advance to the next round.
Don't think I'd seen a game from Ibrox televised before, and I'm sorry to say that the home side's performance was not one for the ages. Sloppy defending and a general lack of attack up front combined with careless possession of the ball all added up to much anxiety for the home supporters. How Sidney Govou missed a shot after slipping behind the defense only 3 and a half minutes into the game, I'll never know, but he quickly rebounded a save from Rangers goalie Allan McGregor 16 minutes in to give the French side a well-deserved 1-0 lead, which would be the half time score as well. However, for the first 25 minutes or so, there was a palpable lack of confidence from Rangers about how to attack with one striker that made it a bit hard to watch. The second part of the half went a bit better in terms of defense and offense, but there were no serious enough chances that weren't turned back with a good defense and some goaltending.
The second half went like the latter part of the first half, but Jean-Claude Darcheville, the Rangers striker with an injury problem that led to the team starting with just the one striker upfront, and who came off the bench late in the game, missed a point-blank shot in front of the net that might have tied the match. Karim Benzema for Lyon then finished off the home side late in the match with a couple of beautiful goals that totally crushed any spirit the home side had left, and Darcheville compounded his night by drawing a red card for stomping on the ankle of Lyon's Kim Kallstrom a bit later.
All in all, it was definitely not the best CL match I'd ever seen, especially one with advancement riding on the line, so the flatness of the home side was definitely something to wonder about. Still, my Celtic buddies are well pleased with tonight's result, so a Hail Hail shout out to them would be in order, though delighting in the misery of others, especially your bitter rival, isn't something one should repeatedly enjoy doing. Right?
SCOTSMAN STORY
RECAP
Don't think I'd seen a game from Ibrox televised before, and I'm sorry to say that the home side's performance was not one for the ages. Sloppy defending and a general lack of attack up front combined with careless possession of the ball all added up to much anxiety for the home supporters. How Sidney Govou missed a shot after slipping behind the defense only 3 and a half minutes into the game, I'll never know, but he quickly rebounded a save from Rangers goalie Allan McGregor 16 minutes in to give the French side a well-deserved 1-0 lead, which would be the half time score as well. However, for the first 25 minutes or so, there was a palpable lack of confidence from Rangers about how to attack with one striker that made it a bit hard to watch. The second part of the half went a bit better in terms of defense and offense, but there were no serious enough chances that weren't turned back with a good defense and some goaltending.
The second half went like the latter part of the first half, but Jean-Claude Darcheville, the Rangers striker with an injury problem that led to the team starting with just the one striker upfront, and who came off the bench late in the game, missed a point-blank shot in front of the net that might have tied the match. Karim Benzema for Lyon then finished off the home side late in the match with a couple of beautiful goals that totally crushed any spirit the home side had left, and Darcheville compounded his night by drawing a red card for stomping on the ankle of Lyon's Kim Kallstrom a bit later.
All in all, it was definitely not the best CL match I'd ever seen, especially one with advancement riding on the line, so the flatness of the home side was definitely something to wonder about. Still, my Celtic buddies are well pleased with tonight's result, so a Hail Hail shout out to them would be in order, though delighting in the misery of others, especially your bitter rival, isn't something one should repeatedly enjoy doing. Right?
SCOTSMAN STORY
RECAP
Sunday, December 09, 2007
I Remember When He Would Sign For Nothing
This'll make a coworker of mine, a Boston Red Sox fan who played baseball for the Beavers, roll his eyes and shake his head: after signing with agent Scott Boras, JACOBY ELLSBURY WILL BE CHARGING $125 FOR AN AUTOGRAPH at some autograph sessions. A simple but effective photo shop of the new dark-side business duo is HERE.
Friday, December 07, 2007
No More 'Naked Twister' Nights
A CNN ARTICLE about a Dallas, TX suburb banning sex clubs in residential areas. Too much traffic in these areas according to the local naysayers, it's quite odd that people easily willing to swap bodily fluids can't manage to either come up with a good carpooling idea or split a cab to the house. If such a banning comes to this area, I'll most certainly have to come up with a new bedroom décor. Drat it.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
The Friends Of Snuggles Care: Negativland's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Apparently it's been 20 years since U2 released The Joshua Tree, with the usual remastered and expanded edition soon to be available for U2 consumers to buy for the fourth or fifth time. Can't forget the legal controversy over Negativland using samples from the U2 song, mixed with some choice Casey Kasem outtakes where he's swearing up a storm trying to introduce the band's debut song on American Top 40, and some various sound clips from a number of sources. A brilliant subversive montage that certainly adds another dimension to the song.
The audio version for this clip is the Special Edit Radio Mix, where Kasem really goes ballistic, with his rants (and other 'found sounds') on top of the songs rhythm track which features a kazoo playing the vocal lines. It's not the A Capella Mix, the version featuring a nasally-voiced man ad-libbing the songs lyrics at literally face value (love the bit about the STP and 409 cleaners). The audio is NSFW!
The audio version for this clip is the Special Edit Radio Mix, where Kasem really goes ballistic, with his rants (and other 'found sounds') on top of the songs rhythm track which features a kazoo playing the vocal lines. It's not the A Capella Mix, the version featuring a nasally-voiced man ad-libbing the songs lyrics at literally face value (love the bit about the STP and 409 cleaners). The audio is NSFW!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Calm After The Storm
Well, I certainly enjoyed the 60 degree December day today, as opposed to the numerous showers I took yesterday while working outside, but I knew in my mind that once again the valley for the most part was spared the worst of the latest winter storm to hit the Pacific Northwest. Checking out the newspaper pictures and television videos of the wind and water wreckage from the Oregon coast to Vernonia to Woodinville, WA still had me shaking my head. The news that a lengthy stretch of 1-5 in Washington near Chehalis, under 10 feet of water according to ABC News, had been closed added to the road congestion woes that included the highways leading to the coasts as well as the various sections of U.S. 101. Good luck and godspeed to those affected by the storm, I know we got off light. :(
I-5 STORY
The photo was taken by Rob Finch of the Oregonian on 101.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Tottenham 2 Birmingham 3: Throwing It All Away (Again)
Thought a nice respite from the Civil War loss would be to catch Spurs hosting former Rangers (and Scotland) coach Alex McLeish's debut with the Blues, getting cosy on the couch while a wind and rain storm batter the coast and valley.
What I got was the all-too-common defensive meltdown as Spurs let a 2-1 second half lead slip through their fingers to absorb a shocking 3-2 defeat to the visitors, aided a bit by a dubious red card handed out to captain Robbie Keane in the 68th minute with the score knotted at 2.
How in the world Spurs didn't have the lead at half is the classic story of those "unlucky" football days: they moved the ball and created more scoring chances much better than the visitors did, but found themselves on the wrong end 1-0 thanks to a penalty kick from Gary McSheffrey via a dumb takedown from Younes Kaboul; the shots that Spurs did take either sailed over the top bar or were cleanly fielded by Brum goalie Maik Taylor.
Keane scored for Spurs early on in the second half, also on a penalty kick from the same area, when Dimitar Berbatov was leveled, and then hit again just 3 minutes later on a superb pass from Tom Huddlestone. That pass, from out in the midfield, was cleanly controlled by Keane, who then fluidly tapped the ball into the net past Taylor for a 2-1 lead in the 53rd minute. With the superbly confident way that Spurs continued to attack, it certainly seemed that a much-needed victory was on its way (though how Berbatov wound up hitting the post on a point-blank shot just a couple of minutes later showed that the "unlucky" factor was really about to him home in a big way).
Cameron Jerome then tied the score with a lovely shot in the 62nd minute, creating the chance mostly by himself against two Spurs. Then came Keane's red card, forcing the home side to play the last 25 minutes or so with 10 men, and it was really no surprise to Spurs fans when Sebastian Larsson launched a rocket shot from long range in injury time to complete the meltdown.
By my reckoning, in EPL matches anyway, that makes four injury time goals conceded by Spurs this year, costing the team eight points, those matches would be losses to Sunderland and Blackburn as well as draws with Fulham and Liverpool. Of course, Spurs have netted one back, in a draw with Aston Villa, but the fact remains that the calamitous defending Spurs have exhibited this year must certainly take a toll on the team's mental attitude: having to score 2 or 3 just for the possibility of one point isn't always a given, even with all of the money spent on the strike force up front. Grrrrr.
ESPN RECAP
What I got was the all-too-common defensive meltdown as Spurs let a 2-1 second half lead slip through their fingers to absorb a shocking 3-2 defeat to the visitors, aided a bit by a dubious red card handed out to captain Robbie Keane in the 68th minute with the score knotted at 2.
How in the world Spurs didn't have the lead at half is the classic story of those "unlucky" football days: they moved the ball and created more scoring chances much better than the visitors did, but found themselves on the wrong end 1-0 thanks to a penalty kick from Gary McSheffrey via a dumb takedown from Younes Kaboul; the shots that Spurs did take either sailed over the top bar or were cleanly fielded by Brum goalie Maik Taylor.
Keane scored for Spurs early on in the second half, also on a penalty kick from the same area, when Dimitar Berbatov was leveled, and then hit again just 3 minutes later on a superb pass from Tom Huddlestone. That pass, from out in the midfield, was cleanly controlled by Keane, who then fluidly tapped the ball into the net past Taylor for a 2-1 lead in the 53rd minute. With the superbly confident way that Spurs continued to attack, it certainly seemed that a much-needed victory was on its way (though how Berbatov wound up hitting the post on a point-blank shot just a couple of minutes later showed that the "unlucky" factor was really about to him home in a big way).
Cameron Jerome then tied the score with a lovely shot in the 62nd minute, creating the chance mostly by himself against two Spurs. Then came Keane's red card, forcing the home side to play the last 25 minutes or so with 10 men, and it was really no surprise to Spurs fans when Sebastian Larsson launched a rocket shot from long range in injury time to complete the meltdown.
By my reckoning, in EPL matches anyway, that makes four injury time goals conceded by Spurs this year, costing the team eight points, those matches would be losses to Sunderland and Blackburn as well as draws with Fulham and Liverpool. Of course, Spurs have netted one back, in a draw with Aston Villa, but the fact remains that the calamitous defending Spurs have exhibited this year must certainly take a toll on the team's mental attitude: having to score 2 or 3 just for the possibility of one point isn't always a given, even with all of the money spent on the strike force up front. Grrrrr.
ESPN RECAP
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Oregon St. 38 Oregon 31 (2OT)
Not much to say tonight (will add more to this post tomorrow) other than to say that right now I'm totally wiped out after rooting like hell for the Ducks. A bit more high scoring game than most people thought it would be, in my mind there were a couple of things that I hadn't really expected, one of those being Oregon doing a decent job running the ball against the stout Beaver defense. The other would be the Oregon State offensive line giving enough protection and time to their quarterback so that he could complete passes at critical times.
Both teams had good play and bad plays, it was great to see both sides respond to the challenges of the game and adjust accordingly. Tis a shame that someone had to lose such a fierce battle where neither side wilted, but those are the rules (and fortunes) of college football these days. Tip o' the cap to the Beavers for making the plays they needed to win the game, and to the Ducks for showing a lot of heart, especially with fifth string quarterback Justin Roper playing the majority of the game.
Both teams had good play and bad plays, it was great to see both sides respond to the challenges of the game and adjust accordingly. Tis a shame that someone had to lose such a fierce battle where neither side wilted, but those are the rules (and fortunes) of college football these days. Tip o' the cap to the Beavers for making the plays they needed to win the game, and to the Ducks for showing a lot of heart, especially with fifth string quarterback Justin Roper playing the majority of the game.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Joey Being Joey? NUFC Fans Are "Vicious".
They may sing when they're winning, but the viciousness of Newcastle United football fans when they're losing has taken recent signing Joey Barton aback. Even if the northeast of England is a place where "young talent has traditionally been spotted, encouraged and nutured" (from the second edition of the Rough Guide To English Football), the long simmering (and suffering) passion of the fans for real success in the terms of Man United, Liverpool, and Arsenal was bound to express itself in displeasing ways when those high expectations had proven exceedingly lofty.
Now Barton, in his first season at Newcastle after being with Manchester City last season, has been quoted, in the aftermath of last week's 3-0 loss to Liverpool, as using words such as "vicious" and being "shocked" at what he heard from the crowd at St. James' Park. Doubtless Hugh and Micheal, two Boro fans I've become friends with, would not be shocked, they've bandied terms about those "unrealistic expectations of the delusional fans" as good reasons to never, ever cheer for the barcodes. Those comments, seen in the context of only losing to a very good Liverpool team, may seem somewhat harsh, but when combined with the previous home thrashing, 4-1 to an fairly ordinary Portsmouth squad, then it certainly appears that a crisis of sorts has arrived. Of course, the arrival of a new manager (Sam Allardyce) has compounded matters a bit, but he must be given a chance to prove his mettle, and certainly Sam has proven that if he can do good work at a club such as Bolton, then similar success can hoped to be achieved at a bigger club. Ah, but as a Spurs fan, I can attest all too well of the sword of lofty expectations, and how painful it is to come up way too short of them.
VICIOUS
Now Barton, in his first season at Newcastle after being with Manchester City last season, has been quoted, in the aftermath of last week's 3-0 loss to Liverpool, as using words such as "vicious" and being "shocked" at what he heard from the crowd at St. James' Park. Doubtless Hugh and Micheal, two Boro fans I've become friends with, would not be shocked, they've bandied terms about those "unrealistic expectations of the delusional fans" as good reasons to never, ever cheer for the barcodes. Those comments, seen in the context of only losing to a very good Liverpool team, may seem somewhat harsh, but when combined with the previous home thrashing, 4-1 to an fairly ordinary Portsmouth squad, then it certainly appears that a crisis of sorts has arrived. Of course, the arrival of a new manager (Sam Allardyce) has compounded matters a bit, but he must be given a chance to prove his mettle, and certainly Sam has proven that if he can do good work at a club such as Bolton, then similar success can hoped to be achieved at a bigger club. Ah, but as a Spurs fan, I can attest all too well of the sword of lofty expectations, and how painful it is to come up way too short of them.
VICIOUS
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tottenham 3 Aalborg 2: Tale Of Two Halves
Just because Spurs fans rarely have known little else as of late, other than the "completely sucking in all aspects of the game" feeling. However, the good news is that Spurs overcame a dreadful start, and a 0-2 halftime deficit, to storm back and tally three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half to claim a 3-2 victory over Danish side Aalborg at White Hart Lane earlier today.
The relative lack of Spurs posts so far this season is a combination of not being able to catch them on television (or at least following the match online) with some rather depressing results from most of the matches. This one was on FSC, so I was able to catch the replay at 5 p.m. PST without having known the result.
For the first half, about all I'll say is that the referees let the boys play, though the sideline assistants seemed to have missed some offsides calls as well as a Spur tackle on an opponent that I thought for sure would've netted them a penalty kick.
It was a lively, energetic match throughout, but Spurs fans got that familiar sickening feeling just two minutes in when a relatively unchallenged Tomas Enevoldsen dribbled between three Spurs and drilled a shot in from the top of the boxed area. The Danes scored near the end of the first half when Kasper Risgaard took advantage of some sloppy clearance passes and defending to toe his chance into the net, with Robinson having left the area to challenge the first advance on goal.
Spurs were able to move the ball fairly effectively and catch some good looks at the goal, but were unable to finish with the correct passes, I recall one pass from Dimitar Berbatov on the right side to the top of the penalty area that wound up between three Aalborg defenders.
Not sure exactly what Spurs coach Juande Ramos might've said at the half, but Spurs came out with much more determination on the offensive end, with a quick dividend being paid 50 seconds in with Berbatov sliding his shot from the left to the corner of the right side of the goal.
The second Spurs goal came just five minutes later, the result of some beautiful team work. This one began with Berbatov leaving his Aalborg defender Martin Pedersen on his backside, flicking the ball to the left where Jermain Jenas (I think) quickly knocked the ball to Robbie Keane, who was then able to take a second and correctly guess that Steed Malbranque had the best shot on goal. The speed with which these passes occurred left the Danes a bit flat-footed, one of those moments where everything comes together.
Darren Bent then netted the winning goal in the 66th minute on a rebound from a missed Gareth Bale free kick, taking advantage of a scrum inside the penalty box to knock the shot in. At first it appeared that Bent might've been offside, but the replay showed he was indeed onside.
There was one shot that Aalborg took in the second half that barely missed the mark, around the 60th minute, but in general, the Spurs defense played better, further emphasizing the lackluster effort from that side of the pitch in the first half. As most Spurs fans know, the offense is there (aside from picking which of the strikers to use; Jermaine Defoe did not play in this game), it's just the defense that needs some work, which Ramos has already ADMITTED. Nice to have some good news to report (and to have actually seen a match again), so the usual Come On You Spurs!!! battle cry will have to tide me over until Sunday, when Spurs host Birmingham on FSC.
ESPN STORY
The relative lack of Spurs posts so far this season is a combination of not being able to catch them on television (or at least following the match online) with some rather depressing results from most of the matches. This one was on FSC, so I was able to catch the replay at 5 p.m. PST without having known the result.
For the first half, about all I'll say is that the referees let the boys play, though the sideline assistants seemed to have missed some offsides calls as well as a Spur tackle on an opponent that I thought for sure would've netted them a penalty kick.
It was a lively, energetic match throughout, but Spurs fans got that familiar sickening feeling just two minutes in when a relatively unchallenged Tomas Enevoldsen dribbled between three Spurs and drilled a shot in from the top of the boxed area. The Danes scored near the end of the first half when Kasper Risgaard took advantage of some sloppy clearance passes and defending to toe his chance into the net, with Robinson having left the area to challenge the first advance on goal.
Spurs were able to move the ball fairly effectively and catch some good looks at the goal, but were unable to finish with the correct passes, I recall one pass from Dimitar Berbatov on the right side to the top of the penalty area that wound up between three Aalborg defenders.
Not sure exactly what Spurs coach Juande Ramos might've said at the half, but Spurs came out with much more determination on the offensive end, with a quick dividend being paid 50 seconds in with Berbatov sliding his shot from the left to the corner of the right side of the goal.
The second Spurs goal came just five minutes later, the result of some beautiful team work. This one began with Berbatov leaving his Aalborg defender Martin Pedersen on his backside, flicking the ball to the left where Jermain Jenas (I think) quickly knocked the ball to Robbie Keane, who was then able to take a second and correctly guess that Steed Malbranque had the best shot on goal. The speed with which these passes occurred left the Danes a bit flat-footed, one of those moments where everything comes together.
Darren Bent then netted the winning goal in the 66th minute on a rebound from a missed Gareth Bale free kick, taking advantage of a scrum inside the penalty box to knock the shot in. At first it appeared that Bent might've been offside, but the replay showed he was indeed onside.
There was one shot that Aalborg took in the second half that barely missed the mark, around the 60th minute, but in general, the Spurs defense played better, further emphasizing the lackluster effort from that side of the pitch in the first half. As most Spurs fans know, the offense is there (aside from picking which of the strikers to use; Jermaine Defoe did not play in this game), it's just the defense that needs some work, which Ramos has already ADMITTED. Nice to have some good news to report (and to have actually seen a match again), so the usual Come On You Spurs!!! battle cry will have to tide me over until Sunday, when Spurs host Birmingham on FSC.
ESPN STORY
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Byrds: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (When You're Gone)
One of my fave 60's groups with a classic song that I dedicate to the recent woes of the offense of the Oregon Ducks. Miming on Hullaballo with go-go girls, no less. Thanks Gene! Come to think about it, if I wanted to feel a whole lot worse about everything, I'd just wear orange and black.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
UCLA 16 Oregon 0: The Ducks' Offense Stops To A Grinding Halt.
Well, this game, with the amount of injuries on both teams, unfolded about as I had expected, a punt-filled extravaganza as the defenses keyed on the other teams shaky offense.
The final statistical numbers are staggering, in absolute reverse from the near-record numbers that Oregon had put up earlier in the year: 12 first downs, 41 yards net rushing, 105 yards passing (for 146 yards total in the game, there had been quarters earlier in the year where Oregon had surpassed that total), 12 punts (22 in the game). The Ducks had four turnovers for the game, which led to the first three field goals for the Bruins, one in each quarter.
The Ducks defense played very well, limiting the Bruins to 216 yards of total offense for the game, but UCLA took slight control of the game when quarterback Ben Olson returned from injury to pace the UCLA offense (hey, at least he completed a pass, in contrast to starter Osaar Rasshan, a fourth-string walk on who normally plays wide receiver, who went 0 for 7).
The Ducks incredible run of bad luck to injuries took a turn for the worse when starter Brady Leaf tweaked his right ankle (the one he didn't hurt last week against Arizona) toward the end of the first quarter, not to return to the game. This left the Ducks with their fourth and fifth string quarterbacks to finish the game, and even that looked shaky for a series when Cody Kempt got the wind knocked out of him and Justin Roper was forced into action. Patrick Chung was also victim to an injury, as was linebacker Casey Matthews, himself filling in for John Bacon. The turf toe that Jonathan Stewart had seemed to affect him a bit as well, but with the inexperience that the Ducks were showing in the passing game, the Bruins could well afford to stack the line and limit the damage that the Oregon running game could produce.
This scenario reminds me a bit of 1988, when Bill Musgrave took a hit and broke his collarbone against Arizona State, and the Ducks lost their last five games to finish the season at 6-6. The loss of Musgrave was a critical aspect of the Duck offense back then, but at least Oregon managed to score some points after he went down; the lengthy drive that Leaf led them on in the fourth quarter last week has been the high point offensively since Dennis Dixon went down for the season.
The OFFENSIVE numbers.
The final statistical numbers are staggering, in absolute reverse from the near-record numbers that Oregon had put up earlier in the year: 12 first downs, 41 yards net rushing, 105 yards passing (for 146 yards total in the game, there had been quarters earlier in the year where Oregon had surpassed that total), 12 punts (22 in the game). The Ducks had four turnovers for the game, which led to the first three field goals for the Bruins, one in each quarter.
The Ducks defense played very well, limiting the Bruins to 216 yards of total offense for the game, but UCLA took slight control of the game when quarterback Ben Olson returned from injury to pace the UCLA offense (hey, at least he completed a pass, in contrast to starter Osaar Rasshan, a fourth-string walk on who normally plays wide receiver, who went 0 for 7).
The Ducks incredible run of bad luck to injuries took a turn for the worse when starter Brady Leaf tweaked his right ankle (the one he didn't hurt last week against Arizona) toward the end of the first quarter, not to return to the game. This left the Ducks with their fourth and fifth string quarterbacks to finish the game, and even that looked shaky for a series when Cody Kempt got the wind knocked out of him and Justin Roper was forced into action. Patrick Chung was also victim to an injury, as was linebacker Casey Matthews, himself filling in for John Bacon. The turf toe that Jonathan Stewart had seemed to affect him a bit as well, but with the inexperience that the Ducks were showing in the passing game, the Bruins could well afford to stack the line and limit the damage that the Oregon running game could produce.
This scenario reminds me a bit of 1988, when Bill Musgrave took a hit and broke his collarbone against Arizona State, and the Ducks lost their last five games to finish the season at 6-6. The loss of Musgrave was a critical aspect of the Duck offense back then, but at least Oregon managed to score some points after he went down; the lengthy drive that Leaf led them on in the fourth quarter last week has been the high point offensively since Dennis Dixon went down for the season.
The OFFENSIVE numbers.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
England 2 Croatia 3: Still Laughing At England
Mostly for the people I know who wanted manager Steve McClaren out a bloody long time ago. Utterly shocking defeat, which meant that England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament next summer. This news wasn't made totally official until another result came down just a few minutes later, to see if Andorra could've drawn with Russia, but they lost 1-0 to eke out the last qualifying spot from their group.
Spurs goalie Paul Robinson had rightly been criticized for some of his misadventures and blunders in front of the net, but his replacement Scott Carson, installed on a gamble by McClaren, gave up a couple of howlers tht made Robbo's seem slight. Both happened in the first 15 minutes, with Nico Kranjcar getting off a shot that found the right side of the net, seemingly in plenty of time for Carson to get there, but alas he did not. The second goal caught the players on the back line of England flat-footed, as they expected an off-sides call (there was none, it was the correct call) and Ivica Olic cooly stepped past Carson to find the back of the net. 2-0 to the visitors on a rainy night in London, and McClaren's worst possible start had arrived.
McClaren's other starting line-up change, Shaun Wright-Phillips, playing in the stead of David Beckham, had a good look at the goal between the two that the visitors managed, but failed to find a deft enough touch on his shot and was turned back by the Croat defense.
Beckham and Jermaine Defoe were the English subs to start the second half, and both played a role in helping the home side to equalize. Defoe was pulled down in the box and England was awarded a penalty kick, which Frank Lampard delivered 11 minutes in the second half, and ten minutes later, a famed kick in from Beckham on the right side found Peter Crouch in front of the goal, and Crouch controlled the ball nicely and scored the tying goal, and all of the aggravation that the despondent crowd had shown all evening was swept away in a moment of euphoria.
Actually, change that moment to about 12 minutes, for that's when Mladen Petric delivered a 25 yard blast past the hapless Carson for the inevitable winner, a goal in which there were at leaast three white shirts around the man, and none made a move to defend him, apparently not believing that one could make a shot from that area. Wrong move, boyo.
I'm not going to play the guessing game and say that Robbo should have been in goal, but when England can't even manage a draw at home against a team that's not going anywhere (just like themselves), or even throw away a tie late in the game that was hardly an indication of how badly Englad was outplayed, well maybe I should change my mind. In actuality, it all comes together as symbolic of McClaren's tactics that what was seemingly so simple and within their grasp should prove as elusive as a slow-moving ball into the back of the net: one step behind.
BBC REPORT
THE PUNDITS
Spurs goalie Paul Robinson had rightly been criticized for some of his misadventures and blunders in front of the net, but his replacement Scott Carson, installed on a gamble by McClaren, gave up a couple of howlers tht made Robbo's seem slight. Both happened in the first 15 minutes, with Nico Kranjcar getting off a shot that found the right side of the net, seemingly in plenty of time for Carson to get there, but alas he did not. The second goal caught the players on the back line of England flat-footed, as they expected an off-sides call (there was none, it was the correct call) and Ivica Olic cooly stepped past Carson to find the back of the net. 2-0 to the visitors on a rainy night in London, and McClaren's worst possible start had arrived.
McClaren's other starting line-up change, Shaun Wright-Phillips, playing in the stead of David Beckham, had a good look at the goal between the two that the visitors managed, but failed to find a deft enough touch on his shot and was turned back by the Croat defense.
Beckham and Jermaine Defoe were the English subs to start the second half, and both played a role in helping the home side to equalize. Defoe was pulled down in the box and England was awarded a penalty kick, which Frank Lampard delivered 11 minutes in the second half, and ten minutes later, a famed kick in from Beckham on the right side found Peter Crouch in front of the goal, and Crouch controlled the ball nicely and scored the tying goal, and all of the aggravation that the despondent crowd had shown all evening was swept away in a moment of euphoria.
Actually, change that moment to about 12 minutes, for that's when Mladen Petric delivered a 25 yard blast past the hapless Carson for the inevitable winner, a goal in which there were at leaast three white shirts around the man, and none made a move to defend him, apparently not believing that one could make a shot from that area. Wrong move, boyo.
I'm not going to play the guessing game and say that Robbo should have been in goal, but when England can't even manage a draw at home against a team that's not going anywhere (just like themselves), or even throw away a tie late in the game that was hardly an indication of how badly Englad was outplayed, well maybe I should change my mind. In actuality, it all comes together as symbolic of McClaren's tactics that what was seemingly so simple and within their grasp should prove as elusive as a slow-moving ball into the back of the net: one step behind.
BBC REPORT
THE PUNDITS
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Shed No Tears: Tom Glavine Back To The Braves
(lyrical cue from Flipper!) To the surprise of no one, former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine has gone back to the organization that signed him, leaving Mets fans everywhere to ponder his five year stay in New York. The bottom line: thanks for basically nothing Tom, you really pitched tough this year when the chips were on the line. The stats for his last three starts, as the Mets September lead dwindled to nothing, was 10.1 innings pitched, 25 hits allowed, 17 runs allowed, all of them earned, for an ERA of just under 15.00! Not even the Red Sox could overcome those kinds of bad starts.
The overtures between Glavine and the Braves, when Tom was between contracts, was enough to infuriate many, many Mets fans, while there were some, like me, who stupidly hoped that a lot of fans had finally embraced him, especially around the time he notched his 300th career victory. It was just an illusion folks, a memory that doesn't need to be hangin' around any more.
ESPN STORY
The overtures between Glavine and the Braves, when Tom was between contracts, was enough to infuriate many, many Mets fans, while there were some, like me, who stupidly hoped that a lot of fans had finally embraced him, especially around the time he notched his 300th career victory. It was just an illusion folks, a memory that doesn't need to be hangin' around any more.
ESPN STORY
Friday, November 16, 2007
Arizona 34 Oregon 24: Ouch! Ow Ow Ouch!
Thank you to the Rutles for the line that went through my mind last night as Dennis Dixon's knee buckled and hit the Arizona turf.
The Arizona Wildcats overcame a typical hot Oregon start to defeat the Ducks and end the hopes of Oregon to play in the BCS national championship game. Things went extremely well on the first possession of the game as Oregon took the ball 69 yards for a touchdown, the last 39 yards coming on a run by Dixon that showed, apparently, that the knee that Dixon had hurt against Arizona State on November 3rd was fully recovered. The Ducks then intercepted a poorly thrown pass by Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama, on their second play from scrimmage, to spark its second drive. That drive ended with a first and goal at the four yard line, but a Dixon pass to reinstated wide receiver Derrick Jones was bobbled in the end zone, and a sure touchdown instead became an interception that was returned 45 yards, and three plays later the Wildcats scored on a 34 yard touchdown reception that cut the Duck lead to 8-7.
The last two minutes of Dixon's Oregon career was a typical drive that would end up in a touchdown, 65 yards on 5 plays, 32 of those yards on three running plays. Then the buckle felt around the country happened, catching the rest of the Oregon time totally off-guard and energizing the Wildcats. The Ducks managed a field goal off of that drive, but their potent offense pretty much ground to a halt, picking up just six first downs in the next three quarters of play, resulting in only two field goals, one of which was started by a Duck recovery of a Wildcat fumble deep in Arizona territory. Backup quarterback Brady Leaf tweaked his ankle in his relief role, limiting his mobility and the effectiveness of the plays that the Ducks were running.
The Wildcats scored their 31 first half points in a total of about 18 minutes, on two touchdown passes from Tuitama, plus returns on an interception and a punt, as they clearly took advantage of the shellshocked Ducks to grab a 31-14 halftime lead. A combination of better Duck defense and more conservative play calling by Arizona left a chance for the Ducks to get back in the game, but as a lengthy 17-play fourth quarter drive showed, the yards were being picked up in mostly three to eight yard chunks at a time, not exactly conducive to rallying from a three-score deficit.
The "if only" aspects could drive one crazy if one let them: IF only Jones hadn't bobbled that pass in the end zone, a 15 to 0 lead might have set a different tone for the game; IF only Kwame Agyeman hadn't fumbled the ball, on a perfectly executed fake punt, at Arizona's 22 yard line; IF only Tuitama's knee was an inch higher on the overturned fumble call. BUT, they DID happen, and the Ducks couldn't overcome all of those mistakes ( they had four turnovers lost in the game) to salvage a victory.
Still holding my head up high today, it was a lovely run this season, and it all goes to show how important Dennis Dixon was to the team, now that the news had come out today that he is done for the year with a torn ACL. His calm maturity that he showed this season after a rough ending to last year was truly one of the more gratifying things I've seen in all of my experiences. Thank you Dennis for your wonderful leadership skills, and for some of the most exciting football that this nation has seen this year; you will be missed!
ESPN RECAP
The Arizona Wildcats overcame a typical hot Oregon start to defeat the Ducks and end the hopes of Oregon to play in the BCS national championship game. Things went extremely well on the first possession of the game as Oregon took the ball 69 yards for a touchdown, the last 39 yards coming on a run by Dixon that showed, apparently, that the knee that Dixon had hurt against Arizona State on November 3rd was fully recovered. The Ducks then intercepted a poorly thrown pass by Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama, on their second play from scrimmage, to spark its second drive. That drive ended with a first and goal at the four yard line, but a Dixon pass to reinstated wide receiver Derrick Jones was bobbled in the end zone, and a sure touchdown instead became an interception that was returned 45 yards, and three plays later the Wildcats scored on a 34 yard touchdown reception that cut the Duck lead to 8-7.
The last two minutes of Dixon's Oregon career was a typical drive that would end up in a touchdown, 65 yards on 5 plays, 32 of those yards on three running plays. Then the buckle felt around the country happened, catching the rest of the Oregon time totally off-guard and energizing the Wildcats. The Ducks managed a field goal off of that drive, but their potent offense pretty much ground to a halt, picking up just six first downs in the next three quarters of play, resulting in only two field goals, one of which was started by a Duck recovery of a Wildcat fumble deep in Arizona territory. Backup quarterback Brady Leaf tweaked his ankle in his relief role, limiting his mobility and the effectiveness of the plays that the Ducks were running.
The Wildcats scored their 31 first half points in a total of about 18 minutes, on two touchdown passes from Tuitama, plus returns on an interception and a punt, as they clearly took advantage of the shellshocked Ducks to grab a 31-14 halftime lead. A combination of better Duck defense and more conservative play calling by Arizona left a chance for the Ducks to get back in the game, but as a lengthy 17-play fourth quarter drive showed, the yards were being picked up in mostly three to eight yard chunks at a time, not exactly conducive to rallying from a three-score deficit.
The "if only" aspects could drive one crazy if one let them: IF only Jones hadn't bobbled that pass in the end zone, a 15 to 0 lead might have set a different tone for the game; IF only Kwame Agyeman hadn't fumbled the ball, on a perfectly executed fake punt, at Arizona's 22 yard line; IF only Tuitama's knee was an inch higher on the overturned fumble call. BUT, they DID happen, and the Ducks couldn't overcome all of those mistakes ( they had four turnovers lost in the game) to salvage a victory.
Still holding my head up high today, it was a lovely run this season, and it all goes to show how important Dennis Dixon was to the team, now that the news had come out today that he is done for the year with a torn ACL. His calm maturity that he showed this season after a rough ending to last year was truly one of the more gratifying things I've seen in all of my experiences. Thank you Dennis for your wonderful leadership skills, and for some of the most exciting football that this nation has seen this year; you will be missed!
ESPN RECAP
Saturday, November 10, 2007
1 Possession, 3 Plays 1:14 Total Time In One Quarter: Ohio State Vs. Illinois
Hope my ex-roommate Don is happy now that his Illini have taken down the previously unbeaten and top-ranked Buckeyes in a game at Columbus today. This post is to recall the critical fourth quarter, which began with Illinois leading 28-21. The Illini then showcased an incredible ball-control offense, achieved mostly on the ground, along with an interception from the defense that abbreviated the sole Buckeye possession of the fourth quarter, to seal the victory. The decision for Illinois to go for it on a fourth and inches call fairly deep in their own territory showed a certain amount of moxie, even if Rashard Mendenhall had been running the ball effectively. Quarterback Juice Williams then picked up four rushing first downs to keep the chains and the clock moving in a display that was reminiscent of what Dennis Dixon has been doing all year.
One more step that might allow the Ducks to get into the National Championship game, though there is still way too much football left to be played for anybody to take anything for granted, however I'll leave the postulating on the various scenarios to the bitter-Beav "nation", I had to stifle a laugh today in town at a guy wearing an OSU tee-shirt along with an Arizona hat. Better tilt your lance at other windmills, dude.
ILLINOIS/OHIO STATE 4TH QUARTER PLAY BY PLAY
One more step that might allow the Ducks to get into the National Championship game, though there is still way too much football left to be played for anybody to take anything for granted, however I'll leave the postulating on the various scenarios to the bitter-Beav "nation", I had to stifle a laugh today in town at a guy wearing an OSU tee-shirt along with an Arizona hat. Better tilt your lance at other windmills, dude.
ILLINOIS/OHIO STATE 4TH QUARTER PLAY BY PLAY
Friday, November 09, 2007
Oregon O-Line Clones
Some more karma and jungle love toward Oregon from Rome today, when the radio man made good on his word and had three of the members of the engine that drives the high-powered Duck offense on to share their thoughts on the season so far.
Geoff Schwartz is apparently the original clone amongst that group that also included Max Unger and Jeff Kendall, and while Kendall may not have listened to Rome's show as long as Schwartz had, he certainly knew what to do when the interview ended and went ahead with a classic rant that brought a smile to many who heard it, and I'm not just speaking about Duck fans either.
For the record, the interview started around 10:35 a.m. PST, I listening en route to my next stop for work, and by the time that Kendall's rant was going, I had arrived and was preparing for the segment to end so that I could continue with my work. Smoothly, Kendall went from one issue to the next (great to hear that he mentioned the butt-kicking that Arizona laid down on the Ducks last season, an indication that the highly-ranked Ducks have not forgotten that loss at all), while Rome gasped at one point "There's more?!?", before Kendall addressed another topic. Kendall's rant made the huge-call-of-the-day, at which point we got to hear it in its entirety again. Way to go guys, this interview helped to turn around a lousy Friday, and you will be repaid in kind come December 1st again, when we will fill Autzen for the beat down of the bark rats. Not sure how long this clip will last, so enjoy it while you can.
Geoff Schwartz is apparently the original clone amongst that group that also included Max Unger and Jeff Kendall, and while Kendall may not have listened to Rome's show as long as Schwartz had, he certainly knew what to do when the interview ended and went ahead with a classic rant that brought a smile to many who heard it, and I'm not just speaking about Duck fans either.
For the record, the interview started around 10:35 a.m. PST, I listening en route to my next stop for work, and by the time that Kendall's rant was going, I had arrived and was preparing for the segment to end so that I could continue with my work. Smoothly, Kendall went from one issue to the next (great to hear that he mentioned the butt-kicking that Arizona laid down on the Ducks last season, an indication that the highly-ranked Ducks have not forgotten that loss at all), while Rome gasped at one point "There's more?!?", before Kendall addressed another topic. Kendall's rant made the huge-call-of-the-day, at which point we got to hear it in its entirety again. Way to go guys, this interview helped to turn around a lousy Friday, and you will be repaid in kind come December 1st again, when we will fill Autzen for the beat down of the bark rats. Not sure how long this clip will last, so enjoy it while you can.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Oregon 35 Arizona State 23: The Devils Did Go Down In Autzen.
(post title slight modification of the Bi-Mart button for the game). Another exciting game at Autzen ends with the good guys holding the visitors at arm's length after a clinical start gave the Ducks a 21-3 lead just after the start of the second quarter. The Sun Devils, notorious this season for slow starts and for recovering from large early deficits to win ball games, wound up on the short side of the scoreboard as they failed to take substantial advantage of scoring opportunities throughout the game. This included settling for four field goal attempts, with one attempt one missed, as the stout Sun Devil defense began to make plays on the Ducks offense.
The Ducks scored on their first three possessions of the game to grab that early lead that proved to be insurmountable. The first Sun Devil field goal, amidst the early Duck onslaught, was the result, once again, of the "bend but don't break" policy that drives the fans in the stands absolutely nuts, still an excellent result given that it was a first and goal from the three yard line at one point.
Part of the problem, as it were, was that the Ducks took about six minutes in total time to score those three touchdowns, leaving a lot of time for Rudy Carpenter to drive down the field and chew up large chunks of time, leaving the Duck defense to play a lot of snaps (I do believe the half time possession was over 20 minutes to Arizona State, to just under 10 for the Ducks).
With the talk that the Sun Devils had given up close to 30 quarterback sacks going into the game, the hope that the Ducks could disrupt the Sun Devils offense by rushing him wasn't much of a reality, especially in the first half, as the Ducks got to Carpenter only twice. However, those sacks did help end a couple of sets of downs for Arizona State quickly, allowing the Ducks to maintain its lead, which was 21-13 at half time.
Quarterback Dennis Dixon had a great game on national television (thank you ESPN!) by tossing four beautiful touchdown passes, with game stats ending up at 13 for 22 for 189 yards, which might've been even more impressive were it not for the befuddling case of the "dropsies" exhibited by wide receiver Jaison Williams, who still managed five catches for 106 yards. Tailback Jonathan Stewart had another strong game, with 21 carries for 99 yards, including a twisting 33 yard touchdown run that came across the flow of the play, a highlight run to be sure. Punter Josh Syria also had a very strong game in terms of field position, with two punts that wound up being downed inside the five yard line, the first of which, in the game of field position, helped set up Stewart's touchdown run.
The bad news is that lineback John Bacon tore an ACL and is done for the year, but freshman Casey Matthews stepped in and did very well. And of course, one could hear the entire breath of Autzen being held as Dixon wrenched his knee on a tackle at the end of a run early in the fourth quarter, but as the Ducks had a 35-16 lead at that point, there was no need to rush him back unnecessarily as Brady Leaf did a good job running a couple of drives that ate up some more precious time.
At the end, the talk in our section is One game at a time!, which means that nobody I know is ready to even tentatively sketch in plans for New Orleans just yet; too many crazy things have happened (and need to continue to happen elsewhere) in this college football season to take anything for granted. Besides, we all know what happened the last time that Arizona and Oregon played LAST NOVEMBER, so payback will be on the minds of the Oregon team. That game with Arizona is to be televised on ESPN on Thursday November thee 15th, which will give the Ducks, including Dixon, a chance to heal their various wounds.
Bear Down On Arizona Ducks.............one game at a time!
ESPN RECAP
The Ducks scored on their first three possessions of the game to grab that early lead that proved to be insurmountable. The first Sun Devil field goal, amidst the early Duck onslaught, was the result, once again, of the "bend but don't break" policy that drives the fans in the stands absolutely nuts, still an excellent result given that it was a first and goal from the three yard line at one point.
Part of the problem, as it were, was that the Ducks took about six minutes in total time to score those three touchdowns, leaving a lot of time for Rudy Carpenter to drive down the field and chew up large chunks of time, leaving the Duck defense to play a lot of snaps (I do believe the half time possession was over 20 minutes to Arizona State, to just under 10 for the Ducks).
With the talk that the Sun Devils had given up close to 30 quarterback sacks going into the game, the hope that the Ducks could disrupt the Sun Devils offense by rushing him wasn't much of a reality, especially in the first half, as the Ducks got to Carpenter only twice. However, those sacks did help end a couple of sets of downs for Arizona State quickly, allowing the Ducks to maintain its lead, which was 21-13 at half time.
Quarterback Dennis Dixon had a great game on national television (thank you ESPN!) by tossing four beautiful touchdown passes, with game stats ending up at 13 for 22 for 189 yards, which might've been even more impressive were it not for the befuddling case of the "dropsies" exhibited by wide receiver Jaison Williams, who still managed five catches for 106 yards. Tailback Jonathan Stewart had another strong game, with 21 carries for 99 yards, including a twisting 33 yard touchdown run that came across the flow of the play, a highlight run to be sure. Punter Josh Syria also had a very strong game in terms of field position, with two punts that wound up being downed inside the five yard line, the first of which, in the game of field position, helped set up Stewart's touchdown run.
The bad news is that lineback John Bacon tore an ACL and is done for the year, but freshman Casey Matthews stepped in and did very well. And of course, one could hear the entire breath of Autzen being held as Dixon wrenched his knee on a tackle at the end of a run early in the fourth quarter, but as the Ducks had a 35-16 lead at that point, there was no need to rush him back unnecessarily as Brady Leaf did a good job running a couple of drives that ate up some more precious time.
At the end, the talk in our section is One game at a time!, which means that nobody I know is ready to even tentatively sketch in plans for New Orleans just yet; too many crazy things have happened (and need to continue to happen elsewhere) in this college football season to take anything for granted. Besides, we all know what happened the last time that Arizona and Oregon played LAST NOVEMBER, so payback will be on the minds of the Oregon team. That game with Arizona is to be televised on ESPN on Thursday November thee 15th, which will give the Ducks, including Dixon, a chance to heal their various wounds.
Bear Down On Arizona Ducks.............one game at a time!
ESPN RECAP
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Dennis Dixon On Rome Is Burning
Same story as with what happened when COACH BELOTTI appeared last week; the internet once again is a boon to those not able to shift time (or work schedules) for appearances such as these. Good job Dennis, up and at those Sun Devils on Saturday!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
But No Opinion On The Jol Situation: The Suns' Steve Nash On Possible Future Spurs Plans
No one will ever doubt Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash's well-documented love for Tottenham Hotspur, and the following linked article in the Guardian about Nash's dreams about ownership of a sporting club not surprisingly sidesteps any questions about the farcical removal of MarTin Jol as club manager since it does mention that he has met and befriended a couple of board members instrumental in Jol's departure. Of course, that's just the dark side of my nature talking, I know that Nash is keen to see Spurs succeed as much as the next Yid, and while this current bit of unpleasantness will soon fade from the front pages of our memory, the appreciation of what Jol was able to accomplish in his tenure will never be forgot.
GUARDIAN ARTICLE
GUARDIAN ARTICLE
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Oregon 24 USC 17: One Game At A Time
It was a clear, crisp and lovely fall afternoon in Eugene yesterday as the Ducks held on to defeat the U.S.C. Trojans 24-17. The "biggest" game in the history of Autzen Stadium (at least until this weekend, when the undefeated Arizona State Sun Devils roll into town, the first ever clash of Top 5 teams here).
The bottom line of the game is that Oregon converted the turnovers they created from U.S.C. into touchdowns, while the Trojans could manage but three points on two early Oregon turnovers deep in their own territory. The first Oregon turnover came on the opening kickoff, when Andre Crenshaw was blasted at the 21 yard line; the Oregon defense then showed the caliber of play that they brought to the game on this series, holding the Trojans, on a 4th and 1 call at the 12 yard line, to a one yard loss.
The other turnover came very early in the second quarter, when a punt from Greg Woidneck careened around the field and struck a Duck in the back of the leg, which the Trojans recovered at the 33 yard line of Oregon. From my vantage point, we could see returned Aaron Pflugrad yelling and pointing at his blockers to get out of the way, but with as loud as Autzen was yesterday (up to 127 decibels according to a story in today's Register-Guard), it was understandably hard to hear everything that was going on around. On this series, the Trojans got a couple of first downs and actually had a goal-to-go series, but the defense buckled down again and held the Trojans to a field goal.
Those two critical series were the reasons why Oregon won the game, and even though the stats ledger shows that the total yardage measure was won by the Trojans, they got about a third of those yards in the last five minutes. Oregon's offense, on the day, performed most consistently over the game, and those scoring drives enabled the ball-control offense to take a large chunk of time off of the game clock.
Other memorable plays that stuck in my mind: Walter Thurmond III shedding a block quickly and upending a Trojan receiver, after the reception, for no gain in front of the Oregon bench; Oregon tackle Geoff Schwartz showing decent hands on an option toss from quarterback Dennis Dixon for a three yard gain (obviously not a designed play, I would think, but the crowd was initially stunned at first, and then roared its approval), and the critical 3rd and 17 yard reception the Pflugrad made at the start of the fourth quarter as the Duck drove the field en route to the touchdown that would make it 24-10 with about 11 and a half minutes left in the game. The Ducks defense was also able to get fairly substantial pressure on Trojan quarterback Mark Sanchez, and while they weren't always able to get to him, it certainly disrupted the timing of the Trojan offense; however, Sanchez is a mobile type who turned these plays into something other than tackles for loss.
Dixon had a great game directing the offense, apart from the odd series that led to the Ducks second quarter field goal, a series in which he and receiver Jaison Williams didn't appear to be on the same page as far as positioning on the field went. With the injuries to the Oregon wide receivers, the focus of defenses on Williams as a downfield threat has led to the emergence of tight end Ed Dickson as a viable threat over the middle of the field, one more weapon in the Ducks offensive arsenal. I'm also amazed at how confident and sure-handed that Pflugrad has shown himself to be, especially when returning punts. Andiel Brown sprained an ankle on the first punt return of the game, not to return, but Pflugrad has shown a knack for snatching the ball cleanly whilst able to take a hit (he got popped pretty good one time in front of us).
And of course, how could we not mention the two critical interceptions that Matthew Harper made, the first that snuffed a Trojan drive that might've tied the score at 17 late in the third quarter, and of course the final one, where he slid up in front of Fred Davis to seal the hard fought victory. Of course, the students rushed the field before the game was officially over but that was a small moment of inconvenience on such a glorious day.
The Trojan fans we met were great, big kudos to the Trojan defense, running back Jonathan Stewart got his 103 yards, on 25 carries, absolutely earning everything he made. I can't say that if the two teams played again that Oregon would win, but I can say that it would be as lively and engaging as this one was, with the winner coming down to who made the least amount of mistakes. Fight on Trojans, especially this week against the Beavers!
It was nice to see that the Washington Post sent a writer to cover the game, his story is HERE along with a NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE, while the ESPN story is HERE. Also, it certainly doesn't hurt the Ducks when the news is out today that ESPN GAME DAY WILL ONCE AGAIN BE HERE. It's never too early to be loud and proud, as well as being a little bit drunk at 7 a.m. , judging from the evidence on hand last month. Gotta love college football and the craziness that goes with it. Go Ducks!!!!
The bottom line of the game is that Oregon converted the turnovers they created from U.S.C. into touchdowns, while the Trojans could manage but three points on two early Oregon turnovers deep in their own territory. The first Oregon turnover came on the opening kickoff, when Andre Crenshaw was blasted at the 21 yard line; the Oregon defense then showed the caliber of play that they brought to the game on this series, holding the Trojans, on a 4th and 1 call at the 12 yard line, to a one yard loss.
The other turnover came very early in the second quarter, when a punt from Greg Woidneck careened around the field and struck a Duck in the back of the leg, which the Trojans recovered at the 33 yard line of Oregon. From my vantage point, we could see returned Aaron Pflugrad yelling and pointing at his blockers to get out of the way, but with as loud as Autzen was yesterday (up to 127 decibels according to a story in today's Register-Guard), it was understandably hard to hear everything that was going on around. On this series, the Trojans got a couple of first downs and actually had a goal-to-go series, but the defense buckled down again and held the Trojans to a field goal.
Those two critical series were the reasons why Oregon won the game, and even though the stats ledger shows that the total yardage measure was won by the Trojans, they got about a third of those yards in the last five minutes. Oregon's offense, on the day, performed most consistently over the game, and those scoring drives enabled the ball-control offense to take a large chunk of time off of the game clock.
Other memorable plays that stuck in my mind: Walter Thurmond III shedding a block quickly and upending a Trojan receiver, after the reception, for no gain in front of the Oregon bench; Oregon tackle Geoff Schwartz showing decent hands on an option toss from quarterback Dennis Dixon for a three yard gain (obviously not a designed play, I would think, but the crowd was initially stunned at first, and then roared its approval), and the critical 3rd and 17 yard reception the Pflugrad made at the start of the fourth quarter as the Duck drove the field en route to the touchdown that would make it 24-10 with about 11 and a half minutes left in the game. The Ducks defense was also able to get fairly substantial pressure on Trojan quarterback Mark Sanchez, and while they weren't always able to get to him, it certainly disrupted the timing of the Trojan offense; however, Sanchez is a mobile type who turned these plays into something other than tackles for loss.
Dixon had a great game directing the offense, apart from the odd series that led to the Ducks second quarter field goal, a series in which he and receiver Jaison Williams didn't appear to be on the same page as far as positioning on the field went. With the injuries to the Oregon wide receivers, the focus of defenses on Williams as a downfield threat has led to the emergence of tight end Ed Dickson as a viable threat over the middle of the field, one more weapon in the Ducks offensive arsenal. I'm also amazed at how confident and sure-handed that Pflugrad has shown himself to be, especially when returning punts. Andiel Brown sprained an ankle on the first punt return of the game, not to return, but Pflugrad has shown a knack for snatching the ball cleanly whilst able to take a hit (he got popped pretty good one time in front of us).
And of course, how could we not mention the two critical interceptions that Matthew Harper made, the first that snuffed a Trojan drive that might've tied the score at 17 late in the third quarter, and of course the final one, where he slid up in front of Fred Davis to seal the hard fought victory. Of course, the students rushed the field before the game was officially over but that was a small moment of inconvenience on such a glorious day.
The Trojan fans we met were great, big kudos to the Trojan defense, running back Jonathan Stewart got his 103 yards, on 25 carries, absolutely earning everything he made. I can't say that if the two teams played again that Oregon would win, but I can say that it would be as lively and engaging as this one was, with the winner coming down to who made the least amount of mistakes. Fight on Trojans, especially this week against the Beavers!
It was nice to see that the Washington Post sent a writer to cover the game, his story is HERE along with a NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE, while the ESPN story is HERE. Also, it certainly doesn't hurt the Ducks when the news is out today that ESPN GAME DAY WILL ONCE AGAIN BE HERE. It's never too early to be loud and proud, as well as being a little bit drunk at 7 a.m. , judging from the evidence on hand last month. Gotta love college football and the craziness that goes with it. Go Ducks!!!!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Belotti On Jim Rome's TV Show
I would never consider myself a clone, I listen to Rome's radio show for a bit in the morning, mostly to hear some talk about a sports subject or for an interview with a particular person. Some of the clones who call are sometimes pretty funny, spouting off their views on any number of random subjects which are tenuously connected at best, though it seems a knowledge of popular culture and current news helps to figure out slightly where some of these people are coming from (figuratively).
I was driving around for work today when I heard that Oregon head coach Mike Belotti was going to be the guest on Rome's TV show, Jim Rome Is Burning, but I was nowhere near a television set tuned to ESPN between 1:30 and 2 p.m. PST, so here is the interview that was missed.
I was driving around for work today when I heard that Oregon head coach Mike Belotti was going to be the guest on Rome's TV show, Jim Rome Is Burning, but I was nowhere near a television set tuned to ESPN between 1:30 and 2 p.m. PST, so here is the interview that was missed.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Martin Jol Is Gone......
Just came across on the BBC page; I'm a bit sad as I really liked the guy, but after the disastrous start to this season.......... (more later...)
BBC
A story about how Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp believes Berbatov was helping to add to Jol's problems is HERE, it's hard to disagree that Berbs has been disinterested this year.
Yikes, the tension that was running between the Tottenham board and Jol makes for some grim reading, from the BBC Sports Editor Mihir Bose, whose blog account is HERE.
BBC
A story about how Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp believes Berbatov was helping to add to Jol's problems is HERE, it's hard to disagree that Berbs has been disinterested this year.
Yikes, the tension that was running between the Tottenham board and Jol makes for some grim reading, from the BBC Sports Editor Mihir Bose, whose blog account is HERE.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Seahawks 33 Rams 6
In a 180 degree turn from last year's NFC west game between in Seattle between the Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams, an exciting game 24-22 victory for Seattle that went down to the last minute, the game played on Sunday the 21st at Qwest Field was one of the worst sporting events I've ever seen in my life, especially the first half.
Seattle scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game, a one yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Will Heller, and both teams added a field goal for the 10-3 half time score, but it was most certainly a game in which the offense went missing for periods at a time, with Seattle finishing the half with something like 168 yards and St. Louis with something like 50, from what I remember. In fact, the Cardinals didn't break the 100-yard mark until late in the third quarter, an awful performance punctuated by a lousy running game (they certainly do miss Steven Jackson) and some short passes by the just-returned-to-the-lineup-with-sore-ribs quarterback Marc Bulger that often weren't that close to the intended receivers.
The Seahawks weren't much better, particularly in the running game, as the fans continued to vent their frustration with running back Shaun Alexander for a variety of reasons (speaking not as a Seattle fan, I can think that maybe one play where the boo-birds were heard was due to lousy play calling, but whenever Hasselbeck or Maurice Morris had either made a bad play or was in in check running the ball, there was no reaction that I could hear).
Things livened up a bit at the start of the second half, when Nate Burleson returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, a nice reprise from last year's game when he returned a punt 90 yards for the winning score. The Rams were able to move the ball a bit better in the second half, particularly through the air, and were able to get another field goal (as well as missing on another one), but four turnovers, leading to 13 Seahawk points, in the second half doomed whatever meager chances that they had for a comeback.
The win puts Seattle in first place, at 4-3, in the "lowly NFC West" (hey, that was the headline on Sunday's Seattle Times!), while the Rams remain winless at 0-7, and showing no inclination on this particular day that a win is something within their grasp this season. However, the week before, the previously winless New Orleans Saints came to Seattle to claim a win, so who knows how the Rams respond in this age of NFL parity once they get Jackson back and begin to block effectively again? As for Seattle, it was revealed that Hasselbeck was hurting, which affected his play, but I for one can't honestly expect for him to lead this team very far into the playoffs if the ground game continues to produce paltry results. The Seahawks defense was very good for the game, but seeing as how the Rams were very one-dimensional (and limited) in their offensive attack, I'm not sure that's that much of a compliment.
ST.LOUIS REPORT
SEATTLE REPORT
ESPN
Seattle scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game, a one yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Will Heller, and both teams added a field goal for the 10-3 half time score, but it was most certainly a game in which the offense went missing for periods at a time, with Seattle finishing the half with something like 168 yards and St. Louis with something like 50, from what I remember. In fact, the Cardinals didn't break the 100-yard mark until late in the third quarter, an awful performance punctuated by a lousy running game (they certainly do miss Steven Jackson) and some short passes by the just-returned-to-the-lineup-with-sore-ribs quarterback Marc Bulger that often weren't that close to the intended receivers.
The Seahawks weren't much better, particularly in the running game, as the fans continued to vent their frustration with running back Shaun Alexander for a variety of reasons (speaking not as a Seattle fan, I can think that maybe one play where the boo-birds were heard was due to lousy play calling, but whenever Hasselbeck or Maurice Morris had either made a bad play or was in in check running the ball, there was no reaction that I could hear).
Things livened up a bit at the start of the second half, when Nate Burleson returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, a nice reprise from last year's game when he returned a punt 90 yards for the winning score. The Rams were able to move the ball a bit better in the second half, particularly through the air, and were able to get another field goal (as well as missing on another one), but four turnovers, leading to 13 Seahawk points, in the second half doomed whatever meager chances that they had for a comeback.
The win puts Seattle in first place, at 4-3, in the "lowly NFC West" (hey, that was the headline on Sunday's Seattle Times!), while the Rams remain winless at 0-7, and showing no inclination on this particular day that a win is something within their grasp this season. However, the week before, the previously winless New Orleans Saints came to Seattle to claim a win, so who knows how the Rams respond in this age of NFL parity once they get Jackson back and begin to block effectively again? As for Seattle, it was revealed that Hasselbeck was hurting, which affected his play, but I for one can't honestly expect for him to lead this team very far into the playoffs if the ground game continues to produce paltry results. The Seahawks defense was very good for the game, but seeing as how the Rams were very one-dimensional (and limited) in their offensive attack, I'm not sure that's that much of a compliment.
ST.LOUIS REPORT
SEATTLE REPORT
ESPN
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Oregon 55 Washington 34
Okay, so I was a bit off from my pre-game prediction of 28-17 to the Ducks (not on this site); both offenses played very well to blow past that point total by midway through the third quarter. In fact, some of the offensive numbers that Oregon put up were staggering....
. 465 rushing yards, a new team record, beating the record of 446 set in a game versus Washington State in 2001.
. 1 yard away from having 3 players with 100 yard rushing games (Jonathan Stewart finished with 251 yards on 32 carries, third string tailback Andre Crenshaw had 113 on 15, and quarterback Dennis Dixon had 12 carries for 99; it was funny to hear midway through the first quarter that Fox Sports Seattle announcer Brian Davis announce early on, after Stewart was limited to a three yard gain, that "maybe the Huskies have figured out" how to defend the running back. No further comment necessary)
. 39 first downs and 92 snaps for the offense.
I'd figured that the Huskies weren't going to lie down for this game against their southern rivals, and even though the Ducks marched down the field fairly easily for 2 touchdowns in the first quarter, Washington quarterback Jake Locker responded with an 82 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Russo to bring the Dawgs back to within a one-score distance. The ballyhooed fact of Washington being outscored 56-0 in the third quarter was quickly put to rest as Locker successfully answered a Ducks blitz package by hitting Louis Ranking on a screen pass that wound up, 43 yards later, for a Huskies touchdown that knotted the score at 24 early on in the third quarter.
The Ducks then responded with their defense, Jairus Byrd intercepting a Locker pass, on a Husky drive that might've nette them the lead, near the goal line that spurred the Duck offense on a 94 yard drive for which they took the lead for good toward the end of the third quarter. The Ducks continued to grind out the yards on the ground as the Washington offense continued to stall. Locker is very good, but is still a sophomore; there were more than a couple of plays that he which had me realize what the Ducks opposition was facing with his running skills. Best of all was holding Washington to a field goal after Locker had busted out a 47 yard run deep into Oregon territory, which made the score 41-34 with just under 6 minutes to play. Husky coach Ty Willingham then attempted an onside kick which gave the Ducks excellent field position, and less than a minute later the Ducks had scored, and the game was over, for all practical intents and purposes.
I was very happy to see senior receiver Garren Strong make his first career touchdown reception, the first score of the game, as Dixon distributed the ball evenly amongst his receivers (even though Derrick Jones was suspended for violation of team rules, and Dixon overthrew his targets a couple of times, there was nothing to suggest that the he was about to revert into his form from the latter part of last year, even after Washington had tied the score in the third quarter).
Oh yeah, another number to make everyone smile: apparently the 465 yards rushing that the Ducks accumulated in the game is 192 more than Notre Dame has..........in an entire year. Now that's a tangible stat I can get behind.
ESPN RECAP
. 465 rushing yards, a new team record, beating the record of 446 set in a game versus Washington State in 2001.
. 1 yard away from having 3 players with 100 yard rushing games (Jonathan Stewart finished with 251 yards on 32 carries, third string tailback Andre Crenshaw had 113 on 15, and quarterback Dennis Dixon had 12 carries for 99; it was funny to hear midway through the first quarter that Fox Sports Seattle announcer Brian Davis announce early on, after Stewart was limited to a three yard gain, that "maybe the Huskies have figured out" how to defend the running back. No further comment necessary)
. 39 first downs and 92 snaps for the offense.
I'd figured that the Huskies weren't going to lie down for this game against their southern rivals, and even though the Ducks marched down the field fairly easily for 2 touchdowns in the first quarter, Washington quarterback Jake Locker responded with an 82 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Russo to bring the Dawgs back to within a one-score distance. The ballyhooed fact of Washington being outscored 56-0 in the third quarter was quickly put to rest as Locker successfully answered a Ducks blitz package by hitting Louis Ranking on a screen pass that wound up, 43 yards later, for a Huskies touchdown that knotted the score at 24 early on in the third quarter.
The Ducks then responded with their defense, Jairus Byrd intercepting a Locker pass, on a Husky drive that might've nette them the lead, near the goal line that spurred the Duck offense on a 94 yard drive for which they took the lead for good toward the end of the third quarter. The Ducks continued to grind out the yards on the ground as the Washington offense continued to stall. Locker is very good, but is still a sophomore; there were more than a couple of plays that he which had me realize what the Ducks opposition was facing with his running skills. Best of all was holding Washington to a field goal after Locker had busted out a 47 yard run deep into Oregon territory, which made the score 41-34 with just under 6 minutes to play. Husky coach Ty Willingham then attempted an onside kick which gave the Ducks excellent field position, and less than a minute later the Ducks had scored, and the game was over, for all practical intents and purposes.
I was very happy to see senior receiver Garren Strong make his first career touchdown reception, the first score of the game, as Dixon distributed the ball evenly amongst his receivers (even though Derrick Jones was suspended for violation of team rules, and Dixon overthrew his targets a couple of times, there was nothing to suggest that the he was about to revert into his form from the latter part of last year, even after Washington had tied the score in the third quarter).
Oh yeah, another number to make everyone smile: apparently the 465 yards rushing that the Ducks accumulated in the game is 192 more than Notre Dame has..........in an entire year. Now that's a tangible stat I can get behind.
ESPN RECAP
Friday, October 19, 2007
Lucky Dube, R.I.P.
Shocking to tune into WORLD HAVE YOUR SAY today and hear about the senseless shooting, in front of his own kids, of South African reggae star Lucky Dube in a bungled carjacking attempt. Hard to say if this will further confirm the world's attitude about how crime-ridden South Africa is, especially with preparations for the 2010 World Cup proceeding as planned. The sad truth, also, is that it once again took a "name" victim to highlight social conditions that have gone on for too long and claimed countless other people who deserved more than the moment's notice we tend to give them when skimming over world reports in the media. That being said, this is still a huge loss for the music world and South Africa.
AFRICAN REPORT
AFRICAN REPORT
Thursday, October 18, 2007
I Knew It (But My Boss Didn't!)
Well, this really isn't a case of believing what I want to believe, I'm sure there are lots of people who will claim that people will twist the results of any university survey to suit their own views. Still, the announcement from a British university that says that swearing at work can have a positive impact on the workplace may be hard to fit into the category. Unless one works at a child-care facility, of course.
BBC STORY
BBC STORY
Robbo To Miss Newcastle: Be Careful What You Wish For?
One fairly consistent worry from Spurs fans for the past couple of years is the number of lapses that goalie Paul Robinson has exhibited on the pitch. allowing balls into the back of the net that really had no business going there. (On second thought, add fans of the English team in general to that list of those who hold their breath way too often when Robbo's in goal).
At any rate, the news out of White Hart Lane is that Robinson had suffered a calf strain on international duty, which means that back up goalie Radek Cerny will finally get a chance to be in the starting line-up this coming Monday night at Newcastle.
With the woeful start that Spurs have had the season, done in part by some of those lapses, the least that could be done, in the view of many fans, is to have let Cerny have a shot and see if maybe Robinson's lapses were down to an overall lack of confidence; maybe a short rest could do him and the team some good. Well, we'll all be finding out this coming Monday. Come On You Spurs!
SPURS STORY
At any rate, the news out of White Hart Lane is that Robinson had suffered a calf strain on international duty, which means that back up goalie Radek Cerny will finally get a chance to be in the starting line-up this coming Monday night at Newcastle.
With the woeful start that Spurs have had the season, done in part by some of those lapses, the least that could be done, in the view of many fans, is to have let Cerny have a shot and see if maybe Robinson's lapses were down to an overall lack of confidence; maybe a short rest could do him and the team some good. Well, we'll all be finding out this coming Monday. Come On You Spurs!
SPURS STORY
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Oregon 53 Washington State 7
A lovely fall day for football turned into a nightmare for the visiting Cougars as the Ducks took advantage of three early Alex Brink turnovers to spark an amazing first half of play from Oregon, winding up at the break with an insurmountable 40 to 0 lead.
I know Brink would've loved to have performed better in his hometown debut (also his finale as well) and I do not begrudge him at all the motivating factor of not being offered a scholarship by the hometown college team. The big issue is that early on the Cougars moved the ball between the 20's fairly well, but two poor throws and a fumble by Brink, in their first four possessions, put the defense in a bad position. Oregon, having a very good offense, made the Cougars pay for those mistakes and things just snowballed out of control quickly for Washington State.
The first play for Oregon, after Brink's first interception, was a 42 yard touchdown run by Jeremiah Johnson, and the other big touchdown highlight was Jaison Williams turning a short screen pass into a 52 yard run down the sideline in front of the Cougar bench. The bad news for the Ducks on this day were major injuries to receiver Cameron Colvin (broken ankle, gone for the year) and a sprained knee for Johnson (who looked to be in good spirits despite being on crutches for the second half; fingers crossed for good news from an upcoming MRI). (MORNING AFTER EDIT: From what I've read, the prognosis for Johnson isn't very good, apparently Belotti mentioned that JJ was probably done for the year at his post-game press conference, but I somehow missed that announcement with everything else that was going on).
About the only stats I remember are that Oregon had 390 yards of offense in the first half, the Cougars with only 130, and Alex Brink had 115 passing yards in the first half, and added 136 in the third quarter but only managed to get one touchdown. That being said, Brink did make some great throws and he had some receivers who could make a hard catch, but the Cougar drives would invariably bog down to the pressure from the Oregon defense. I'd read that the Cougars had only allowed nine sacks in the first six games of this year, but Oregon hurried and got to Brink whenever it had to.
It was another upsetting day in the college football world, a lot of Duck fans were buzzing because Kentucky (and ex-Duck coach Rich Brooks) was giving #1 L.S.U. a run for their ranking, IN WHICH L.S.U. EVENTUALLY LOST, and for the fact that the Oregon State Beavers knocked off the #2 California Golden Bears with a good ball-control offense that performed largely error-free when it most needed to this year, with that games recap right HERE; the funny thing about that game is that I had to give my brother a play-by-play description of the last two minutes as he was making his way back home from Santa Barbara to Burbank; the joy in his voice as I informed him that Kevin Riley ran to the middle of the field rather than the sideline as time was expiring was the best thing I've heard in a long while. He told me he was gonna wear a Duck shirt and a Beaver hat whilst going about his business in the Southland tomorrow, what an Oregonian! Good on ya bro, it was indeed a pleasure describing those crazy last plays of the game.
DUCK RECAP
I know Brink would've loved to have performed better in his hometown debut (also his finale as well) and I do not begrudge him at all the motivating factor of not being offered a scholarship by the hometown college team. The big issue is that early on the Cougars moved the ball between the 20's fairly well, but two poor throws and a fumble by Brink, in their first four possessions, put the defense in a bad position. Oregon, having a very good offense, made the Cougars pay for those mistakes and things just snowballed out of control quickly for Washington State.
The first play for Oregon, after Brink's first interception, was a 42 yard touchdown run by Jeremiah Johnson, and the other big touchdown highlight was Jaison Williams turning a short screen pass into a 52 yard run down the sideline in front of the Cougar bench. The bad news for the Ducks on this day were major injuries to receiver Cameron Colvin (broken ankle, gone for the year) and a sprained knee for Johnson (who looked to be in good spirits despite being on crutches for the second half; fingers crossed for good news from an upcoming MRI). (MORNING AFTER EDIT: From what I've read, the prognosis for Johnson isn't very good, apparently Belotti mentioned that JJ was probably done for the year at his post-game press conference, but I somehow missed that announcement with everything else that was going on).
About the only stats I remember are that Oregon had 390 yards of offense in the first half, the Cougars with only 130, and Alex Brink had 115 passing yards in the first half, and added 136 in the third quarter but only managed to get one touchdown. That being said, Brink did make some great throws and he had some receivers who could make a hard catch, but the Cougar drives would invariably bog down to the pressure from the Oregon defense. I'd read that the Cougars had only allowed nine sacks in the first six games of this year, but Oregon hurried and got to Brink whenever it had to.
It was another upsetting day in the college football world, a lot of Duck fans were buzzing because Kentucky (and ex-Duck coach Rich Brooks) was giving #1 L.S.U. a run for their ranking, IN WHICH L.S.U. EVENTUALLY LOST, and for the fact that the Oregon State Beavers knocked off the #2 California Golden Bears with a good ball-control offense that performed largely error-free when it most needed to this year, with that games recap right HERE; the funny thing about that game is that I had to give my brother a play-by-play description of the last two minutes as he was making his way back home from Santa Barbara to Burbank; the joy in his voice as I informed him that Kevin Riley ran to the middle of the field rather than the sideline as time was expiring was the best thing I've heard in a long while. He told me he was gonna wear a Duck shirt and a Beaver hat whilst going about his business in the Southland tomorrow, what an Oregonian! Good on ya bro, it was indeed a pleasure describing those crazy last plays of the game.
DUCK RECAP
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Mekons At The Aladdin
Great show in Portland last night, more words later when I'm more able to, but I did manage to jot down the set list,.... (thoughts of the show are now at the end)
Give Us Wine Or Money
Dickie Chalkie And Nobby
Heaven And Back
Oblivion
Thee Olde Trip To Jerusalem
Tina
Millionaire
Diamonds
The Hope & Anchor
Cockermouth
Abernant 1984/5
Ghosts Of American Astrounauts
Hole In The Ground
Perfect Mirror
Encore:
Powers & Horror
Wild And Blue
Slightly South Of The Border
Hard To Be Human
Yes, a very good show, including an energetic and appreciated set by the Sadies (I did not know they were playing later on that night at Dante's, so if Jon or Sally joined them onstage to play, it was at that venue, I'd heard that they had joined them onstage a couple of days earlier).
Anyway, there was no Tom at the show, he had flown back home a couple of days earlier with regard to the imminent birth of his fourth child. Way to go Tom. I suppose Tom's absence meant the removal of a couple of his songs from the set that had been played earlier, such as Fletcher Christian, but I do have to say that Lu did a very good job taking the lead on Heaven And Back as well as singing backup on most of the other songs.
The new songs from Natural were wonderful, with a special nod for the haunting version of Perfect Mirror that closed the set. Rico's singing on Diamonds was another highlight, as was Sally performing The Hope And Anchor. Of course, Jon's wonderful dancing whilst performing Cockermouth is already something of a legend, yet another twist of the slightly unexpected from this band
All of the older songs sounded fine in the semi-acoustic format as well, with Ghosts Of American Astronauts standing out. Still, hearing classic tunes such as Tina, Abernant 1984/5, Hard To Be Human and Hole In The Ground isn't exactly a waste of time after all of these years either, and the smallish crowd, many of whom had never seen the band before I don't believe, reacted very appreciatively. The couples waltzing during the encore of Wild And Blue was something to see, preceded as it was by four Mekon men (Jon, Rico, Steve and Lu) performing Power& Horror in the theater alcove stage left, with both Jon and Steve holding the curtains back at times so that Rico could be seen playing his accordian.
I got there early enough to get a decent parking spot and to have a meal at the Lamp just before the doors opened, it was nice to see the band troop in after the soundcheck and have their drinks and meals sitting next to me (I wouldn't think of going up to anybody in a situation like that, so I let them be; they all looked to be in good spirits waiting for the clock to pass and the show to begin).
A top night out, there's still no other band I appreciate more, on various levels, than the Mekons. When they go, it will be a big loss in the music world; it's just great enough to appreciate them whilst they are here.
Give Us Wine Or Money
Dickie Chalkie And Nobby
Heaven And Back
Oblivion
Thee Olde Trip To Jerusalem
Tina
Millionaire
Diamonds
The Hope & Anchor
Cockermouth
Abernant 1984/5
Ghosts Of American Astrounauts
Hole In The Ground
Perfect Mirror
Encore:
Powers & Horror
Wild And Blue
Slightly South Of The Border
Hard To Be Human
Yes, a very good show, including an energetic and appreciated set by the Sadies (I did not know they were playing later on that night at Dante's, so if Jon or Sally joined them onstage to play, it was at that venue, I'd heard that they had joined them onstage a couple of days earlier).
Anyway, there was no Tom at the show, he had flown back home a couple of days earlier with regard to the imminent birth of his fourth child. Way to go Tom. I suppose Tom's absence meant the removal of a couple of his songs from the set that had been played earlier, such as Fletcher Christian, but I do have to say that Lu did a very good job taking the lead on Heaven And Back as well as singing backup on most of the other songs.
The new songs from Natural were wonderful, with a special nod for the haunting version of Perfect Mirror that closed the set. Rico's singing on Diamonds was another highlight, as was Sally performing The Hope And Anchor. Of course, Jon's wonderful dancing whilst performing Cockermouth is already something of a legend, yet another twist of the slightly unexpected from this band
All of the older songs sounded fine in the semi-acoustic format as well, with Ghosts Of American Astronauts standing out. Still, hearing classic tunes such as Tina, Abernant 1984/5, Hard To Be Human and Hole In The Ground isn't exactly a waste of time after all of these years either, and the smallish crowd, many of whom had never seen the band before I don't believe, reacted very appreciatively. The couples waltzing during the encore of Wild And Blue was something to see, preceded as it was by four Mekon men (Jon, Rico, Steve and Lu) performing Power& Horror in the theater alcove stage left, with both Jon and Steve holding the curtains back at times so that Rico could be seen playing his accordian.
I got there early enough to get a decent parking spot and to have a meal at the Lamp just before the doors opened, it was nice to see the band troop in after the soundcheck and have their drinks and meals sitting next to me (I wouldn't think of going up to anybody in a situation like that, so I let them be; they all looked to be in good spirits waiting for the clock to pass and the show to begin).
A top night out, there's still no other band I appreciate more, on various levels, than the Mekons. When they go, it will be a big loss in the music world; it's just great enough to appreciate them whilst they are here.
Monday, October 08, 2007
The Mekons At The Aladdin October 9th
The band from which I "borrowed" the name of my blog will be gracing the city of Portland with a show on Tuesday night at the Aladdin Theater, being billed as "A Quiet Night In With the Mekons". This means that they will be sitting for most of the show, from accounts I've read so far, and mixing in choice cuts from their recent, acoustic-based album Natural with classic tracks from their 30-year career.
Added good news is the fact that the Sadies will be opening, also doing an acoustic set. Perhaps we will be lucky enough for Mekon Jon Langford to sit in with the openers and sing a song or two from the great album that they recorded together a few years ago, Mayors Of The Moon.
The 25th anniversary show they played at Berbati's back in 2002 was great, and all indications are that it will be another great night of music, one of which I will eagerly partake of. With the fact that the band members are living in various scattered quarters of the world, there's no guarantee they'll ever tour again together, or even make another record, so enjoy them while you can.
ALADDIN SHOW PAGE
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Liverpool 2 Spurs 2: "Anfield's A Library!"
Well, it was for the most part as the Spurs supporters up north sang that song, to the tune of La donna è mobile, several times as they cheered the visitors on. However, it took an injury time header from Fernando Torres, in addition to another mistake from Spurs goalie Paul Robinson, to balance out a couple of goals from Robbie Keane on either side of the half time break and eke out a point.
Both Spurs goals were headed to Keane from Dimitar Berbatov, and Keane deftly sliced in-between the Liverpool defense to put the ball in the back of the net.
The first Liverpool goal came early on as Andriy Voronin knocked in a ball that rebounded on a free kick that Robinson failed to catch, and with the Spurs poor away performance, especially against the "big four", the sign of another long, dreary afternoon seemed immininent, seeing also that Gareth Bale had missed a goal on a free kick by mere inches earlier on.
However, Spurs defended well for the most part, Micheal Dawson repeatedly clearing balls out of danger at the back, though there wasn't much both he and Robinson could do about the late Torres blast.
Spurs still haven't won a league match at Anfield since August of 93, though they did manage to draw, also 2-2, a couple of years ago. The two Spurs goals were the first given up in the play of the game, the previous two goals allowed, against Aston Villa and Chelsea in the first two matches of the year, came on penalty kicks, and the Reds were on a streak of five games plus of not having allowed a goal at all.
Certainly both sides had their chances to really take control of the game, but that's not the way things worked out today, Robinson did make a couple of fine saves, and Liverpool goalie Jose Reina was forced out of the box a couple of times in order to thwart a couple of Spurs chances. At any rate, once Spurs had the lead at 2-1, it was nice to see them continuing to push forward and fight for another goal. The Liverpool crowd grew a bit restless in the last 20 minutes or so, but the good Spurs defense turned the home side away several times with excellent positioning. That is, until the dying moments of the match. All told though, it was an exciting one to watch and probably the deserved result. Come On You Spurs!
MATCH STATS
6 P.M. EDIT: To the shock of just about no fan of the Lilywhites, Spurs have been revealed to be the team in the EPL that causes their fans the most stress, the study and story is HERE.
Both Spurs goals were headed to Keane from Dimitar Berbatov, and Keane deftly sliced in-between the Liverpool defense to put the ball in the back of the net.
The first Liverpool goal came early on as Andriy Voronin knocked in a ball that rebounded on a free kick that Robinson failed to catch, and with the Spurs poor away performance, especially against the "big four", the sign of another long, dreary afternoon seemed immininent, seeing also that Gareth Bale had missed a goal on a free kick by mere inches earlier on.
However, Spurs defended well for the most part, Micheal Dawson repeatedly clearing balls out of danger at the back, though there wasn't much both he and Robinson could do about the late Torres blast.
Spurs still haven't won a league match at Anfield since August of 93, though they did manage to draw, also 2-2, a couple of years ago. The two Spurs goals were the first given up in the play of the game, the previous two goals allowed, against Aston Villa and Chelsea in the first two matches of the year, came on penalty kicks, and the Reds were on a streak of five games plus of not having allowed a goal at all.
Certainly both sides had their chances to really take control of the game, but that's not the way things worked out today, Robinson did make a couple of fine saves, and Liverpool goalie Jose Reina was forced out of the box a couple of times in order to thwart a couple of Spurs chances. At any rate, once Spurs had the lead at 2-1, it was nice to see them continuing to push forward and fight for another goal. The Liverpool crowd grew a bit restless in the last 20 minutes or so, but the good Spurs defense turned the home side away several times with excellent positioning. That is, until the dying moments of the match. All told though, it was an exciting one to watch and probably the deserved result. Come On You Spurs!
MATCH STATS
6 P.M. EDIT: To the shock of just about no fan of the Lilywhites, Spurs have been revealed to be the team in the EPL that causes their fans the most stress, the study and story is HERE.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Cracking News: New Wallace & Gromit Short For Next Year
Not much of a cheese lover myself, but I do love Wallace and Gromit, and I just noticed the BBC STORY with the good news of a new short to be made for the Beeb.
Also good to see that whatever pressures on creator Nick Park and his animation company, Aardman Animation, may have felt with its former U.S. partner, Dreamworks Animation, THAT LED TO THE BREAK-UP OF THE PARTNERSHIP, are now gone, and Park is now making the film for "myself" and "those who love Wallace and Gromit". Well done lad.
Also good to see that whatever pressures on creator Nick Park and his animation company, Aardman Animation, may have felt with its former U.S. partner, Dreamworks Animation, THAT LED TO THE BREAK-UP OF THE PARTNERSHIP, are now gone, and Park is now making the film for "myself" and "those who love Wallace and Gromit". Well done lad.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Goodbye To The Tube
Maybe I'll date myself and announce that I do like to watch music videos periodically (or at least have the television on as background noise while I go about my business), but it was still a bit sad to see that The Tube (Channel 303 on Comcast) ceased operations today.
It's no use complaining too much about the ever-changing way in which people consume music and videos these days. Services such as YouTube, or perhaps the official site of any artist, or maybe the video channel on Winamp have emerged as the new vehicles to see something in particular. As these choices were more about what the viewer wants, rather than the airer, such a fate was probably predictable; I'll still miss the randomness of the playlist programmed by something other than me, which might even necessitate the changing of the channel briefly when something odious aired.
Of course, making money, or at least breaking even (I've seen a post elsewhere that reported that the Tube was losing money hand over fist), would've been nice as well, but as television is indeed a business, there comes a time when one has to pull the plug.
THE TUBE
It's no use complaining too much about the ever-changing way in which people consume music and videos these days. Services such as YouTube, or perhaps the official site of any artist, or maybe the video channel on Winamp have emerged as the new vehicles to see something in particular. As these choices were more about what the viewer wants, rather than the airer, such a fate was probably predictable; I'll still miss the randomness of the playlist programmed by something other than me, which might even necessitate the changing of the channel briefly when something odious aired.
Of course, making money, or at least breaking even (I've seen a post elsewhere that reported that the Tube was losing money hand over fist), would've been nice as well, but as television is indeed a business, there comes a time when one has to pull the plug.
THE TUBE
Mets To Fans: We Care A Lot
Having been on the Mets mailing list, and dealing, all season long, with various e-mails such as voting for what song David Wright should come to bat to at Shea, the season ending note we got today was an open apology to Mets fans.
It starts:
Dear Mets Fan:
All of us at the Mets are bitterly disappointed in failing to achieve our collective goal of building upon last year's success. We did not meet our organization's expectations -- or yours. Everyone at Shea feels the same range of emotions as you -- our loyal fans -- and we know we have let you down. We wanted to thank you for your record-breaking support of our team this year.
Equally important, Ownership will continue its commitment in providing the resources necessary to field a championship team. Omar will be meeting with Ownership shortly to present his plan on addressing our shortcomings so that we can achieve our goal of winning championships in 2008 and beyond.
You deserve better results.
Many thanks again for your record-breaking support.
Obviously, it now appears that, like it or not, a version of "blow it up and build it again" will be undertaken this offseason, and who's to say at this moment if the return of manager Willie Randolph is one of those changes. For a start, let's hope they start with the pitching staff, or next season will be a lot worse than this one.
In other Mets news, the gent who caught Barry Bonds' record breaking 756th home run in San Francisco is now blaming himself for the Mets spectacular late season slide, the New York Post article is HERE.
It starts:
Dear Mets Fan:
All of us at the Mets are bitterly disappointed in failing to achieve our collective goal of building upon last year's success. We did not meet our organization's expectations -- or yours. Everyone at Shea feels the same range of emotions as you -- our loyal fans -- and we know we have let you down. We wanted to thank you for your record-breaking support of our team this year.
Equally important, Ownership will continue its commitment in providing the resources necessary to field a championship team. Omar will be meeting with Ownership shortly to present his plan on addressing our shortcomings so that we can achieve our goal of winning championships in 2008 and beyond.
You deserve better results.
Many thanks again for your record-breaking support.
Obviously, it now appears that, like it or not, a version of "blow it up and build it again" will be undertaken this offseason, and who's to say at this moment if the return of manager Willie Randolph is one of those changes. For a start, let's hope they start with the pitching staff, or next season will be a lot worse than this one.
In other Mets news, the gent who caught Barry Bonds' record breaking 756th home run in San Francisco is now blaming himself for the Mets spectacular late season slide, the New York Post article is HERE.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Bears 31 Ducks 24: Inches Short
I had a full day in Eugene (driving down to ESPN's GameDay when it was still dark, and heading back after the sun had set in the evening), and while the outcome of the football game against the California Golden Bears might've been better, it was still a fun day out for being with friend and for the banter between the fans of the two closely related teams.
Yes, I headed down when it was still very dark outside, though I wasn't in such a hurry as to get there early enough to snag a front row. By the time I had made it to Eugene, the sun was rising and the crowd was roaring, I could hear them by EWEB as I made my way from my parking spot in downtown.
Found myself a decent spot in the middle of the very large crowd, estimates were about 6,000 from what I'd heard, right near the gentlemen waving an Ohio State Buckeye flag and the black Duck skull and crossbones. I guess the other sign in front of me was the one of Borat in his lime green thong, though I was only able to see that one once when it was turned around. Props to those who brought flags from L.S.U., Washington State, and U.S.C. I also noticed a homemade sign from an Arkansas Razorback sign imploring "Fire Nutt" as well as a note to Alabama fans from Texas A & M land. My two personal favorite signs were "O.J. Stole My Sign" and one of Bears quarterback Nate Longshore drinking Zima, with a pic of him and a thought balloon that said "God.........I'm soft!"
There was a LOT of drinking going on, predictably by the students, who then felt it was open season on anybody not showing support for the Ducks. Worst of those near me were the giggling pack of three frat boys who decided to vent on a couple of Cal fans. First they started in on the size of the their sign that they were waving ("You know what a small sign means, don't ya???"), to which I thought, "No, I think you're referring to drunks who have to shout down others to feel better about their own shortcomings". Then they started in on their looks, and the apparent conclusion drawn from them that these Cal guys were male cheerleaders (this was all happening in the second hour, before the main segments on the Duck/Bears game were aired to the crowd). Finally, one guy closer to the frat idiots told them to save their anger for the game, which drew various positive reactions from those unfortunate enough to be close to these boys. This idea seemed to have sunk into their thick heads a bit, or maybe it was the fact that ESPN ran the segment on Jonathan Stewart, but at least we didn't have to hear them blather on and on. Predictably, after each "witty" remark to the Cal fans, the boys would look at each other conspiratorially and giggle, which told me all that I needed to know about 'em (they wouldn't have done this crap if they were alone, and the fact that they were fueled on freakin' Bud Light!).
The game has been rehashed elsewhere, and while everybody in our section had absolute complete faith that we were going to come back and win, even after the kick off fumble and the two Dennis Dixon interceptions. Of course, Cameron Colvin's fumble was quite a shock (as was the ruling; technically a dumb rule, but it did happen just like that on the field, so they've gotta call it like that), but hats off to California for capitalizing on those mistakes, that's what good teams do.
I thought the defense played well, you can only keep players like DeSean Jackson and Justin Forsett contained for so long. Special teams were a mixed bag, punter Josh Syria had his worst kick of the season (29 yards I think) set up a Cal touchdown, though he has been absolutely great in all of his other kicks this season. I'm not sure the squib kickoffs to Cal achieved anything other than good field position for most of the game, but that's the way the coaches saw fit to play it.
It was still an exciting game of two evenly matched teams with connections between the programs, it was good to see that the rain held off until after the game was over. Relaxing for dinner at a joint that didn't have the Beaver game on, I had heard on the radio once I got back to my car after the Duck game that Oregon State had a 14-0 lead early on; imagine my surprise to hear that they wound up losing 40-14, leading me to call my mother who was working at Reser to find out exactly what in the world had happened. She relayed the sad information to me, and noting that it was now dark outside, the time had come for me to call it a day.
Yes, I headed down when it was still very dark outside, though I wasn't in such a hurry as to get there early enough to snag a front row. By the time I had made it to Eugene, the sun was rising and the crowd was roaring, I could hear them by EWEB as I made my way from my parking spot in downtown.
Found myself a decent spot in the middle of the very large crowd, estimates were about 6,000 from what I'd heard, right near the gentlemen waving an Ohio State Buckeye flag and the black Duck skull and crossbones. I guess the other sign in front of me was the one of Borat in his lime green thong, though I was only able to see that one once when it was turned around. Props to those who brought flags from L.S.U., Washington State, and U.S.C. I also noticed a homemade sign from an Arkansas Razorback sign imploring "Fire Nutt" as well as a note to Alabama fans from Texas A & M land. My two personal favorite signs were "O.J. Stole My Sign" and one of Bears quarterback Nate Longshore drinking Zima, with a pic of him and a thought balloon that said "God.........I'm soft!"
There was a LOT of drinking going on, predictably by the students, who then felt it was open season on anybody not showing support for the Ducks. Worst of those near me were the giggling pack of three frat boys who decided to vent on a couple of Cal fans. First they started in on the size of the their sign that they were waving ("You know what a small sign means, don't ya???"), to which I thought, "No, I think you're referring to drunks who have to shout down others to feel better about their own shortcomings". Then they started in on their looks, and the apparent conclusion drawn from them that these Cal guys were male cheerleaders (this was all happening in the second hour, before the main segments on the Duck/Bears game were aired to the crowd). Finally, one guy closer to the frat idiots told them to save their anger for the game, which drew various positive reactions from those unfortunate enough to be close to these boys. This idea seemed to have sunk into their thick heads a bit, or maybe it was the fact that ESPN ran the segment on Jonathan Stewart, but at least we didn't have to hear them blather on and on. Predictably, after each "witty" remark to the Cal fans, the boys would look at each other conspiratorially and giggle, which told me all that I needed to know about 'em (they wouldn't have done this crap if they were alone, and the fact that they were fueled on freakin' Bud Light!).
The game has been rehashed elsewhere, and while everybody in our section had absolute complete faith that we were going to come back and win, even after the kick off fumble and the two Dennis Dixon interceptions. Of course, Cameron Colvin's fumble was quite a shock (as was the ruling; technically a dumb rule, but it did happen just like that on the field, so they've gotta call it like that), but hats off to California for capitalizing on those mistakes, that's what good teams do.
I thought the defense played well, you can only keep players like DeSean Jackson and Justin Forsett contained for so long. Special teams were a mixed bag, punter Josh Syria had his worst kick of the season (29 yards I think) set up a Cal touchdown, though he has been absolutely great in all of his other kicks this season. I'm not sure the squib kickoffs to Cal achieved anything other than good field position for most of the game, but that's the way the coaches saw fit to play it.
It was still an exciting game of two evenly matched teams with connections between the programs, it was good to see that the rain held off until after the game was over. Relaxing for dinner at a joint that didn't have the Beaver game on, I had heard on the radio once I got back to my car after the Duck game that Oregon State had a 14-0 lead early on; imagine my surprise to hear that they wound up losing 40-14, leading me to call my mother who was working at Reser to find out exactly what in the world had happened. She relayed the sad information to me, and noting that it was now dark outside, the time had come for me to call it a day.
Marlins 8 Mets 1: Karmic Payback For '69,'73 and Game Six?
Photo is from today's NY DAILY NEWSPayback is a bitch, as has been said a couple of times, and apparently the bill was due today for the New York Mets, who, in absolute dire need of a win, played just a mere half inning of cringe-worthy baseball in the top of the first inning, and allowed the Florida Marlins 7 runs and granted the visitors their desires to play spoiler to somebody's post-season party. This was more than enough to bury the anemic hitting Mets, yesterday's 13 run outburst obviously the exception to the late September rule.
If the late season meltdown was to be completed to its grim conclusion, then I would've really liked to have had been able to view the SNY broadcast. Gary Cohen's critical analysis of the situation, combined with the commentary from two members of another underachieving team, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling from the 1988 Mets squad, would have preferable to FauxFlorida broadcast team of Rich Waltz, who's not been missed in this area since his days with FauxSportsSeattle, and Tommy Hutton.
Of course the Phillies won today, so they can say that they didn't back into the title (actually, they played extremely good baseball over the last month of the season, and fully deserve credit for being able to get back to the place they found themselves in starting today.)
The boos for the Mets in the bottom of the ninth inning were loudest for shortstop Jose Reyes, who completed the day 0 for 5, and wound up the season hitting .280, a big disappointment as he was hitting over .300 for the majority of the year, though to his credit he did exhibit more patience at the plate and drew almost as many walks this year (77) as he did in the previous two seasons combined (27 in '05 and 53 in '06).
The late season swoon of Reyes isn't the only thing to point to, the age of some key players (Green, Alou, Glavine, Martinez, Delgado, etc) and the mess that the pitching staff became are are other issues to consider, so at first glance, I'd be inclined to say, at this time, that maybe one third of this year's team won't be back next year.
The good news is that I wont' have to spend much time watching baseball this October, and can instead focus on the shortcomings of Tottenham Hotspur in the EPL instead. Oh, life is grand indeed. Sheesh.
coup de grâce for the season
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Mets 13 Marlins 0: Don't Do This To Me
Just back from Eugene to find out that the Mets, no longer looking from a hilltop, blasted the Florida Marlins 13-0 today as John Maine pitches one-hit ball for 7 and a third innings, there was a fight between Jose Reyes and Miguel Oliva, and that the Phillies and Padres lost to tighten things up. The Mets and Phils tied for the N.L. east lead ( and with both a game behind the Padres for the wild card), and it was the Phillies turn, as division leaders, to bumble around with the baseball defensively as they lost 4-2 to the Washington Nationals.
I'm totally drained after a long day of football, so more will be added tomorrow, but it now looks as if there is a possibility of a four way tie for the N.L. wild card. Well, the only thing to say is.........Let's Go Mets!
I'm totally drained after a long day of football, so more will be added tomorrow, but it now looks as if there is a possibility of a four way tie for the N.L. wild card. Well, the only thing to say is.........Let's Go Mets!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Cardinals 3 Mets 0: All Tied Up
The Mets lose, again, by finding themselves limited to just three hits. Those hits were given up by a Seattle Mariners cast-off, Joel Pineiro, who pitched eight innings, plus one inning by closer Jason Isringhausen. The Mets did not get a hit past the fifth inning, and the last 13 batters were set down in a row to end the game. Held scoreless and looking very ineffective on the offensive end, by freakin' Joel Pineiro, now that's gotta leave a bad taste in the Mets collective mouth, though thankfully the Mets bullpen did not implode in this game as has been the case so often the past two weeks. Always look on the bright side of things, we were told by Monty Python. That's my grasp at doing so tonight.
The Phillies have just closed out there game with the Braves by a 6-4 score, and now it is all tied up atop the National League East. No harm in saying that this team doesn't deserve to make the playoffs, which it very well may not if the Padres continue their winning ways and claim the wild card spot. Sigh.
BOX SCORE
The Phillies have just closed out there game with the Braves by a 6-4 score, and now it is all tied up atop the National League East. No harm in saying that this team doesn't deserve to make the playoffs, which it very well may not if the Padres continue their winning ways and claim the wild card spot. Sigh.
BOX SCORE
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Nationals 9 Mets 6: Season On The Brink
The Mets blew yet another large lead in their loss to the Washington Nationals tonight, 9-6, as they continue their spectacular effort to give away the division lead in the National League east. Combined with the Phillies victory over the Braves, this puts their lead down to just one game, the smallest margin since sometime in May.
Two home runs by Carlos Beltran and one by Moises Alou early on were not enough to stake rookie pitcher Philip Humber, making his major league starting debut in the middle of this heated pennant race, to a victory. Manager Willie Randolph removed him with a 6-2 lead in the fifth with two on and zero outs, but reliever Joe Smith was tonight's bullpen arsonist as the Nats put up 5 in the inning to give the visitors the lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Mets could muster no serious offensive rally after that, and even the return of Orlando Hernanadez could not really energize the deep faith in their fans that this team would rally to win this game. The appearance of Billy Wagner for the top of the ninth with the Mets still trailing by just one run could not instill that confidence either, as the Nats struck for 2 more runs to seal the game on this night.
About the only small bit of comfort I'm getting is that several other playoff contending teams are struggling with the same things that the Mets are, and there is still a small voice nagging away at the back of my head telling me that if the Mets just somehow make it to the playoffs, then their chances are just as good as anybody else's. That's true to a point, I'll admit, but I do hope that's not just a major case of wishful thinking on my part; all evidence since September 12th, when the Mets were 21 games over .500, to the contrary. Since that date, the Mets have lost 9 of 13, and of those losses, they've blown leads in six of them, most of those losses having allowed one big inning to the opponent, when either the pitching or defense leaves the team high and dry. To be fair, the Mets have also rallied for two victories in that time, but seeing as how they came against the Florida Marlins, the worst team in the division, in the series before this, I'm also not building a whole lot of confidence for the last few days, other than the fact that the Mets end the season with the Marlins at Shea this weekend.
The good news, for tonight anyway, and unless the Mets find themselves in a race for the wild card, is that the Padres, who have a one game lead over the Phillies in that race, are leading the Giants 2-1 in the fifth inning. This game is also noteworthy in that it marks the San Francisco finale for some guy named Barry Bonds.
METS BOXSCORE
Two home runs by Carlos Beltran and one by Moises Alou early on were not enough to stake rookie pitcher Philip Humber, making his major league starting debut in the middle of this heated pennant race, to a victory. Manager Willie Randolph removed him with a 6-2 lead in the fifth with two on and zero outs, but reliever Joe Smith was tonight's bullpen arsonist as the Nats put up 5 in the inning to give the visitors the lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Mets could muster no serious offensive rally after that, and even the return of Orlando Hernanadez could not really energize the deep faith in their fans that this team would rally to win this game. The appearance of Billy Wagner for the top of the ninth with the Mets still trailing by just one run could not instill that confidence either, as the Nats struck for 2 more runs to seal the game on this night.
About the only small bit of comfort I'm getting is that several other playoff contending teams are struggling with the same things that the Mets are, and there is still a small voice nagging away at the back of my head telling me that if the Mets just somehow make it to the playoffs, then their chances are just as good as anybody else's. That's true to a point, I'll admit, but I do hope that's not just a major case of wishful thinking on my part; all evidence since September 12th, when the Mets were 21 games over .500, to the contrary. Since that date, the Mets have lost 9 of 13, and of those losses, they've blown leads in six of them, most of those losses having allowed one big inning to the opponent, when either the pitching or defense leaves the team high and dry. To be fair, the Mets have also rallied for two victories in that time, but seeing as how they came against the Florida Marlins, the worst team in the division, in the series before this, I'm also not building a whole lot of confidence for the last few days, other than the fact that the Mets end the season with the Marlins at Shea this weekend.
The good news, for tonight anyway, and unless the Mets find themselves in a race for the wild card, is that the Padres, who have a one game lead over the Phillies in that race, are leading the Giants 2-1 in the fifth inning. This game is also noteworthy in that it marks the San Francisco finale for some guy named Barry Bonds.
METS BOXSCORE
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