ISO -- A Finisher

Two games down and two losses. This one didn't have to be. The US lost an early chance to take a lead when Sacha Kljestan missed an open header off a beautiful cross. Other misses followed. Many other misses followed. And then, disaster. Jonathan Bornstein was trying to clear the ball back to Keller, Jimmy Conrad let the ball go by, and a Paraguayan pounced. Unlike the US, this fellow knew what to do with the ball, a frozen keeper and and open net. A 2-1 deficit gave Paraguay the opportunity to play 10 back of the ball and counterattck. Nonetheless, we had more chances. None were converted. (And the Paraguay keeper made a couple of solid saves. Unlike . . . well, see the post below.)

So one more game to go with this collection of guys. Some positives, some negatives (can't anyone score!), some porous defense.

Keller's not the answer

Just a quick note at halftime of the USA-Paraguay game.

Kasey Keller is not the answer to the US goalkeeping question. He's been getting a lot of playing time here and got a lot in the Hold Cup. I think that's a mistake. We should be trying out some of the other keepers who are playing in MLS or overseas. I leave it to the Ref to know who they are. But my problem with Keller is that he doesn't make that kind of save that energizes his team. Was the goal in the Paraguay game his "fault?" Probably not. But it seems like the type of goal that the Mexican keeper would have saved (based on his performance against Ecuador). And in the Argentina game, Keller was let down by his defense, but he seemed slow off his line and slow to react to the play coming at him.

The Ref, before donning the yellow jersey, played keeper for the local public high school team (not the school he attended -- see this one), so he may have a different or more nuanced appreciation for the challenges playing that position. But I think we need a change between the nets.

My take on the MNT

The AR's post has done its job and inspired me to write something. For the most part, I agree with the positive take on Bradley's reign so far. I like what I see from players such as Feilhaber (his first half against Mexico was the worst he played in the Gold Cup), Bradley (although his red card was beyond stupid), Clark (who didn't impress me until the Mexico game in which he was outstanding), Bornstein (he looks very confident attacking from the left), Spector (seems like he takes a lot of criticism in the soccer press but I think has real talent) and Simek (ditto comments on Spector- I like his toughness), and I like that the players seem to have the freedom to attack and improvise on the fly. I think we are on the right track.

On the negative side, we still need to address some glaring weaknesses. I am not sure what is going on, but Gooch looks like he has slowed down considerably- his performance in this tournament can not have helped him get a better deal in Europe. Bocanegra also looked lost at times, but that may have been him having to cover for Gooch. I am not sure if Demerit is the answer, but central defense has got to be addressed immediately.

The other immediate concern is striker and no solution is apparent with this group of players. Ching gave a nice performance in the second half against Mexico but otherwise showed nothing- he can not be the answer. Similarly, Twellman shows heart whenever he is on the field, but he doesn't appear to have the technical proficiency to be more than a sub. Johnson is the most perplexing of all of our true strikers. His speed is mesmerizing and he looks good in MLS against poor competition, but since his injury his MNT performances have been tentative at best. While I hope that he will develop into what we thought he could be before his injury, I am dubious. Since I don't think Lando is big or tough enough to play in the middle of the field (either at forward or midfield- he clearly looks best out on the right wing running at people), the only answer seems to be Dempsey. He got criticized by the TV announcers (awful as usual) during the Mexico match, but he has a nose for goal and seems to be nasty enough to play up front, and putting him in the middle keeps Donovan out wide where he belongs. I haven't seen Altidore play, but maybe he will be the answer.

Two other points: 1) Can Lando lose that ridiculous pre-PK ritual?; 2) The next time this team misses an empty net I am going to scream (actually I have been screaming but I will do it louder).

10-0-1

Just a short post -- maybe generate some discussion.

Bob Bradley is 10-0-1 in his first six months at the helm of the USMNT. Thanks to Donovan's sure-footed placement of PKs and Benny Feilhaber's brilliant volley, the US defeated Mexico 2-1 in the Gold Cup final. Unlike what happened at the WC when the US fell behind late in the first half against Ghana, the team didn't quit and played hard and won, coming from behind. The mark of good coaching?

When Bradley was selected, there were some folks who were quite dismayed at the decision. Yet since his selection, we've seen the introduction of many new players into the pool of those from which the team is being created for different games and tournaments. It seems to me that he's taking a very methodological approach to putting together a team that will be better able to compete on a world stage, be it at the Confederations Cup in 09 or the WC a year later.

The team selected to play in the Copa America starting Thursday has several players with fewer than ten caps: Jonathan Bornstein, Jay DeMerit, Ricardo Clark, Justin Mapp, and Feilhaber (plus 11 other relatively inexperienced players). To a certain extent, Bradley's hands were tied by some players' club commitments. But as regards others, he seems to be saying: let's see who is available and able to compete at this level. So maybe the US doesn't get out of group play this time. To me, the goal is a better showing on an international stage in 09 and 10. And relying, as it seems we have for the past couple of WCs, on the same core group of players has not worked.

What's in Lalas' Pipe?

According to this, LA Galaxy president Alexi Lalas says that the EPL is a second-rate product:

"The fact that a segment of the world worships an inferior product in the Premiership is their business,'' Lalas said in an interview with The Guardian published Tuesday.

He added, "I honestly believe if you took a helicopter and grabbed a bunch of MLS players and took them to the perceived best league in the world they wouldn't miss a beat and the fans wouldn't notice any drop in quality.''

Having watched quite a bit of both, I have to wonder what Lalas is thinking when he says something like this. When MLS begins winning a few more games against the better teams in this hemisphere, then we can start talking about how far they might get in competition against European teams. And when an MLS dominant WC team can get out of the group stage of the tournament, then maybe his contention might have some merit. But that's well in future based on what I've seen so far.

Uniform Madness

An article on Slate discusses the dismal state of the USMNT uniform. Actually, as the article (actually it's a slide show) indicates, using the term uniform seems inappropriate. While on the one hand, the all members of the team where the same garments top and bottom, which is one definition of uniform, the other definition, suggesting consistency from year-to-year clearly is missing. As the article notes, when someone mentions Brazil or Mexico or Italy, a soccer fan immediately can picture the team's uniform jersey. How about for the US? Nope, didn't think so.

Does that picture on the right trigger anything??

Here's a link to the article.

My State Championship Experience

So now with 4 days gone since my trip down to Newport News, I finally find myself with some time to discuss the AAA Virginia HS State Championships.

I am going to start with how the assignments came about. I was told the Sunday before that I was selected to go to Newport News for the AAA finals and that I would be on the boys bracket. The other options would have meant either the girls finals or going to Radford, VA for the AA or A state finals for boys or girls. I was also told who I would be going with from my association - CSOA (Commonwealth Soccer Officials Association) - and that I needed to get in touch with him. So I tried getting in touch with him. Nothing happened. As I was doing the radio show, that fix, I was sent my first assignments - AR for both Semi-Final games and then 4th official for the final. This was Thursday and I had previously decided that I was going to go down on Thursday, spend the night, instead of driving Friday morning and arriving tired. At dinner that night, before heading out I got a call from the CSOA assignor. He said the guy who I had been assigned with was actually going to be unable to go - thus I got his assignments and they found a replacement for him. His assignments included a 4th for a Semi and then a Center for the other, along with AR for the final. MAJOR UPGRADE... haha - it was great news, although I will say I was happy to go either way.

Ill be very frank. And it may sound weird. Before the previous game I posted on - the Gar-field HS vs Forest Park HS - I was nervous. There was some doubt there. Yet, for even when I got the new assignments my nerves were very calm. This season has given me a lot of confidence.

The first game was at 11 am on Friday and I was there around 9:15-9:30. The replacement referee, Mel, had gotten there only moments before. We did not know our other two referees yet but soon met them around 10. Keith and Jim soon arrived and we went to a locker room to change and go over a pregame from Keith. Keith handled the game with class and Osbourne Park won going away 3-nil.

We had about a 30 minute break before my game. I let them get some water - it was hot, I felt I was getting burned just standing while being the 4th Official. I went and talked to the coaches, just some small talk. I had refereed TJ HS before and the coach remembered me and told me how much they had improved. I wasn't sure about that but I was about to find out. I then went back to the press box where our gear was and got ready. I gave my limited instructions to Mel and Jim (My ARs, Jim is actually a National Referee for USSF and had to leave early saturday from the Championship games in order to get back for a pro game). I gave Keith my limited instructions for 4th official. We did our international lineup (Everyone walks out together lead by the referees) and only then did I get a little nervous.

With the game underway I felt good. I wasnt hesitant in blowing my whistle, which is one of my harder problems. Making a decision is always the first step. But I was talking to players and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The game was much more scrappy than the previous game and the teams were well evened. I kept everyone under control but I showed one caution to a player I had already talked to, for kicking the ball away. It seemed to be timed well because it calmed some down and brought everyone into half time in good condition. My fellow referees were giving nothing but good feedback.

The 2nd half saw some more action. 2 more cautions, both well deserved and a decisive goal. The goal which I have already linked to was a blast from about 17 yards out that was just way too quick for the keep to catch up to. The cautions were both for reckless tackles. I should have given a caution to another player but lack of communication on my part let that one go. I wasnt sure of the number and I should have asked my 4th official who was right there. Oh well, everyone lived and I will make sure next time. Overall the game was a good one and I enjoyed every moment of it. It was a good last game in the center for HS and I think this season was a boost of confidence in many ways with my ability in the center of the pitch.

The next day would test me on the line. Jim was the center and everyone was at the field by 11, 2 hours early, to get things together with pregame instructions. We all got our uniforms together along with any last second questions. We made sure all the balls were pumped up to the same psi and that the field was in good condition - there had been a lightening storm the night before. We then warmed up together, with some jogging and then individual stretching. We did the international walk-out, no introduction of the referees though, which was just as good because I was on the line with fans and they were going to talk to me no matter what, better if they didnt know my name. As The AR already wrote, the game was handled very well by Jim and it was fun being on the line. I felt good about the calls I made, including one foul which was pulling on the jersey. At the end of the game I had to run at the buzzer to get out of the way of the fans running onto the field for the celebration. It was a good end to a great trip.

My overall favorite moment had to be during my game. The TJ fans traveled about 300 plus strong and were all wearing red. The stands were about 5 yards behind the touchline opposite the bench. And to call a foul against TJ in front of their stands was something else. To have 300+ people yelling at you was funny especially for how stupid the foul was and how easy it was to call. So I smiled and moved into position for the restart, knowing you cant please everyone.

So overall I drove 375.9 miles. Spent about 90 on the hotel and about 40 on food. We will see how much I get paid for the games and how much they actually reimburse me. But it was fun end to a great season.

Some Spring 2007 Statistics
35 yellows, 2 reds (one was 2 yellows -> red)
30 centers (4 2-man games), 26 lines
*to go against my 1.+ yellows/game there were 12 games that I was center where there were no cards but also two games which had me show 5.

I'm Back

It has been a while and I am feeling brash so I suppose I will hit you all with some knowledge. First off, congrats to JG for his refereeing exploits and I look forward to booking his Champions League appearances and mooching off of him when he becomes the world's premier ref a la Perluigi Collina.

On another note, I want to discuss the US. Now the last time I brought up our distinguished national team, The AR put me in my place verbally, so let's hope my current thoughts are perhaps more rational and less absurd. Having watched the first 2 US Gold Cup games (and I think FSC has succeeded in delivering worse national team coverage than Rob "SERVICE" Stone), I feel strongly about a few points. Initially, Benny Fielhaber, despite his frightening German surname, is the balls. That's just about the only way to put it. Even as a youngin', he has filled, for the time, being, the boots of Reyna in controlling the midfield and creatively initiating play in front of him through creative passes and seeing forward runs. The future looks bright for him.

That said, I think that the US team has disappointed thus far. Though it is hard to see how two clean sheets and two wins is disappointing, I feel we should be producing many more dominating preformances. Gooch getting sent off in the first match, and our failure to take advantage of clear-cut chances to close out the Guatemalans disappoint me. We should be killing these teams, and if we cannot, we stand the chance of large-scale embarassment at the Copa America.

Va HS Boys Final

That was our own Ref on the sideline as assistant referee in the AAA Virginia Boys HS final, held at the soccer stadium on the campus of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA on Saturday, June 8, 2007. Also officiating were Center Ref Jim Conlee, a National Ref from Virginia, AR Keith Armstrong, and fourth official Mel Shabelski.

The Ref centered the semi-final game between Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology and Cox High School, which TJ won 1-0. The Washington Post article from that game is here. No mention of anything controversial, which is a good thing if you're the referee!

In the final, between TJ and Osborne Park HS, the opening 10 minutes seemed to belong to OP, which had several opportunities along its right flank with crosses into the middle from deep in TJ's end. TJ had one really good chance early, and the ball found its way into the new, but CR Conlee immediately waived off the goal, seeing a push in the box committed by a TJ attacker. (The TJ coach was a bit peeved, to say the least, arguing that there was no way the ref could have seen a foul in the scrum, a comment later echoed in the press box (where I spent the first half). Of course, unlike players on the bench, coaches, and fans, the referee is watching the scrum just for that sort of action and his whistle was quick, without hesitation.) From midway through the first half and into the second, OP forgot to play wide and TJ began taking over, creating the better chances. TJ finally scored on an 18 yard shot that seemed to go either just over or through the hands of the OP keeper. OP began playing with greater urgency, but several shots went wide, they were offside on a couple of occasions (great, spot-on calls from our Ref), TJ's keeper made a couple of saves, and the game ended with a wild celebration in the middle of the field as TJ's hundreds of supporters stormed onto the field. Here's the WaPo article on the final.

I'll leave it to the Ref to describe the experience of being a part of the championship. Watching as a parent was a truly thrilling experience.

State Semis Part 1

I will post further a little later - probably will just edit this post but to keep you thinking... HERE is the video of the 1 goal from Thomas Jefferson HS in their win over Cox HS in the State Semis. See if you see anyone you know in Blue.

getting ready

Dont worry there will be a big post over the next few days about my time down in Newport News VA. Trudo needs to post sometime soon - preferable before i turn all gray which, lets be honest could happen by tomorrow

Way to Go!

Just a brief note: the Ref has been selected to work the VA HS AAA boys finals in Newport News VA, June 8&9. Don't know yet which games he'll work or his assignment, but it's a great honor, well deserved, in recognition of the fine work he's done this season.

The Ref also worked a Regional Final last week. The report of the game is here.

Parade All-American

So it turns out that one of the players the Ref yellow-carded in a recent game is a Parade Magazine All-American for soccer. This same fellow, Eber Martinez, also was named to the Washington Post's first team in soccer for the Spring 2007 season. His selection to both honors is well-deserved. We saw Martinez play twice. He scored in both games, and had at least one goal called back on an offside call. He has a good touch on the ball and can play with speed. At times, however, he tries to do too much and takes on multiple defenders instead of passing the ball to teammates. But this is a quibble. He's a talented player and I wouldn't be surprised to see him playing at higher levels in the not-to-distant future.

Things Seem to Be GOOD

So this is the first post in a while. So I have a lot to cover.

First - And its good that this is first since I was first. Yes I won our fantasy league with a hell of a final week. I went all out for that final week, being down at least 10 and then making three transfers, thus starting the week down 18 at least. So HA, my intellect in this sport is mathematically correct. I would also like to say that it should not have even gotten that close but I will say that I was focusing on my academics.. something I shall never do again in order to maintain my crown. Of the 3 years we have been doing this, I have won it twice and I believe Ill be putting a star on my shirt.

2nd - Good commentary on the FA Cup final from The AR. It wasnt that great of a match but the end result was exactly as planned. Now the only question is: when are Trudo's and The AR's teams going to win anything?

3rd - Champions League final - to be honest I just wasnt feeling it. Rafa has lost me as a coach, not because of my love for the special one but because its annoying to hear him talk. I know Jose has his own problems but at least he is entertaining. Plus Gattuso is a pain to just look at. He looks like he beats women. I know this is harsh, especially seeing him kiss his wife after they won, but he just is not a nice person. Plus in the end should have Milan even been there? A team caught up in a match fixing scandal should be sent down, no questions asked.

4th - and most important (HA!) my life - I was assigned two boys play off games this past week. Tuesday night it was Jefferson HS v Loudoun Valley. It went to 4 overtimes. HS rules is 40 minute halves and then two 5 minute overtime periods. Followed by two 5 minute sudden victory overtime periods, then Penalty Kicks. This game went into the 4th OT and a goal was scored about 2 minutes from time. The game was very competitive. The half time score was 1 - 1. Then LV scored under a minute into the second half only from Jefferson to score with about 2 minutes left in regulation. Jefferson did score a little earlier but I called it back since the ball went straight into the goal from a throw in. Jefferson ended up winning 3-2. They were dangerous the whole game with long throws deep in the attack and on corners, and thats how they won it. So I ended up running about 98 minutes and showed 5 yellow cards. The two for Jefferson were for dissent and the three for LV were for Unsporting Behavior (bad tackles).
The 2nd game was last night (Thursday, a day off in between games). It was the district tournament final. It went scoreless until the 100th minute, about 30 seconds from time when the player hit the ball and it took a deflection off a defender and beat the keeper. The George Mason HS coach did something clever. He put his defender up top for the overtimes. This defender hadn't done much running but had been a threat up top on corners due to his height. The visiting team Rappahannock HS was good and had a very organized defense even with the speed they faced. The AR was actually my 4th official so I am sure he can add some input into how the game went. I showed 3 yellows - One USB for each team, a reckless tackle by the Rap GK (foot came up) and a tactical foul by GM in the 3rd overtime. The other card was against Rap for having too many men on the field.

So I am now spent - two games with about 200 minutes of running, a total of 8 yellow cards, 6 goals, 8 overtime periods, and an estimate of 16 to 20 miles ran. feel free to tear me a new one

Sweet Touch

OK. So not the most riveting game ever played at the new Wembley. Or maybe it was because it was one of the first games ever played there. Whatever.

But after 116 minutes of sometimes intense and challenging play and a lot of meaningless midfield shuffling, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard exchanged a series of one-touch, pinpoint passes that led to the only goal as Chelsea defeated ManU 1-0 in the FA Cup final. So perhaps the Ref and Meanbaldguy can each take pleasure in successful domestic campaigns this season -- Chelsea winning the domestic double and ManU the Premiership title -- and rest until the battle renews in the fall.

Meanwhile, I have to say that Sir Alex's post game comments -- the routine bashing of the ref -- are a bit disappointing. I thought Steve Bennett did a fine job. I don't think the was the most difficult game to call and, aside from getting into passing lanes a couple of times, Bennett seemed to be in the right place and he kept the match under control throughout. On one handling call he blew the whistle too fast -- a ball hit one Chelsea player's arm from a kick that began about a foot away.

Ferguson's complaint focuses on the play when Giggs* slid into Cech, pushing the keeper and the ball apparently over the line. Bennett allowed play to continue, awarding neither goal nor foul. Sir Alex contends that Essien pushed Giggs and ManU should have won a penalty, but a look at the replay doesn't support this contention. (If the link works, the Giggs play is at 2:30 and the goal at 2:47.) As for Bennett's noncall, either he didn't see the ball go over the line, as Giggs was in front of the ball and Cech was cradling it, or if he did, he decided to allow play to continue. Technically, he should have called the foul -- no way it could have been a goal as Cech stopped the ball before it crossed the line and only Giggs momentum crashing into the keeper pushed the ball over -- because once a ball crosses a boundary line the Laws require a restart. So my guess is that neither he nor the assistant ref saw the ball over the line, and play continued.

(To be fair, had Manu won the game, we'd probably have seen similar comments from Mourinho. Teams never win or lose; it's always the officials' fault.)

(*Typo corrected per Ref's comment.)

ALL HAIL THE REF

Congratulations to the Ref for pulling out the Fantasy League championship- a sweet 2 point victory over the AR as a result of a tremendous final week performance. You would not expect such good work for a Chelsea man. Also kudos to the Trudo for bringing up the rear. Having school work does not excuse this stunning collapse, although my last week pickup of Berbatov (and making him captain) was inspired and was the difference. To be sure, next year's results will be different and look for the Ref to be dethroned just as the Blues were this year.

EVIL HAS BEEN DETHRONED

Who wants to bet that Mourinho is out?

Double OT

So as I mentioned in my post before, I was assigned the center to a Boys Varsity game that included the 7th ranked team vs the 10th ranked team in the area. The home team #7 Forest Park(white) was hosting #10 Gar-Field SHS(red) in their second match up of the season. The previous game saw Forest Park take the win away from home and from my understanding about that game there had been a few cards along with a penalty kick. Going into this game I knew it was going to be the highest level of intensity that I had seen yet but I also felt calm and prepared. I had confedence in myself and in my crew.

Now the game:
The first half saw a lot of action mainly with Forest Park scoring the first goal. I showed two cautions, the first being for a delay of restart when a Forest Park player kicked the ball off the pitch when a foul was called against him. This caution kind of set the tone that I was not going to put up with any of the silly stuff. However the FP coach was upset at half time because I had allowed Gar-field to delay a restart, I did not caution Gar-field because as my other assistant put it, it was a matter of 3 seconds vs 30 seconds. The 2nd caution went to Gar-field. The player as you can see below in the photo is about 4 inches taller than me and just a slight bit bigger. The roster says he is a senior, and lets just say if it had said he is a junior that might be a little weird. He was called 3 times for pushing in the back on high balls especially and on a few I had let slide because they were 50-50 and he was just in a better position and the other player fell down at a light touch. I showed him a caution for persistent infringement. It calmed him down a little bit and he was on the verge later for another caution but I had a word with him once or twice down the field about being careful and I believe it stuck.

At halftime both of my assistants (The AR is one of them) told me that I needed to tighten it up in the second half. Now I am not sure if I had did that or not but I did focus on being in the right position and on top of play. Red was down a goal and was fighting back really well. Although their problem was that they did a lot of individual play and were at each other's throats over every little mistake. Red #10, one of the best players in the region and also a captain, was constantly trying to play make and did a good job but he also talked back a lot. I have not seen another team that complained so much and asked me if I "seen that" so many times. Red tied the game up about 15 minutes into the second half on some nice one-two passing and then a slotted finish. This sparked two more goals within the next 10 minutes. White came back and did another nice back pass from the goal line that found a wide open man on the far post, the red defense was caught lapsing. About 6 minutes later #10 red found his way around a few players to put one in the back of the net. This set up a frantic final 15 minutes. There were two more cards in the 2nd half both for Unsporting behavior. The first given to white for a tactical foul by taking someone down on a semi breakaway towards the corner. There was no way that this would be a yellow card, and no way that it could be red because there were other defenders back and red was going towards the corner. The other caution was issued to #10 red for a reckless tackle. This is where I realized that these players knew what they were doing. #10 went into the tackle hard and knew once I blew my whistle he was going to get a card. The other player went down hurt and once he saw that and heard my whistle he acted hurt as well. I stopped the clock and called on the trainer for white. #10 was on the ground trying to reason with me but as I told him, he was working on a second card for dissent. Once he stood up I showed him the card and he walked off. When he came back on he was more focused on the game than me. The 2nd half ended with a brilliant save by the white keep that went off the post.

Right at the end of regulation I called the captains together and tossed the coin. White won and chose to kickoff and red decided to go in the same direction as they ended the game. There was a 5 minute halftime before the two five minute overtime periods started. If I can say something about HS rules this is the one thing I do not like. It should either be a full 10 minutes or two 10s because 5 minutes is not long enough. The overtimes had their chances but nothing major and there was only one caution, also for a tactical foul and the player even said to me "I know that was an asshole thing to do" which made me laugh and he accepted the yellow with out any trouble. The game ended in the 2-2 tie after both overtimes. The AR came running up to me at the end with a big smile and said I had done an excellent job, I believe both as a referee and as my dad.

At the end of the game red team fans had to walk around the stadium and some of them by the place we, the refs, had put down our stuff. The red fans had largely been more vocal than the white fans and mainly because I did call more fouls against red. They were by far a more physical team and also had a greater lack of discipline. A few of the fans said I sucked among other things and were only a few feet from me. The AR and my other assistant called for the AD to come over. The fans walked away but we still waited for an escort out of the stadium and to the car. We ended up being escorted by the visiting teams head coach and the home teams AD.

My overall impression of the game and my performance was a good one. I know I still need to improve on my positioning and not being in the passing lanes. I get caught too many time thinking about where I should be if I wanted to receive the ball when it should be where I think I can see the ball and where I expect it to go. Ah the player in me. I think I did a really good job vocalizing to the players, especially when going up for headers and telling them to go straight up. I also was sound on verbalizing that I was going to make them play through stuff and that not every touch is a foul. In the end I think communication is my strongest trait. I talk to the players a lot and I reason with them, but when I need to be I set the tone and don't let the tone be dictated by the players. Could have I called it tighter? sure, but the more you call the more people start realizing you are there, the less you call the more they police themselves. I am also proud of my fitness, there was a point in the 2nd half when I realized I needed to focus on keeping up with play and I think I was able to do that. It was a fun game to referee and the teams were really good. I look forward to having those high intensity games more regularly...

right on top of play eh?
all the photos came from www.gar-fieldsports.com
if you want, check out their blurb about the game "and all the calls going against them"

Any questions or thoughts feel free and I hope that The AR will post some comments as well

oh welll

hmm so its been a while, but its not like anyone reads this other than the people i talk to every day anyways...
aight so before i talk about the blues... figurative and literal... i will discuss some refereeing things that have happened over the past weeks

1st off - in more ways than one - my only red card of the season so far
Violent conduct, the girl elbowed another girl in the stomach away from play while the ball was dead. It was a stupid thing to do i was only about 10 feet away. She went off with no objections. What makes that game more memorable is that the parents were far worse than the players or coaches. It seems like the further away from the field the better angle of viewing the parents have, this field being very far away from the stands - which were built up and into a hill.
2nd off - coaches have been far better this season although there are still some of them that think coaching means talking more to or about the referee than the game. oh well, some things never change. Although in my last game the coach was upset about this girl getting tripped after the final whistle. you know how there are 3 tweets for the final whistle and the girl was getting clipped on the first. nothing bad and she was fine. coach wanted me to card the offending girl and all i probably would have given was a direct free kick, it wasnt a harsh tackle at all.
3rd off - tomorrow is a big day.. I am refereeing Boys Varsity, Forest Park HS vs Gar-Field HS... which the washington post has them ranked 7th and 10th respectively in the area. their first meeting ended up 2 to 1 in favor of Forest Park. From what I can tell about their previous game was that more than one card was handed out along with a penalty kick. This will probably be the highest level game I have centered yet. ill be giving a detailed report I am sure

Now to the professionals
Its Liverpool v AC Milan in a showdown once again. Of course for the next 23 days all we will hear about is Istanbul and the comeback. so be it.. I just hope the red haired kid remembers that he was too chicken to watch the whole game and is able to watch this one (he couldnt reason with his teacher about all school cleanup, even after i had settled it for him that he could watch, he was afraid of someones wrath)... haha, i am just messin with you man, although your beloved Arse doesnt have any silverware this season and could be american by this time next year.

Man U and Chelsea - now 5 points up in the prem with 3 games to go, one against Chelsea. It should be interesting after this weekend. The Man. Derby and Chelsea at Arse. A great weekend for football now that I think about it, hmmm. There are too many outcomes to think about but if it ends up being 5 points with two games left it would be interesting if Chelsea rest their players against Man U to focus on just the Cup. Yet if things change this weekend ( a win for the blues a loss for the devils) it could become very interesting what the special one decides. I have come to this conclusion that no matter what no one is winning the double, its going to be one or the other. Especially after the poor performance by ManU in the game today it should be interesting with all the injuries...

so many different possibilites

CL roundup

A quick review of this week's action to get my two cents in.

Yesterday showed how bad Arsenal must be- beacuse PSV is useless. No pace, no style, no nothing. Liverpool played well, but it looked like they were playing against Watford.

Only saw the highlights of the AC/Bayern game so can't really comment except to say that the Kaka pk looked pretty clear to me and I'm not sure why Bayern was complaining- but the tie (and the two away goals) puts them in good position for next week in Munchen.

Chelsea continues to look shockingly bad. Yes, Silva's goal was outstanding but the lack of urgency or tactical discipline with which Chelsea plays makes one wonder what the hell is going on. Even Mourinho, who admitted this week that they have been paying "silly" prices for players (see http://hornets.aolsportsblog.com/2007/04/03/chelsea-will-no-longer-spend-silly-money/) has to realize that things are going horribly wrong. As I have said many times, they could win 4 trophies this year and still be the most underachieving team ever given their stockpiling of talent.

Finally, the Roma v Man U game was a real treat to watch. Watching Roma on the attack is as fun as soccer gets- they should have done more after Scholes got his second card but perhaps they were exhausted from the incredible start they had. On Scholes, what was he thinking about? They were both obvious fouls and he played recklessly throughout. How Fergie can say that Chivu's complaining caused the ref to show the card is crazy- get a grip old man. Even I, a noted ref hater and Man U fan, knew he was gone the instant the play happened.

All in all, some fun viewing. Can't wait until next week.