A Great Idea: Feeding

Instead of saying "I'm going to have lunch", say "I'm going to feed." Or instead of "It's supper time", use "It's feeding time." It's just good etiquette.

What a great idea.

Postmortem Canada v Mexico

Well, that was not fun.

Truth be told, I was enjoying Canada's successful defending in the first half. They probably executed their game plan exactly how they would have wanted it. We probably all knew they would concede at some point, but there was a way back into it had we not slacked off on a corner kick to give Mexico the 2-nil lead. And it brings up a subtle point I forgot to make in my tips for improvement last night: defend well, defend smart.

I thought it would basically go without saying. But it seems Canada needs to be reminded. Specifically Paul Stalteri, whose lazy challenge on Rafa Marquez's near post header cost us any chance to salvage a point (not to mention the fact there wasn't anyone defending the near post). Which sadly has left me to make the following observation, Stalteri is costing us. Here is a guy who by all rights made me a Spurs fan when I started to really get into the EPL a few years ago. He was probably the highest profile Canadian in the world, having then just recently won the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen. Though his start with Spurs was bright, helping them to two 5th place finishes, he has now been dropped from Ramos' first team and is now rotting in the reserves. Whereas he was making crisp, dangerous passes through the Chelsea defense two years ago in the later stages of the FA cup, you would now be hard pressed to find where or if he is even playing at all, even with the reserves. I still love his passion and perhaps there is nobody better we could put in his position, but the lack of creativity and the defensive lapses are hurting big time. Eg. He and Serioux couldn't decide who would take the man with the ball in one of the Honduran goals in Montreal.

Which isn't to say there was a whole lot to be happy about at the back once we went down. Hastings can only knock it deep and Serioux is an expert and either giving away cheaply by overdribbling or just duffing a long pass that probably wasn't going anywhere anyway and leading to a dangerous counterattack. Klukowski though, played amazing. He is confident on the ball as ever and provided the only outlet of our last third of any quality. He was also defending very well, save for a few stupid challenges which gifted dangerous free kicks.

The refreshing thing was that the reffing was amazing. Mexico probably had more to complain than we did (Blanco's yellow should instead have gone to De Guzman for his early ankle buster). I wish we could have that quality of reffing in every game. His early yellow for a dive in the box probably set the tone for the Mexicans, who for the most part played with honesty and integrity. Of course, they didn't have to worry as much about getting the result as Jamaica or Honduras did in Canada.

One of the bright spots for me was the play of Nakajima-Farran. He was confident on the ball and had he been able to get further up the field, I think he would have been dangerous. I hope to see him in that position for the rest of the qualifiers.

Which brings us to a sobering reality. We are now desperate. I don't think we can continue this defensive posturing. We need to put Gerba AND Friend up front and hope the midfield can shut things down. Everybody saw how Friend was hopeless to corral any long balls sent his way. It is just asking too much. With two of them up there, we stand a way better chance. Plus, late in the game, our forward push was even unsettling the Mexicans to play lazy clearances which gifted us the ball back.

To make things even worse for the next match, we lose two huge parts of our team. De Rosario and Serioux will miss the next game against Honduras. This could be killer. Some combination of Stalteri/Brennan/McKenna/Hume are going to have to fill this void.

I think this was an improvement though. We played to a game plan well and we even found the score sheet under desperate circumstances (which was a beauty of a dead ball from Hume to Gerba). I think if we can just learn to avoid the hair-pulling offsides we had last night, we can start surprising people.

In the end, it turns out drinking beer while watching the game wasn't the solution to our problems. Damn, that is one sacrifice I am always willing to make.

Canada Mexico (part 1)

Canada plays away to Mexico tonight (7PM on Sportsnet). They look to gain at least a point to garner some sort of respectability and of course put some desperately needed points on the board. But let's face it, after an ugly game (Canada's quality, Honduran antics, pitch, refereeing, and coaching) on Saturday, how can anything really be expected in Mexico? I think the typical media forecast would be something like this:

"With Canada dropping points from their first two games on home soil, perhaps a visit to Mexico is exactly what they need. The pressure to play in front of their home fans and having to deal with being called the best team Canada has ever had assembled may have gotten to them in their opening games. So with only the soccer to concentrate on, they look to add points to their group standing."

I really hope Gerry and Craig are in a SN studio in Toronto too, so the team can rest assured that Craig isn't flipping out somewhere in the stadium.

As I said, the last game was ugly.

Here are some things we can do to improve:
-Stay calm. Don't make rash challenges, you know they are going to dive and roll and scream. Don't shove anyone either for the same reason. The last thing we need is cards.
-Don't expect the ref to help you out. Besides seeming biased, they appear to only call fouls which are accompanied by a dive / play acting. If you don't do these things, you probably won't get the call.
-Don't give the ball away in midfield (I'm looking at you De Guzman). We get really hurt by counter attacks because our defense can't react quick enough. We saw that twice on Saturday. So move the ball quick.
-Hit the net. We haven't had a lot of shooting chances lately, but we all know De Guzman and DeRo can hit it from a ways out. Give it a shot, but hit the freaking net.
-Good Crosses. We are strong up front, but we need to get the ball to Gerba/Friend's head first. Stop wasting chances.
-Act like a coach who knows what he's doing. Why the hell did Mitchell take out Gerba for Friend? When you need more offense, don't sub off your forwards. What the fuck!?

It's really hard to see anything positive coming from tonight's game, but I will always hope and cheer for the best. Here is the formation and personel I would like to see on the pitch tonight:

--------------Hirschfeld-------------
-Stalteri-Serioux-Hastings-Klukowski-
--------De Guzman--Hutchinson--------
---De Rosario----Hume------Brennan---
----------------Friend---------------

If I were to change this anywhere, it would probably in center of defense. I didn't think Hastings played well at all last game. My hope is that Hume pushing forward with speed will be a good complement to Friend's power and size. De Rosario and Brennan need to get balls in the box. De Guzman and Hutchinson need to concentrate on shutting Mexico down in the midfield. And most importantly, the defenders need to be organized as hell and not get caught ball watching / confused as to who is going to take the man with the ball / giving it away in our own end. If things get desperate late, sub Brennan and put Gerba up front. Then push Hutchinson out wide.

Here's hoping for the best.

This isn't a good sign

Gordon Freeman is apparently working on the LHC. And if you've played half-life, you'll know what hits the fan when a mega experiment goes wrong. Namely, shit.

So True

Sympathy

Wow, the Seahawks don't only look like the Riders anymore, they basically are the Riders.

money = respect

Giggs, from ESPN Soccernet...

'You just have to appreciate the money they have got,' Giggs told Key103. 'Signing Robinho is a big statement to football as a whole because he is a world-class player.

'With the amount of money they have got to spend, the next few years will be interesting and we will just have to wait and see what happens.'

It is sad how money is what earns you respect in the soccer world these days. I think it is because the big four in English soccer know nobody can compete with them without it. The rest are left to fight for scraps. There will be no surprise winner of the Premier League this year (unless you count Liverpool or Arsenal as surprises). There probably won't be a surprise winner of the EPL any year, unless said winner were to have the red carpet rolled out for them the way Man City was. This is the sad state of professional soccer.

The way the media is talking, you would think Man City is destined for success. But all they've done is acquire ONE player. I guess the expectation is that once the January transfer window opens up, there will be a flood of players coming in. So, if you're Steven Ireland or Darius Vassell or Dietmar Hamann, you must basically know you have 4 months left playing for the club. I, however, don't think much is going to change with Robinho arriving. They are already a decent team and they will continue performing above average. But by January, they will be out of the title race, along with most others.

It would be so refreshing to see someone pip the big four for the title and show the world that quality can be built and not just bought. Come on, you Spurs (and yes, I realize Spurs are for the most part a buyer).

http://engrishfunny.com

Awesome

It is awesome that AVG, my antivirus software for the laptop, decided not to load when I booted the computer today. I can't stress how impressed I am with it.

At least Vista noticed and properly warned me of this. Yes, Vista can do something right once in a while.

Volleyball Lessons from Paul Scholes

Someone watched too much Olympics.

P-hot-oshop or Not

Canada 1 - Jamaica 1

As good as this team is, they make me cringe with every pass. Nothing is easy for the Canadian national team. Unless, of course, you count their crisp passing around the back in their third of the field, even in the dying moments. Boy, they can sure play back there where there were no Jamaicans in sight and the back four constantly seemed to want the other guy to be the one to move the ball forward.

This is one of many tactics that bothered me. I mean it's nice to see some control and patience, but I think they may have overdone it by not really taking it to a team that was sitting back waiting to be attacked. I think they should have used a formation with 2 forwards instead of one. Our crosses were awful in the first half and maybe we could have saved more balls with more bodies up front. In the second half, we seemed to be pumping balls forward from the back with more urgency and with only Friend or Gerba up there, it was tough to gain possession. Granted there were some nice balls up on the wings for Hume and Radzinski.

Though he has affectionately been named De Godsman, for reasons he displayed last night, Julian De Guzman had a persistent habit of frustrating me while playing in our own half. He was playing a dangerous game of 1on1 with defenders and often losing. Thankfully he was able to win a good share of fouls. The other times, when he gave it up cheaply, I screamed at the TV. There is no reason to be weaving through defenders in our half, play the ball back to the defenders who are sitting there waiting to provide support.

The turning point of course had to be a horrendous own goal off Onstad. What should have been an easy catch turned into calamity when he tried to punch the ball away leaning back toward goal. Unsurprisingly, his execution let him down. He claimed he was tugged and that threw him off, but I saw no indication of anything other than poor goalkeeping. I love the guy, but I think you have to go to Sutton in our next match, September 6th in Montreal against Honduras.

It was awesome to see a proper soccer crowd and atmosphere for this game and hopefully this continues in Montreal. It can only help the team feel like they truely are at home and increase the players' desires to perform for them.

I read on a blog about how pessimistic a fan was even though we were supposed to easily dispatch of Jamaica. And though I wanted to slough him off as an exception to popular opinion, I knew deep down I was one of them too. And sadly it came true. It's not a loss though and what this means is we HAVE to beat the Reggae Boys in Kingston in November. I'm confident we still can (... or am I?)

Sportsnet

People are frustrated with the lack of Canadian team coverage and have been giving Sportsnet flack for it (see their reader's postings on national team stories). Canada at least got to see the game live in standard def on SN West and Pacific, which was one complaint, but now they added a slate of others.

First, what was the FUCKING cameraman doing? Instead of celebrating a beautiful, beautiful goal setup by Radzinski to De Guzman, I was screaming at the cameraman for shooting our defense 50 yards from the action. And this was far from a one time thing. The guy (or girl) didn't have a sniff of where the ball was on many occassions.

Then there was the affair of watching standard def soccer on Sportsnet HD. Seriously guys, what's the deal. Why do you have a high def channel if aren't going to use it like it should be? So you can show poker in HD? This is ridiculous. It they have HD cameras, they are in Toronto, so why not use them? With the extra dimensions of 16:9, it would have helped the useless tit cameraman find the ball.

And then you have Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest. I can't fault them for their passion of our team and sport, they are great ambassadors. But when they are reduced to mocking injured players and complaining about the ref like they are on the field playing, it's too much. It's soccer, players go down. And MOST of the time, they go down when they are fouled. Even though they go down easy, it is to earn the foul against them, not to fool anyone. I watched Steven Gerrard do the same thing against the Czech Republic in their friendly last night. Gerry and Craig should listen to the likes of English commentators to learn how to do it with class. It is frustrating when someone with soccer knowledge like Craig Forrest doesn't even know the definition of delayed offside. Ie. if an offside player doesn't play the ball, he is not offside IF HE DOESN'T INTERFERE WITH THE PLAY OR THE DEFENDERS.

Maybe there is something to be said about importing English play by play analysts like CBC does...

The 517

I decided to get up a little early this morning to watch some footy. First I was thinking of getting up at 8 for Spurs' game. Then, I figured if I'm getting up that early, since it's the first day of the season, might as well get up to watch the WBA-Gunners game at 6. Then I remembered there is Olympic soccer on at 4.

So here I am watching Brazil-Cameroon in the quarters and I have to say, this is the weirdest international game I have ever seen. There must be little to no Brazilians or Cameroonians there because it is dead quiet. You can hear the players and coaches on the field. Also strange is Brazil is playing very average against a 10 man Cameroon. Ronaldinho had done little other than make some bad passes. I don't think he's the player he once was. And for some reason, the back four is playing like Greece and knocking it around with little desire to go forward. Must be padding that possession stat. And the pitch looks aweful. The ball is bouncing around so much they are having trouble just dribbling.

I don't remember the last time I was up this early. Its not even light out at 5AM anymore. Aka, summer is dying. Poor summer.

Canada's WC Group Qualification 2008

First off, the following couldn't be more true. From sportsnet user peter_mtl (in the comments section of this article)...

I find it pathetic that Canadians won't be able to watch their own national team on live television when it begins the next round of World Cup qualifying. I can understand if Sportsnet Ontario elected to show the Blue Jay game but why do Canadians in other regions have to be deprived of watching their team at the expense of one of 162 Toronto games this season? The NATIONAL soccer team is surely much more national in importance than the TORONTO Blue Jays. What is the point of having multiple Sportsnet channels if not for a situation like this? This game didn't come out of nowhere. We knew years ago that Canada would be playing qualifying games in August/September of 2008.

Now, back to the news at hand. Canada announced its squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Jamaica on August 20. Fifa has Jamaica ranked 108th currently while Canada sits at number 79. Both of which have been dropping lately. From the rankings, it may appear that we are clearly favorites, but that might not be the case. The rankings do little to tell the whole story. And Jamaica is a quality team that has been to the big show in 1998, whereas we haven't been since our lone venture in 1986. However, that is probably insignificant with regards to the current squads. Jamaica has played well lately, twice tying a Trinidad and Tobago team that participated in World Cup 2006 and routing the Bahamas in WC qualifications. They also have Marlon King up front, who is a top quality striker in England and who was just loaned to Hull for the season. The contest will be that much tougher once you add the fact that Toronto has a significant Jamaican population who will likely turn out for the game.

As for the Canadian squad that was picked, the only notable omission was striker Olivier Occean, who has been leading his team, Lillestrom, in scoring in the Norwegian Tippeligaen. (Jaime Peters, Wil Johnson, Ante Jazic, and David Edgar being others). Though, we should have more than enough offense with Hume, Friend, and Gerba. Gerba has been on fire lately for Canada and it would be a shock not to see him on the field at some point on Wednesday. Rob Friend probably deserves to be up there with him given his dominance in 2nd division German soccer last year. He finished second in the league with 18 goals for his club Borussia Mönchengladbach. Iain Hume would probably add more pace off the bench if they needed it.

The center of midfield is an interesting position. Typically Dwayne De Rosario plays there for Houston with a big offensive upside. Gold Cup MVP Julian de Guzman has also showed flashes of brilliance pushing forward in this position, even though he is supposed to be a defensive midfielder. De Rosario could played on the wing to allow for a stronger defensive core in the middle of the field. To muddy things up, you have Atiba Hutchinson and Adrian Serioux who could both legitimately compete for that spot. Issey Nakajima-Farran or Tomasz Radzinski are candidates for the wing who have excellent speed.

In defense, Stalteri will captain the team and should probably be playing wide. Mike Klukowski's play has really impressed on the left side recently, especially against the Brazil friendly in May, and he should fill in the other wing. Kevin McKenna's work with helping promote Cologne to the German to tier and MLS all-star Jim Brennan's efforts for Toronto FC should be enough to place them in the middle of defense.

Making a goalkeeping choice will be a tougher call. Pat Onstad has played well in both the MLS and his appearances for Canada recently. Over the last year he has taken the reins on more than a few occasions due to injuries to Toronto FC's number one keeper Greg Sutton. It should be Onstad's position to lose.

My starting 11
Onstad
Stalteri Brennan McKenna Klukowski
Radzinski Hutchinson de Guzman De Rosario
Friend Gerba

CANADA ROSTER (from Sportsnet.ca)

Goalkeepers: Greg Sutton, Hamilton, Toronto FC (MLS); Pat Onstad, Vancouver, Houston Dynamo (MLS).

Defenders: Mike Klukowski, Oshawa, Ont., Club Brugge KV (Belgium); Kevin McKenna, Calgary, FC Koeln (Germany); Jim Brennan, Toronto, Toronto FC (MLS); Richard Hastings, Vancouver, Inverness Caledonian Thistle (Scotland).

Defender-Midfielders: Daniel Imhof, Smithers, B.C., VfL Bochum (Germany); Adrian Serioux, Toronto, FC Dallas (MLS), Paul Stalteri (capt.), Brampton, Ont., Tottenham (England).

Midfielders: Julian de Guzman, Toronto, Deportivo La Coruna (Spain); Issey Nakajima-Farran, Calgary, FC Nordsjlland (Denmark); Atiba Hutchinson, Brampton, Ont., FC Copenhagen (Denmark); Patrice Bernier, Brossard, Que., FC Nordsjlland (Denmark).

Midfielder-Forwards: Tomasz Radzinski, Toronto, Skoda Xanthi (Greece); Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto, Houston Dynamo (MLS).

Forwards: Ali Gerba, Montreal, Milton Keynes Dons (England); Rob Friend, Kelowna, B.C., Borussia Moenchengladbach (Germany); Iain Hume, Brampton, Ont., Barnsley FC (England).

Jose can see

UPDATE: Roy does it again...

Roy Keane, the former Manchester United skipper and Old Trafford folk hero, has tipped Chelsea to prevent United from securing back-to-back Premier League titles.

On the eve of the new season the Sunderland manager has revealed his 'gut feeling' that Chelsea will prove to be too strong this term, not least because of the addition of new coach Luis Felipe Scolari, but also because United are lacking a striker.

Geez, you're making me blush.
-----------------------------------------------------

Relating to my Prem Prediction post, it seems Jose Mourinho has made a similar analysis. Either that or he reads my blog and steals my thoughts.

From ESPN Soccernet...

And in dismissing Arsenal as contenders he may well have annoyed old adversary Arsene Wenger especially as he sees Tottenham possibly usurping their North London rivals.

"...but Tottenham surely have the quality to fight for a top-four finish."

...

And Mourinho had comforting words for the frustrated fans of Newcastle United: "I cannot really say who the surprise team will be - but year after year we always wait for a better Newcastle."

Thanks for your backing Jose.

Galaxy Sinemas

The Galaxy Cinemas in downtown Saskatoon is a scourge on our city. It is a giant green STD on the clitoris of our downtown. It an insanity inducing emporium of whatever the opposite of delight is. It is a candy factory with raw sewage inputs. It is a idling vehicle in the garage of splendor. It is a sea of 6-pack plastic holders. It is a mountain of garbage.

Why the hell are we all brainwashed to go to that place? Because it is new? Because they have nice seats? I can counter anything good that is said about that theater with 8 things that make me want to tear my thumb off.

I have a bad experience nearly every time I go to that place. The latest thing to set me off was this weekend when we tried to go to Pineapple Express, which I really wanted to see. I accept that is was busy and sold out and Step Brothers was awesome anyway. However, 3 of the automated machines were busted. Which means everyone is lined up out the doors of the place. So I'm in line to talk to real live human beings (though I wouldn't be surprised if they were robots). There are only 2 tills open and a third is being occupied by a 16 year old girl who is chatting with her boyfriend. And the best part? She is in training! That's right, with two regular employees next to her, she was goofing off while I waited in line hoping for someone to walk over and slap her. And of course right when I get up to one of the tills, she opens hers back up to speed people through. Expletive!

And I don't know how they do it, but at all times, and I mean ALL TIMES, there is 16 person deep lineup for the concession. We went on a Sunday night one time to see Pirates 3 (the Caribbean one), and they had only one till open with, you guessed it, 16 people lined up. That delay resulted in us getting a seat in the front two rows. This Saturday was no exception. And thank God Heather was the one in line because I would have snapped when the till broke down and they spent 10 minutes trying to get the register open. And when we went to see Dark Knight, Brad spent probably 20 minutes in the frozen yogurt line. Expletive!

The staff there is useless and clueless. Maybe it is because of the labour shortage and all they can find in 16 year old dimwits. I don't know how it can take so long to get a popcorn when you have two people manning a till. This is not rocket science. They should be able to fire people through the lineups in short order. But can they? No. Expletive!

And how about parking. I can't believe people are actually desperate enough to pay to go see movies there. Especially when you get a pay parking lot with craters comparable to ones on the East side of the moon. And if you fuck it up with paying. You are going to get a ticket costing you one of your livers. Thankfully Saskatoon hasn't figured out that a block away parking is free and available. Expletive!

Oh, and I forgot about this piece de resistance. They have another automated ticket dispensing terminal. Where did they put it you ask? In the freaking entrance. So they have 3 that are busted inside and a working one in the entrance you can use when its minus forty this winter with cigarette smoke drifting in. Expletive!

And all this pain and punishment while there is another perfectly good theater that would appreciate our business in Circle mall. Sure the seats might not be as good, but parking is plenty and it is not a zoo. And it's cheaper.

I am calling for a COMPLETE BAN on Galaxy cinemas. Their incompetent business practices have driven me out. I WILL NOT ATTEND THIS THEATER AGAIN. EVER!

Prem Predictions

I have put a lot of thought into this, so much so that I don't remember if I have any children or not.

This is the word according to Alex...

Pos	2007-08	2008-09
1	Man Utd	Chelsea
2	Chelsea	Man Utd
3	Arsenal	Liverpool
4	Liverpool	Arsenal
5	Everton	Tottenham
6	Aston Villa	Portsmouth
7	Blackburn	Man City
8	Portsmouth	Everton
9	Man City	Newcastle
10	West Ham	Aston Villa
11	Tottenham	Blackburn
12	Newcastle	Fulham
13	Middlesbrough	Sunderland
14	Wigan	West Ham
15	Sunderland	Middlesbrough
16	Bolton	Wigan
17	Fulham	Hull
18	Reading	West Brom
19	Birmingham	Stoke
20	Derby	Bolton

Where I think it will be tight is the battle for 2nd b/w Man U and Liverpool. I think Man U is going to drop points at the start of the year that will hurt them, due to the absence of Ronaldo's offense, the fragility of Rooney, and the lack of striking depth (at the moment). Meanwhile, Chelsea is going to take the title thanks to Fat Phil, similar to how Mourinho came in to do the job. Tottenham and Arsenal will battle for the last Champs League spot, maybe until the last day like in 2005-06. Positions 6-11 should be a good battle and could be a mix up of my predictions, but I like Portsmouth this year. Newcastle should show that they have been underperforming in recent years and climb the table. I think Fulham and Sunderland are the most improved teams and they will finish far above the bottom seven. Bolton is heading for the drop big time with Hull eking it out.

Failure

Fan Bans

From ESPN, a list of bans in the new NFL spectator code of conduct...

• Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal.

• Drunkenness and signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behavior.

• Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.

• Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.

• Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.

• Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team.

Holy crap do rules like this contrast starkly with European soccer.

For me, I enjoy having a somewhat civilized approach to spectating sports (granted opposing fans to the Riders may not feel the same way.) But there is no comparison to soccer in Europe. There are no riot police on constant standby at NFL/CFL games. There is no division of opposing fans into sections of the stadium, separated by giant plexiglass dividers. There is no police escort of the opposing team's fans to the stadium. There is no restriction on the opposing team's fans from leaving the stadium at the same time as the home team's fan. There is no passport checks to buy tickets for games. You can buy tickets at the stadium and not at a separate location blocks away the first day you get into Rome and have no idea what's going on.

Having said that, the insanity of a major soccer game in Europe is amazing. Granted, a large number of deaths have resulted through the years of fan violence. The most recent shakeup coming about a week after we left Italy in 2006 when fan rioting resulted in a police officer being killed. It doesn't seem like things have changed much though. There is always a big worry of things getting out of hand when the big clubs meet in Champions League. If they had to live by the rules above, from what I saw in Italy anyway, there would be rioting in the streets... Oh wait, they do that already anyway.

Quote of the day

"Maybe I should drink more so that I think fast food is good."
-Heather (the hungover day after whilst eating DQ fries)