Bloody Confused, Chapter Six

I was surprised that Culpepper took six chapters before he mentioned the increasing American presence on the pitch and in the owner's box in the Premiership. That got me thinking about this trivia question:

"How many American-born goalkeepers have played in the Premiership since its inception? Name them and their clubs."

Good luck, lads!

Premiership Wednesday?

Would you believe it? We have a full schedule of Premier League footer on a Wednesday! I don't know what all this is in aid of but I'm nay complaining either.

Join me for the North London derby and all the other madness from 3:45 p.m. on....

TV themes

A bit different this one but a nostalgia kick. I have picked out 30 intro themes from all those Glen A Larson/ Stephen J Cannell shows and they are all available on youtube at the link below.

Here are 30 TV intros BACK TO BACK.

Midweek footy!

Damn I hate this clock change, I used to be able to watch games at my desk from 3-5 when it was quiet but 4-6 puts me into my metro commute - its just not right.
THat said i am looking forward to the latest tales of NEWCASTLE WOE and tomorrow the North London derby is huge given the new manager, the title chase and the fact that its class against scum, again.

Soccer Sunday

The clocks went back in Britain last night, which gave us an extra hour to get ready for the big one - Chelsea vs. Liverpool. Chelsea haven't lost at the Bridge for yonks, but it would really open up the Premiership for Liverpool to choose today to turn them over.

It all starts at 9:30 EST, followed by Arsenal vs. West Ham on FSC.

TRY AGAIN... AN EARLY START!

Both Bob and I put up a post and they have both disappeared.
COME ON UNITED

Song for Sarah

Here's the latest paean to Palin. Enjoy!

Champions League - Gameday 3!

It's been all fires burning for the English sides in the CL this season to date. Will it be the same again today? We'll soon see. FSC are favoring us with the Battle of Britain live from Old Trafford, while the Internet is offering, well, all the rest.

Join me for all the action this afternoon.

Bloody Confused - Chapter 5

At the risk of beating a dead horse, let me comment quickly about Chapter 5 of Culpepper's opus. In this section, Culpepper describes the thinking that went into choosing his Premiership club to support. Of course, he's right to avoid the bandwagon option. If you didn't support ManYoo before 1999, there's really no excuse for latching onto them now. But Pompey? Why? The clear choice for a Yank abroad at that time was surely Fulham, with its gaggle of Americans and a relegation battle of its own to fight. Or perhaps Culpepper could have been truly intrepid and chosen a club in a lower division. Given his love for grimy stadium bathrooms, Scunthorpe or Crewe might have suited. What do the rest of you think?

Do We Really Want Spurs to Go Down?

Another weekend, another Spurs loss. A month ago I was convinced that Spurs would dig themselves out of the ditch, with or without the "services" of Juande Ramos. Now, I'm not so sure. Eight games in and Spurs still haven't won a match in the Premiership. This begs the question - do we really want to see Spurs to be relegated?

The Prem is Back!

After a very successful international break for England, the domestic leagues are very much back in action today. First up is Premiership leaders Chelski up in Middlesboro this morning. The stream is up and running and the match kicks off at 7:45.

After that, the regular fixtures start at 10 with Arsenal on the box followed by United taking on West Brom.

Join me for all the fun and games.

SNL Takes on Joe the Plumber

Here's the SNL take on Wednesday night's debate. Enjoy!

Bloody Confused - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Culpepper's book contains an interesting thesis; he posits that going to the pub before a match is synonymous with the tailgating phenomenon in the States and that both are equally if not more important to the punters than the match itself.

I don't quite buy it. The obvious difference between the two is that while the pub is an essentially young male experience, tailgating is an effort to pull family members into the sporting experience that they might otherwise find fairly dull. I've always thought that most American sports are indeed an excuse to get people together to socialize. Footie is very different; if anything it's fairly anti-social with only one break in the action during the match.

We've probably all had the experience of inviting American friends who don't understand this difference over to watch a big match. They invariably show up after the match has already kicked off and then want to talk endlessly about inane details or have the rules explained or the teams' forms analyzed for them during the match. This is perfectly acceptable with baseball or football as there are plenty of breaks in the action. But if you're anything like me, it's driven you crazy and you think twice about inviting said gringo over for the next big match.

US vs. T&T

You lot still up for this one? Hope so or I'll be a lonely gooner tonight.

Midweek Footie Madness!

How's Don Fabio doing so far? Well, in terms of results, he's done very well indeed. Played three, won three, eleven goals scored, two conceded. However, I think we all want to see England playing better and have questioned some of Capello's choices.

It's another big day of WC qualifiers, with England kicking off in Belarus at 2:30 EST. Join me for all the action this afternoon.

Fredonia Police Blotter

I've always been a big fan of small town police blotters. Big city crime sections are a bit grim, while their small town brethren are just quaintly humorous. Each one bears the unmistakable stamp of a bored journo who's trying to liven up a mundane job with idiosyncratic flourishes. In the local Fredonia paper, this seems to include unusual details such as the brand of alcohol consumed by the unfortunate miscreant caught drinking in public. Here's a sample:

* At 3:57 a.m. on October 4, officers responded to a 911 call involving a minor automobile accident on Lambert Avenue. When approaching the scene, Erin Barr, 21 was observed urinating on the sidewalk next to her vehicle. When questioned, she admitted that she had been drinking mai tais at the China Garden restaurant in Jamestown. A roadside sobriety test revealed that she was intoxicated.

* At 12:55 a.m. on October 6, Sharif Kassimsalisu, 24 and Agnus Laborgne, 21, were observed in a physical fight at 30 Water Street. When interviewed, Mr. Laborgne claimed that Mr. Kassimsalisu had agreed to pay $50 for a leather sofa and had returned to his apartment on Endicott Street to find Mr. Kassimsalisu and a friend loading said sofa into a small van. While the officers interviewed the two subjects, they were forced to restrain Mr. Kassimsalisu's friend, John Herbert, 22, as he began to yell obscenities at the officers.

* At 1:48 a.m. on October 7, Mark Wesolowski, 17, and Jessica Martinez, 20, were found by officers holding open containers of Genesee Cream Ale outside of Sunny's bar on 43 Water Street. While they were being interviewed, Ms. Martinez offered officers tickets to a karaoke night at Sunny's bar. They were both issued appearance tickets for having an open container of alcohol and underage possession.

Brazil Puts on a Clinic

If you missed it last night, the boys of Brazil, with the return of Kaka, put on an absolute clinic against the hapless Venezuela. Take note of the Robinho's rocket of a first goal as well as the fantastic psychedelic 60s echo effect on "Brasil!" after each goal.

Bloody Confused - Chapter 3

It's difficult for any writer on the contemporary game to avoid being compared to Nick Hornby; "Fever Pitch" is still the touchstone for footie literature, as Culpepper is smart to acknowledge. This debt is most evident in Chapter 3 in which Culpepper finally gets inside a Premiership ground and encounters an English crowd in all its glory.

Like Culpepper, I still marvel at the singing at European games, which is so much more romantic and poetic than the monosyllabic "Re-vo-lu-tion" chanting you get at most MLS matches. That a Cuban revolutionary song can morph into "One Tony Currie - there's only one Tony Currie" is magical. I'm not quite sure what song Culpepper is referencing when he mentions "You Are My Sunshine," though. Anyone else know?

Like Hornby, he's shocked by the language; I did enjoy the point he made about "stadium language" vs. normal language. But here's Hornby on the same issue:

"It wasn't the size of the crowd that impressed me most, however, or the way that adults were allowed to shout the word 'WANKER' as loudly as they wanted without attracting any attention. What impressed me most was just how much most of the men around me hated, really hated, being there."

With this deft passage, Hornby cuts deeper than the question of manners to speak to the bittersweet relationship we've all had with the game over the years. Now, that's poetry.

U.S. vs. Cuba Live!

Had enough footer today? Not I! I'm continuing my policy of blatantly ignoring the economic plight of the country by settling in for an evening with the U.S. boys as they take on Cuba on U.S. soil for the first time in yonks. Gooner is at the match and we may have some live on site reports from him if his cell phone holds out.

Join me if you're not sated yet...

A Big Day of International Footer

It's the end of the world as we know...but I feel fine, because it's a big day of international footer. First up is Scotland vs. Norway at 10 a.m. EST, followed by England against Kazakhstan at 12:15. And then later this afternoon there's the U.S. vs. Cuba at RFK with our own Gooner live at the stadium.

Enjoy the matches, lads and join me on the LOB for some chat.

Bloody Confused, Chapter Two

Gooner mentioned the experience of going to a match on both sides of the Atlantic and I reckon that's a key to the problems MLS has had attracting a serious fan base. When I first started going to Revolution games at Foxboro in 1986, I noticed a several weird phenomena. Even when there was a full crowd, there was a noticeable lack of tension; it was the atmosphere of a company picnic or Renaissance faire, not a football match.

Culpepper expresses dismay in Chapter Two about being asked about whether he's supporting the home or away team and the reality that, even ten years after Hillsborough, supporters are segregated. What he fails to recognize is that these are all symptoms of an experience in which the outcome matters. When you take away that tension, you take away the drama. I actually thought that it was a positive sign when I'd heard that Crew fans had got into a ruck with the West Ham firm this summer in Columbus. Do I have a point here or am I barking mad?

Pick Your England XI

Alright, lads. England have the small matter of a match against Kazakhstan on Saturday. Who would you have in the starting eleven?

Goalkeepers: James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham), Carson (West Brom).

Defenders: Brown (Manchester United), Johnson (Portsmouth), Terry (Chelsea), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Lescott (Everton), Upson (West Ham), A Cole (Chelsea), Bridge (Chelsea).

Midfielders: Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Walcott (Arsenal), Barry (Aston Villa), Jenas (Tottenham), Lampard (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Downing (Middlesbrough), Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).

Strikers: Heskey (Wigan), Crouch (Portsmouth), Rooney (Manchester United), Defoe (Portsmouth).

Rotherham vs. Leeds Live!

The rest of you have your fancy Dan Champions League and UEFA Cup matches to watch your heroes in every week. Me? It's the second round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy away to Rotherham today. Sure, I know what you're thinking. It's not the Nou Camp. True enough, but it's the first time I've seen my Whites in live action since the first round of the FA Cup last season against Exeter.

So, I'll be watching and cheering the boys on. Come on, Jermaine!

Obama vs. McCain Part Deux

Live from Nashville, it's....oh, you know what. Listen, this thing is over bar the counting. The only way that Obama could lose at this point is if he lit one up with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers on stage tonight. But, being a good social studies teacher at heart, I'm still watching. Are you?

3 Weekend goals!

If you havent seen it, have a look at Ibrahimovic goal from the weekend.

Then we have Matty Taylors 3rd for Bolton.

Geovanni's goal against the celler dwellars...

Bloody Confused - Chapter 1

When I pulled my crisp, clean new copy of Chuck Culpepper's book out of the package from half.com, my eye fell on the teaser quote at the top of the front cover by some idiot at ESPN - "I'm still not sure I love soccer, but I love this book" - and I my heart sank. It sank more when I paged through the "Soccer 101" primer inside. Oh dear, I thought, is this going to be one of those efforts to explain the beautiful game to gringos. It is that, but as I got deeper into Chapter 1, I became more charmed by Culpepper.

Like a lot of recent American converts to the game, Culpepper came to footie after becoming disgusted by the corporate culture of American sports. Yet, instead of exploring the MLS, what attracted him was the equally corporate English Premier League. Culpepper all but admits this and that his lack of press credentials in the UK allows him to retain an innocent love for English football.

Have any of you noticed this phenomenon? What is MLS doing wrong in attracting these potential fans? And what must it be like to be an American fan with no roots in the UK choosing a team to support at random? And do we want these fans coming to the game, for that matter? These are just a few questions that come to mind after having read just one chapter of this fascinating book. Feel free to comment whether you've read Culpepper or not - and add your questions!

Hurrah! It's Saturday!

We've barely caught our breaths from the mid-week European action and Saturday has rolled around once again. I've got Soccer Saturday up and running and everything is fine.

The action starts with my beloved LUFC taking on Peterborough away. Join me for all the action.

Biden vs. Palin!

The narrative out of the press is that the only way that Sarah Palin can deal with Joe Biden tonight is if she whips her flute out and starts a jam session. I'm a bit more wary. There are plenty of risks for Biden and Palin has a knack for playing on the passions of her base. It should be interesting.

Join me for all the fun...

More Gameday 2 Action

Champions League - you're having a laugh, Champions League - you're having a laugh. La la la

I'll be manning the LOB as usual from 2:45 onward. Join me? Ta.