Wembley Here We Are

The first final of the year. Can United retain their trophy? Will Villa ruin it all?
Let's all hope Costa lose another

Join me

UWS

Saturday Morning Wake-Up Call

We've got an early start to the action today, with my beloved Leeds traveling to local rivals Huddersfield for a Yorkshire fling starting at 7:30 am. That's followed directly by Ancelotti's Chelski entertaining Mancini's Citeh at the Bridge. If you're up and about, join me for some LOB banter this morning. Cheers!

WFD's "The Big Debate"

For those of you who have shied away from the new World Football Daily podcasts either because they're charging for them these days or because Steven Cohen is a massive prat, it's time to rejoice. WFD have recently initiated a new free webcast called "The Big Debate" that involves American fans of Premier League sides chatting about the news of the week. It's quite a bit like James Richardson's show on Setanta and is good fun. You can easily download it by going through either the WFD website or through iTunes. Enjoy!

Europa League Special!

I'm tearing myself away from live coverage of the health care summit this afternoon to file a few comments on the second legs in the Europa League. If you're snowed in today and watching the matches, let's hear from you.

Inter v. Chelski Live!

Admit it, you miss "The Special One," don't you? Well - heeee's baaaack! It's Inter v. Chelski. It's live from the San Siro. Don't tell me you're not watching. Join me for all the action starting at 2:45 EST.

Time to Stop the Rot!

Sure, there are other matches on today - including a make up match for United against the Hammers - but in my little alternate universe, all eyes will be on Elland Road this afternoon as Grayson's boys try to get our season back on track against Oldham. I hope that they're wearing their best pink kit today.

Whatever match you're watching, join me for the banter.

Central Defenders' Convention

I thought you might enjoy having a look at an image that the Gooner unearthed over the weekend that shows my momentous meeting with Liverpool and Match of the Day great Alan Hansen outside the hospitality area at Anfield during a Euro 1996 match between Italy and Russia. The look on my face is - "Cor, I'm shaking hands with Alan Hansen!" while the look on Hansen's face is - "Once the other takes this photo, I'm getting away from these mad American bastids as quickly as possible." Enjoy!

An Intriguing Sunday

We may not top 650 comments today, but there are several intriguing match-ups in the Premiership scheduled. The highlight is perhaps Citeh v. Liverpool, a fixture that may have a lot to say about that vaunted fourth spot. Join me for all the action.

Saturday in the Premiership

The footie action gets underway early this morning with United traveling to Goodison Park. That's followed with a full slate of goodies. Get yourself a strong cuppa and join me from half past seven EST.

Big Day in the Europa League!

Ordinarily I'd be more likely to be following the Women's Cross Country Skiing events from Vancouver than the matches in the silly Europa League. However, we have reached the Third Round (aka the first knock-out stage), and there are plenty of big clubs still in, including the hapless Liverpool. I may just be ducking out of work early today, so join me if you're in a similar mood.

Champions League - The Knock-out Stage!

It's Day Two of the Knock-out Stage of the Champions League with these fine match-ups on tap:

Bayern v. Fiorentina
FC Porto v. Arsenal

Join me for all the action!

He Wished He Never Left!

Champions League play begins again after the winter hiatus. Join me as Becks plays against his beloved Reds.... why did he leave then???
There are only two games today in the CL and tomorrow
Milan vs Man Utd
Lyon vs Real Madrid

I know that Inter Chelsea can't be played at the same venue as the Milan United match only a day later.
Where is the other match

Don't forget Leeds vs Walsall

Join me

UWS

What's the Most Embarrassing Tune on Your iPod?

I have a firm policy of never allowing my iPod to shuffle at will in mixed company. The reason is simple: a pure shuffle is likely to pull up an unsettling mix of Nirvana followed by Edith Piaf followed by John Cage. It also reveals the darkness at the heart of my musical soul. We chatted about our favorite bad movies last year. So, what's on your iPod that you wouldn't usually want to admit to, even among friends?

I'll own up to an unhealthy admiration for Justin Timberlake's work with Timbaland and that on a fairly regular basis, I have to "bring the Sexyback" in the car going to work. How about the rest of you?

Early Morning Cup Action!

Grab yourself a strong cup of coffee and join me this morning as the Cup action starts extra early at 7 am with those lucky Chelski bastids who have an easy home draw with Cardiff. That's followed at 7:30 with the South Coast derby and then a full slate of Championship and L1 fixtures.

Nick Hornby on KCRW's Guest DJ Project

Our favorite Brit novelist Nick Hornby took a turn in the hot seat of KCRW's Guest DJ project - one of my must-listen podcasts each week. The set-up is simple: Nick is asked to talk about five songs that had the most influence on their lives and work. Check out the fascinating results by going to KCRW's website or simply downloading for free from iTunes.

A Blast from the Past

I thought you'd enjoy seeing these two classic images that were posted by Todd Lotter on his Facebook profile. My guess is that they were taken after the awards ceremony for the LHS Lancers soccer team after the 1981 season. So, how many of these footballing greats can you still recognize after all these years?

Midweek Footie Special

It's another big day of Premiership footer as Liverpool travel to the Emirates, ManYoo travel to Villa Park and Chelski travel to Goodison Park. The results in these matches could have a huge bearing on what is turning out to be a particular riveting season. I'll be in and out in the afternoon but I'll look forward to reading your comments as the goals fly in.

90 Minutes from Wembley!

Leeds United are ninety minutes away from a Wembley Final - albeit for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. First, though, there's the small matter of overturning a 2-1 first leg deficit as we travel to Carlisle today. It all starts at 2 pm EST. Join me if you're snowed in.

Euro 2012 Groups

This slipped by me. The qualifying groups for Poland/Ukraine 2012 were announced yesterday.

Group A: Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan

Group B: Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra

Group C: Italy, Serbia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Faroe Islands

Group D: France, Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, Luxembourg

Group E: Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Moldova, San Marino

Group F: Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, Malta

Group G: England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, Montenegro

Group H: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Iceland

Group I: Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein

Dates and Times, TBA.

I can't see the team that troubles an England squad not full of numpties. Thoughts?

Seven Rules for Eating

While I'm certainly no saint when it comes to my eating habits, I've started to take more care about my diet in recent years. The food activist Michael Pollan has been quite influential in my thinking. His new book suggests basing your eating around seven basic rules:
1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
2. Don't eat anything with more than five ingredients.
3. Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the edges of the store.
4. Eat slowly and try to leave the table a little bit hungry.
5. Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot.
6. Enjoy meals with other people rather than eating alone.
7. Don't buy food where you fill up your cars with gas.

Your thoughts?

We're All Arsenal Fans Today

Well, apart from Chelskilad, of course. But whether you're a true Gooner or merely a fan of a Big Four club hoping to gain points on the Blues or just disgusted by the trend of big money in football, it's "Up the Arse" for at least a day. Join me from around 11 am for all the action.

Oh, is there another sporting event on today? Didn't think so.

Matches for the weekend of February 6th and 7th

The weekend begins with the Merseyside Derby televised on ESPN2 at 7:30 PM EST. Should be a typical Merseyside Derby with no prisoners taken and Raffa's job on the line for the umpteenth time this season. I understand Liverpool can't afford to sack him. I guess it is more economical to hold on to dead wood. The best match, at least on paper seems to be Chelsea vs. Arsenal to televised 11 EST on Sunday on FSC. As a Man United I wonder if it would be more beneficial for the match to be drawn or for Arsenal to win. If Chelsea wins which I hope they don't then Wenger will cry that the referee was incompetent or that Chelsea cheated. More details on Wenger for some other time.United need to do the business against Portsmouth. Spurs against Villa is an interesting match as well. I really appreciate being invited to this site. The title race should go down to the last match of the season. A proper relegation battle as well with about eight teans being separated by four points. That is what makes the EPL the best league in the world.

Terry Out as England Skipper!

News out of the England camp today that Don Fabio has told bad boy John Terry that he will be stripped of the captaincy forthwith and replaced by ganga enthusiast Rio Ferdinand. This is the wake of News of the Screws allegations that JT has been "playing away from home" with England team-mate Wayne Bridge's missus.

Your thoughts on these developments, gents?

The Weirdest Political Ad. in History?

In possibly the weirdest (and most unintentionally hilarious) political advertisements I've seen in yonks, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina attacks her GOP primary rival in California for being a FCINO (Fiscal Conservative in name only). The first few seconds are boilerplate, but then Carly gets all Monty Python on us with sheep rising on pillars. And what on earth in going on with the "wolf in sheep's clothing" with bright red eyes. Not surprisingly there is already a Pink Floyd mash-up of the ad, which you can see by cutting and pasting the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2wgHwYC-ZE

So, turn off the lights, light up a fatty and enjoy!

Leeds v. Spurs Live!

The glory days are back at Elland Road, with Spurs coming into Leeds today for the FA Cup 4th round replay. My heart says that we have a chance today after a heartening win at the weekend. But my brain says that we should probably lose as our resources are too stretched at this point. We'll see which wins out from 2:45 pm EST onward. Join me!