ahh good times

Its been a few days I know and dont think its because I am afraid to respond to what has been said... but ive been busy so get over it...

Ill go backwards with the most recent first - Drogba and Jose are just fine.. and if Trudo thinks he can be a better coach then why was it when we played WSM that he forgot to have backup GK on the bench, naughty naughty... A player is hurt and stays on the field.. Drogba is a presence on the pitch and Kalou's goal is something to say to that - Drogba was a part of that play... So Trudo you have much more to do before you could become a better coach than the special one.. Sure it would have been good for Drogba to come off and save himself for Porto but eh hes fine.. As a matter of Sheva, as I write this he had a cracking shot on goal within the first 2 minutes of the Porto game and has said he feels as though he is growing accustomed to England. 2nd off why are you trying to create something that isnt there? where is the discontent between jose and drogba? there isnt one so tryin to get a comeback for your Arse coach, actin like the english press.

The Referee situation... Any improvements are much welcomed and if they end up saying they want two refs on the pitch that is fine. But as everyone here has said when they watched the HS games I played in with the 3 refs with whistles it was crap because there is no tone to the game. At the fifa level hey it might work cause they can have a team work together for years but at the youth level? Goal line technology is all good but I cant ever see a replay referee situation happening. While of course it interupts with play the other thing is that play goes so fast.. How many times could a goal be ruled out in exchange for a penalty kick for the opposing team because a foul happened and then a team went on a break? In the end the problem is with the changes how can they be used through out the competitions... Its unfair for the Uefa qualifies to have extra referees while the African qualifies to not..

So as we speak Barca nil-nil Pool and Chelsea nil-nil Porto..

The Ref Gets His "7"

Just got word from the Ref: a very high score on his recert exam coupled with fast times on the 12 minute run and the two sprints: Ref is now a Grade 7 referee! Way to go! Shows what hard work and studying can do for you (the same type of dedication he's bring to his college course work, to be sure ;-) ).

Rant 3 - That Moment

I can only imagine that final whistle. The feeling of winning the Champions League or say in America, The World series (the final out would be different I guess). The elation, joy, relief, the rush. I bring this up because I tuned into the world series for the last inning. I saw that last out when all of St. Louis jumped up and down for their beloved Cards. Yet to be honest I wasn't impressed. Maybe it was the TV coverage but I don't think so. The players themselves on the field didn't seem as joyous as previous winners. I didn't see anyone throw their gloves up. I didn't see anyone just fall over in pure joy (exhaustion wouldn't be an excuse for a baseball player until maybe a 12 inning game). They all just ran to the mound, hugged, fell over when someone finally pushed and then a few of the outside players jumped on top. The hugs were there, the TV cameras turned to the crying wives in the stands. Yet it just didn't feel right. Eh, it might be my ideas about baseball that sway my decision about the pure celebrations but it just wasn't there. I go back to my earlier idea about how majors sports are now seen as jobs. Those NBA players like Juan Howard who take the biggest contract they can get yet never seem to perform the same, eh they got it in the bank why should they.
I think back two years ago to Boston winning the world series, now that was a celebration. 96 years of celebration came rushing out by anyone who ever associated themselves with a tea party connection. I cant discuss Italy winning the world cup because of the poor coverage provided here in the states, overall is just seemed like a sigh of relief from the every present press coverage Italian soccer players get (Brits should learn by example and ease up, Italy had lower expectations due to the scandal at home and thus less pressure).
And I digress to those same people that live for the pressure, for those high profile moments, let it be Michael Jordan or a Zizou. They celebrated the most cause hell if they messed up, the really messed up, and Zizou knows he really messed up. My call to celebrations is somewhat muted by also the call for easier goal celebrations. Hell they better score a goal, hit a home run, or get in the end zone sometime soon again so why celebrate so much. Ill give Frank Lampard an excuse for his brilliant goal against Barca yesterday. It wasn't even him who celebrated the most but Robben who jumped on top of him.
Where is the passion. I know its still there. I know St. Louis could have also seemed a little more excited. Hell most of the photos I saw the next day were of things that actually occurred during the game, not the champagne baths or on field celebration, and for once that's a shame.

Rant 2

Ah. It was perfect. The slow motion replay almost made me cry. The graceful-ness, the perfection, the utter sadness of a great dive. In his defence, he has been a good boy so far this season. He has gone through a lot of tough challenges, including one earlier in the game that seemed to have made him gone dizzy. I am of course talking about Drogba.

His sheer strength is known. Some of the goals he has scored in the Prem have been amazing and his goal in the game yesterday showed his touch. If one thing about his game changed it would be his diving. I mean he has cleaned it up along with C. Ronaldo but its not all the way there for either of them. But the topic of diving isnt just relegated to those two anyway but to the state of the game in its essance.

The best part of the game in its present state is its pace. It goes back and forth and keeps the heart racing for all 90 minutes. But there are different types of dives. There are the fall overs - when the player gets touched a little and falls, these are the most confused. There are the blatants - when they jump and fall over when not even touched, example would be drogba. Then there are those that get fouled but over shadow the foul to draw a card or waste time.

A place to start is with the players themselves. They need to realize how they are hurting the game. Blame needs to rest on their shoulders since they decide to dive and no one else. 2nd comes in the Coaches and Board of Directors. Cause in the end the buck stops there. Clubs can dish out fines for unsporting behavior and coaches can bench people or speak out about their players to the media. 3rd or 4th depending how one counts, in comes the league. Who says they shouldnt review those falls that seem as though the player is acting he is going to lose a leg.

In the end of course comes the referee. He or She is on the field as well. I dont think the first step is with them but it isnt the last either. Leagues need to be there to back up their referees. No chastizing them to the public like Sepp Blatter because they get enough in the media and from their fellow peers. Yes, referees are harsh on fellow referees. At first, a dive is a hard call to make and its hard to give the player a yellow card for such an offense especially if play continues and the referee doesnt want to slow down play. For example the referee gave Henry a yellow for using his arm before scoring against Moscow. Of course the replays show that the ball didnt touch the arm but then again the Referee made the judgement to go against the grain and call something very similar to a dive. In the end they are all simulations of legal play.

thoughts welcomed

Rant

I wont lie nor do I feel like I should lie. I havnt watched a baseball game in a while. A long while. And Ill be blunt: Its all because of steroids. But then again to be honest I have been less and less keen to watch most sports. Whether it’s the ‘roids or anything else there is too much scandal in sport nowadays.
Rafael Palmeiro ruined it for me. I am a D.C. boy, born and raised. So I rooted for the Os. Palmeiro was one of the good guys. Always there, always trust worthy, sure he took a break and went to the Rangers, but he came back. And when asked he flat out denied he used anything, only to be proved wrong.
That’s where it started. Baseball lost all interest to me. Basketball lost taste after Artest rushed the crowd. Plus with a postseason as long as the regular season why not just start paying attention in April instead of November. Oh yea, is the NHL even around even more? And if you really want to know, I am a soccer lover. The beautiful game cause it truly is, yet diving is uncontrollable. I will be pompous here as well by saying the MLS needs to change its format cause if 8 out of the 12 teams make the playoffs then you might have the 8th place team winning the cup (and its happened). Ridiculous (cause D.C. United should have the title).
Something needs to be done in the sports realm. How many players remember those days when they dreamed about playing in that big game? That they used to sleep in their pee-wee jerseys the day before the game. Did Big Mac and Sosa forget that their kids will one day ask them the same question that reporters do every day?
My suggestion: force every professional player in their respective sport to go to a youth game. Spend a day at those fields. Those very fields they grew up playing on. The field of my youth is in downtown D.C. with Stoddert Soccer. And calling it a field would be nice, it was a dust bowl, just compacted soil.
I come back to baseball because yet again another October is upon us. Which means that the Yankees are playing, it has been that way for most of my life (in the playoffs every year since 1995). Yet, the boys in pinstrips wont get my support, not sure if it’s the AL East hatred, or my father’s Red Sox blood in me, or that Steinbrenner who just throws money at the trophy. Maybe just maybe Jason Giambi’s mom will pick him up after a game and give him a little chat and remind him about what his dreams used to be.