Fulham 2 Man United 0: Hands Up If You Hate The Reds

Very pleasing day all around for the rest of the Premiereship as a nine-man United stagger at Craven Cottage. Of course, coming on the heels of a 1-4 hiding from Liverpool makes this one even better, and the petulant antics of both Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are just the cherry on top of the cake. Best quote of their antics came from the Telegraph report:


Indeed, United could probably count themselves lucky that they aren't losing Cristiano Ronaldo for a couple of games because, on a day when he too lost the plot with his posturing and moaning, he could easily have been sent off himself just before the end.

It was bizarre; amid laughs and chants of outrage, Ronaldo kept showing off the top of his thigh to Dowd to suggest that he had been assaulted by Fulham's defenders. If it had been one of his female admirers, it might have been different; the official was so unimpressed he gave Ronaldo, who had already been booked, a final warning.



Paul Scholes, pictured above, had been sent off early in the match for the handball on the backline. Danny Murphy then converted on the subsequent penalty kick, and Zoltan Gera settled the matter in the dying minutes with an acrobatic kick that had the home crowd roaring with delight.




For Spurs fans, hearing the news that a totally ineffective Dimitar Berbatov was taken off at half time will was just an added bonus on a lovely day of football, the London derby of Spurs/Chelsea to be addressed on another post.






TELEGRAPH REPORT , SOCCERNET

Aston Villa 1 Spurs 2: Good News, Bad News

Good news is that Spurs garnered a well-deserved victory over Aston Villa in a place where Spurs have failed miserably in recent years, it was the first Spurs win in Villa Park since 2003. The bad news is that with the loss Villa continued their recent poor form and have slid to fifth in the EPL, allowing a resurgent Arsenal to gain the coveted fourth spot. Still, there's lots of football left to be played, so let's see if Martin O'Neill can find a way out of this rough spot.



On to the game itself, Spurs found themselves up a goal rather quickly as an Aaron Lennon cross into the box, but unfortunately goalie Brad Freidel didn't punch the ball out far enough, allowing an alert Jermaine Jenas to head the ball into the net in the fifth minute.



Villa regained their composure fairly quickly, and they had a lot of decent movement, getting a few good shots on goal, but for those were quickly neutralized by some good defense, some good goalkeeping, and the woodwork on one shot. However, Villa's Ashley Young was turning Didier Zokora around on the left side, leading Spurs coach to replace him in the 35th minute with Vedran Corluka, who did a better job keeping him in check.


Spurs put the game out of reach, for all effective purpose, early on in the second half when a Robbie Keane ball headed for the goal from the right side was tapped in by Darren Bent. It looked to me that the ball might have gone in anyway, but Bent did not do any harm by making sure of that fact.


That goal kind of shocked both the Villa team and fans, and for most of the rest of the second half, Spurs were the more confident side. However, the home side finally had something to cheer about in the 85th minute when John Carew out-leaped Jonathan Woodgate for a fine goal off of a long cross from near the right sideline. That galvanzing moment was not further capitalized upon though, and in the end once again, Spurs were clearly deserving of all three points.



Chelsea at White Hart Lane is up next, also on television, things are certainly looking up for Spurs at the moment as they move up the table and away from the relegation zone.



SOCCERNET , GUARDIAN REPORT

Because You Can't Spell LOSER Without OS: B**V*RS To The CBI

The inaugural College Basketball Invitational had some decent teams in its 16 TEAM FIELD last year to be sure, but I don't know anybody who actually managed to watch even one game last year. And just as occasionally once in a while a team with a losing record manages to make the NCAA Tournament, it might seem inevitable that a such a team would be found in the CBI after the NIT makes its picks. Last season the CBI had the Cincinnati Bearcats, who finished the regular season with a 13-17 record, although that was in an admittedly strong Big East conference.


Can't quite figure out what the attraction is for that team across the valley, who have no wins against ranked teams and just one against a Pac-10 team playing in the NCAA, which would be USC in the opening weekend of league play this year. I'm quite certain that none of my coworkers will be overly bragging about being selected to play in this year's tourney, so at least I'll be spared that. And if the shoe were on the other foot, I know that I wouldn't be thrilled backing into a tourney like that with a losing record playing bad basketball.


Here, then, is to a good tournament with the lesser teams being quickly vanquished, and hopefully for some more recognition for the tournament and its sponsors; we've all got to earn a dollar these days.



OREGONLIVE STORY

Thanks Mike!

With the somewhat surprising news today that Oregon football coach Mike Belotti is STEPPING DOWN to become Oregon's Athletic Director, the speculation begins as to how this will affect the upcoming season in terms of coaching changes, player roles, recruiting, etc.


What I will acknowledge here is the great job Belotti has done in his 14 years, with quite a number of highs balanced with some devastating lows. What Duck fan will ever forget the home debut of Belotti, the incredible come from behind victory over Illinois in 1995, the astonishing rout of a good Michigan State team in 1998 in Autzen, the magical season of 2001, or the satisfying double whammy to end his tenure this season, a blowout of Oregon State to deny them a Rose Bowl berth followed by a beatdown of an explosive Oklahoma State team in the Holiday Bowl?


Some of the low points include the Cotton, Seattle and 2006 Las Vegas Bowl debacles as well as regular season losses to the likes of Indiana. Through it all, Belotti has been a calming presence on the sideline. In this day and age, it was certainly refreshing to see that on display here for so long.


Hard to say what the b**v*r whiners in loserville will do now that their favourite punching bag is gone, but on second thought, such speculation on lower life forms is ultimately a futile exercise.


The pic is from the 1995 football poster, autographed by Belotti on the first fan day. That event took place after practice on a hot day in August of 95, on the turf of Autzen.


Thanks again for so many magical memories (there really are way too many to mention) Mike, it's been a pleasure!

He Said, She Said, Part Two: Radiohead Vs. Miley

Following the "NEWS" of the reported exchange between Steven Taylor and Cristiano Ronaldo comes a tale of a "snubbed" teen "star". This would be referring to what supposedly happened between Miley Cyrus and Radiohead, "the reason I love music" in her own words. The English band apparently failed to comprehend the magnitude of the chance to meet the teen "idol" at last month's Grammy Awards.


Her additional qualifier at her disappointment that entailed the quote of Stinkin' Radiohead! I'm gonna ruin them, I'm going to tell everyone." is what gives this story a sad twist; much as the words of a Newcastle defender will fail to impact Ronaldo's love life, so too will the words of a teen "star" do much to impact the popularity of Radiohead around the world.


STINKIN' RADIOHEAD!

Taylor Vs. Ronaldo: He Said, She Said Drama Apparently False

Reports are out now that the half-time tunnel tussle between Man United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Newcastle's Steven Taylor that consisted mostly of"You're rubbish!" "Yeah, well you're ugly!" didn't actually happen, according to Taylor. I'd sure hate to think that's what passes for trash talk these days, but with all of the girls falling for Ronaldo, I seriously doubt he's troubled in the least what the Newcastle United defender has to say about anything.

Scattered Showers In Albany

A lovely warm-ish day today brought the threat of thunderstorms all over Oregon today, this is a shot of the Albany area today around 1:30 p.m. looking north on 99W, just south of Halsey.

Man U. 0 Spurs 0 : (4-1 Pens)

Pretty good match for the "worthless" Cup today, both sides not at full strength but both of them giving their all for another piece of silverware. The feed I watched was pretty good, it only gave out at the very end when the Reds had converted three penalty kicks to just one for Spurs.


Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric were men of the match for Spurs, whilst goalie Ben Foster, who made a couple of excellent reflexive saves, was Man Of The Match for the Reds. John O'Shea was lucky not to have been given a second yellow card midway through the second half, but Spurs also got the benefit of a non-call on Ledley King's tough challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo just inside the box a couple of minutes later, much to his displeasure, and for which he was given a yellow card. I got a laugh from one of the announcer saying "that for once, Ronaldo is right" in the context for his propensity of diving.


With Spurs misfiring on their shots on goal, the thought came to my mind of the last time Spurs faced Foster, when the goalie was playing for Watford. Of course, that was when goalie Robinson launched a free kick that bounced over the heads of a couple of Watford defenders and then over the head of Foster into the back of the net.



GUARDIAN, SOCCERNET

Mike Says no mas To All-Bacon Diet

Checking in at RiffTrax for an update on Mike Nelson's pledge to eat NOTHING BUT BACON for the month of February, the news was bad as Mike proved to be all-too-human by failing in the challenge. On the brighter side, my faith in humanity hasn't been damaged, and Mike looked healthy at the press conference announcing the results from his attempt.







RiffTrax Blog Announcement

An Encouraging First Step: Oregon 5 St. Mary's 3

To be honest, I was not one of those fans going nuts about the return of baseball to the University Of Oregon after 28 years (in a similar manner to those Oregon State fans who never really cared for their own program until they started winning in the last few years), but Friday afternoon's win in a game with St. Mary's was a lovely diversion on a spring-like day here in the mid-valley.


The Ducks rallied in the top of the fifth with four runs to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead, the key hit being a two-run triple by Jett Hart that accounted for the final two runs as well as the margin of victory.


Oregon got some good pitching in the second inning when starter Tyler Anderson allowed one run, and then pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam with no further scoring. They also got some timely defense, in particular another situation in the seventh when reliever Ryan Fleckenstein, with the bases loaded and one out, got the Gaels batter to hit the ball back to him. Fleckenstein fired the ball to the plate for a 1-2-3 double play that proved to be another critical point of the game. In the ninth, Drew Gagnier induced a game-ending double play.


Radio announcer Brian Prawitz was quite enthusiastic about being there for the return of Oregon baseball, though he did have a Jerry Allen-type moment just before the Ducks took the field for defense for the first time when he mentioned that Anderson could be the "staff of the ace". That very minor quibble aside, he kept my attention for the times I was listening (most of the game, but I did have to let work have its say every once in awhile.)


With my work schedule, it's hard to say how many games I'll personally be able to attend this year, but this win was solid enough to insure that I'll be tuning in to the radio broadcasts whenever I can. Nice job George, keep up the good work and let's go Ducks!






GO DUCKS RECAP

Baseball Around The Corner: Spring Training Starts

So a large number of people around the country may have been permanently put off by major league baseball in this steroid age, but there are still a larger number of people who still have a certain faith that most of the players are playing the game the right way ("right way" being relative to current societal norms, I'd suppose).


To celebrate, Sports Illustrated has a lovely 21 PICTURE SET of baseball players in spring training over the years, with this amazing Walter Iooss Jr. photo of Yankee pitcher Sam McDowell in 1974 being my personal favourite.

Valentine's Day Special: It'll End In Tears, It's A Heart Disease Called Love

A fine, country-rock version from Miracle Legion of John Cooper Clarke's Heart Disease Called Love dedicated to both the delusional and hopeless amongst us, a perfect antidote for when 'perfect love' is currently not on the cards. Thanks to DigitalDeviant340 for the clip, this was a track I played a lot when it was released.

Washington State 67 Oregon 38: Bad Is Bad

Some numbers from the debacle in Pullman, thankfully this was not broadcast on TV.

* 10 field goals made (6 2-pointers, 4 3-pointers)

* 5 in each half

* 20.8% shooting percentage (10 of 48)

* 9 minutes 26 seconds first half scoreless drought, as the Ducks found themselves trailing 19 to 2 after a 2-2 tie at the 18:44 mark.

* 4 minutes 17 scoreless streak to start second half, as the deficit went from 29-15 to 37-15.

* 5 minutes 12 seconds into the second half before the Ducks make their first bucket in the second half, a three by Tajuan Porter.


* Duck starters combined to hit 5 of their 26 shots.


* 5 assists for the game


* 0-12 record for the Ducks in the Pac-10 season now

ESPN RECAP

That Voodoo That You Do (Probably Won't Work So Well Wednesday)

Yes, the national teams for the U.S. and Mexico face off in a World Cup qualifying match in Columbus, OH on Wednesday, and there's been some talk about the efforts of a Mexican newspaper to put a voodoo hex on the U.S. team so that El Tri might secure their first win on U.S. soil in 10 years.


While it would take a major catastrophe for either side fail to qualify for the World Cup from CONCACAF every four years, the failure of the Mexican side to win here remains somewhat of a consternation with their fans that I know, and luckily they, and I, can see that this whole thing is just a light-hearted promotional stunt. They agree that a Mexico win won't stop the U.S. from qualifying for South Africa 2010, they'd just like to have the bragging rights that go along with such a win.



Glad to see that they've adopted this tactic now, the last time that both of the teams met when it really, really mattered was the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea, with the U.S. recording a decisive 2-0 win to knock them out of the World Cup and allowing the U.S. to reach the quarter-finals against eventual runner-ups Germany. I'd kind of forgotten how desperate Mexico was in the second half, with the cynical red card that Rafael Márquez drew for his hit on Cobi Jones coming back to me from watching the YouTube video highlights below. What a wanker.





A-P STORY

Lux Interior, R.I.P.

Thank you so much for your great music Erick/Lux, it was always exciting back in the day to gauge the reactions from the uninitiated to your music from your classic clip in Urgh!, and it was an added bonus when your famous live video from the Napa State Mental Hospital came out via Target a bit later, it certainly was one of the most watched videos in our household for a long while. I always drew encouragement from The Cramps longevity, and it is sad to see a man of your taste and talent pass away.

To Interfere With Nature?

A couple of weeks ago, near the Valley River Center, I came across this guy foraging for food. Unseen in this pic, just a few feet away, was a cat carefully stalking out his next meal, and as the scenario began to unfold, the thought struck me as to whether or not I should let nature play itself out.


Of course, as a human, I had to put my two cents worth into the affair, and I lobbed a rock at the cat, sending him scurrying away, the prey safe from its potential deathly fate for at least for another couple of hours. Why should any of us in this day and age here pretend that the world doesn't operate in a clean, sanitary manner because it's not right in our faces? Carry on, squirrel, until tomorrow......when all bets are off again.

Karma For The Cardinals?

This fellow was seen sticking his head above the parapet around my parents house late last year. Good omen for the Cardinals today?

Well Heck, They All Wear Uniforms And Chase Balls Around, Don't They?

Nice to see some careless editing in a rush job on a "timely" photo collection piece. According to TMZ (second picture ), Rosario Dawson, by holding the jersey above, is a celebrity football fanatic. I guess the good news is that this now makes one less team in the National League East for the Mets to contend with this year. Let's root along with our fave celebutards.........let's go TEAM!

Broooce (Of Sorts)! Electrelane I'm On Fire

Since I'm not much of an NFL fan, I won't be tuning into tomorrow's Super Bore, especially as I'm not a fan of either team. I can't think of the last time I ever rooted for the Steelers in anything......and as for the Cardinals, about all I can recall of them is..........a very long run of mediocrity and a quarterback named Jim Hart from a long time ago. The last Super Bore I watched in its entirety was the 49er blowout of Denver however many years ago, so with that being said, I'll have no idea about the time of day when Broooce will be performing.


So in order to get my Broooce-fix tomorrow along with untold thousands, I'll be tuning into Brighton's finest combo Electrelane and their smoking cover of I'm On Fire; the least that people around the world should do tomorrow is buy the ELECTRELANE RARITIES DISC (with said Broooce cover included) so that he may acquire some more royalties, more money with which to soothe his troubled mind over having had to deal with WAL-MART. What would Great Pop Things have to say about that marriage?



At any rate, the fab Electrelane live in NYC ripping through I'm On Fire.

Dropping The Towel For You

It's not that I have a particular affinity for television ads, other than as a topic of discussion at work for a brief period of time based on the relevancy of the product in question, but the ending of one of the current Swiffer ads (with the Player song Baby Come Back as background music) is just too fantastic to ignore. The idea of jilted household items trying to woo their way back into the hearts of their former users via romance is a memorable concept, and the towel drop in this ad probably works here as well as it does in real life. Minus the cops being called, of course.