One Week to Go...!

The summer pre-season is starting to wind down with the first balls kicked in anger next week in the Championship. We've got several interesting friendlies on tap today, including Arsenal v. Milan in the Emirates Cup and my Leeds boys at home to Wolves. Join me if you're watching.

The Experience of a Lifetime

Best. Celebration. Ever.

The video above has already gone as viral as that dramatic squirrel or Snooki getting punched in the face. In it, Icelandic club Stjarnan wins in extra time off a penalty kick from Halldor Orri Bjornsson, giving the team reason to unleash a performance that involves Halldor fishing for his human fish teammate Johann Laxdal ("lax" means salmon in Icelandic). Once "caught," the players lift up Laxdal for a fake picture and thus complete a perfectly executed and delightfully intricate goal celebration that probably took more than a little preparation. Enjoy!

MLS All-Star Game Live!

ManYoo's summer tour continues with the annual parade of the MLS All-Stars against Premiership opposition. Join me for all the action on ESPN.

Your Dream Festival Line-up

The All Songs Considered podcast recently asked it's listeners to create a dream music festival line-up of ten artists and/or bands, active or defunct, living or dead, that might get to out of the comfort of your living room and into the mud of a make-shift campsite. Here's mine, starting with the opener and ending with the headliner:

* Everything But the Girl acoustic
* Miles Davis 1958 Quintet
* Steely Dan
* Fela Kuti
* Parliament/Funkadelic
* The Jam
* Public Enemy
* Nirvana (with Kurt)
* Bob Marley and the Wailers
* Pink Floyd (with Syd)

What about the rest of you?

More Summer Soccer

The New York Summer Spectacular has been completed.
Sporting win the tournament followed by Spurs, Red Bulls and dead last... Citeh!!

Now can United go three for three on tour.... Bring on the Wizards!

UWS

Laurent Blanc Cleans House!

After France's disastrous performance in South Africa this summer, we all knew that new coach Laurent Blanc would drop a few players. However, the news out of Clairfontaine this morning is that Blanc has taken the bold move of suspending the entire 23-man squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers. Wow!

Meanwhile, it's not too soon to start thinking about the England's Euro 2012 campaign. Here are the dates to note in your footie calendars:

Friday 3 Sep 2010 Bulgaria (h)

Tuesday 7 Sep 2010 Switzerland (a)

Tuesday 12 Oct 2010 Montenegro (h)

Saturday 26 March 2011 Wales (a)

Saturday 4 June 2011 Switzerland (h)

Friday 2 Sep 2011 Bulgaria (a)

Tuesday 6 Sep 2011 Wales (h)

Friday 7 Oct 2011 Montenegro (a)

The Worst Interview... Ever!

It's making the rounds on the net. Thierry Henry deflects two raving morons from the NYC Fox affiliate. Seriously, Cheri Oteri and Will Ferrel couldn't have done worse.

Mel Gibson calls the Old Spice Guy

If you've been savoring the public demise of Mel Gibson and find the Old Spice ads oddly amusing, this clip is for you. Warning: this is not safe for work or kids, for obvious reasons. Enjoy!

United v. Union Live!

ManYoo made easy work of Celtic last week, but how will they fare against possibly the worst side in MLS? Join me for the big match-up in Philly tonight - it's on ESPN2 from 7:30 pm onward.

Alf Garnett Goes to the '66 Final!

United We Stand unearthed this terrific clip from the classic British sit-com "'Til Death Us Do Part," featuring Warren Mitchell as the lovable bigot Alf Garnett attending the 1966 World Cup Final. It features some brilliant footage of the match. Enjoy!

LHS Trivia

Hi folks - Margi Felkay (nee Geaney) emailed me recently looking for trivia questions for the upcoming LHS reunion in Wakefield, MA. Apparently, she'll be offering up memorabilia as prizes at the event. If you've got some to toss into the pile, let me know. Here are the three that I offered up:

1. Who scored four goals against Alconbury to secure the soccer championship for the Lancers in 1982?
2. Which anti-nuclear activist group camped out at the gates to Lakenheath Air Force base during the late 70s and early 80s?
3. What was the #1 song on Top of the Pops when the class of 1982 graduated?

Let the Friendlies Continue....

We got an early peek at Manchester United last night. Today, it's Arsenal, Chelski and Spurs' turn to show off their wares ahead of the 2010/11 season. Join me this morning for on-line coverage of Arsenal v. Barnet and this afternoon at 4 pm for ESPN2 coverage of Spurs v. Earthquakes.

Manchester United Begin their Preparation for 2010-2011

Manchester United begin their preseason against Celtic at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Come Join us as the Red Devils begin their preparation for the 2010-2011 season as they plan to win back the EPL Championship.

Moving Along....

I'll be honest - most of my footie brain started drifting away from the World Cup and toward Leeds United's summer signings long before last weekend. We're a month away from the start of the next season but we're already being inundated with pre-season friendlies and summer transfers. Here are some of the big transfers so far:

Arsenal - Marouane Chamakh (free from Bordeaux)
Brum - Ben Foster (£6million from Manchester United)
Bolton - Martin Petrov (free from Manchester City)
Chelski - Yossi Benayoun (undisclosed from Liverpool)
Everton - Jermaine Beckford (free from Leeds)
Liverpool - Roy Hodgson in from Fulham; Milan Jovanovic (free from Standard Liege)
Citeh - Jerome Boateng (£10million from Hamburg), Yaya Toure (£25million from Barcelona), David Silva (£24m from Valencia)
United - Javier Hernandez (£7million from C.D. Guadalajara)
Spurs - Sandro (£6m from Internacional)
WBA - Thomas Hitzlsperger (free from Lazio)
Wigan - Antolin Alcaraz (undiscl. from Club Brugge)
Wolves - Stephen Hunt (£3m from Hull)

So who's made the best moves, gents?

What did you take away from this world cup?

Where's the recap lads? We always have a natter about what we liked and didn't about the tournament. What did you think?

RIP Harvey Pekar (1940-2010)

I was saddened yesterday to hear of the death of Cleveland-based curmudgeon and comic book auteur Harvey Pekar at age 70. I first came across Harvey and his comic series "American Splendor" when he made a brief series of memorable appearances on the old NBC Letterman show in the 80s. If you haven't yet seen the movie "American Splendor" with Paul Giamatti as Pekar, it's certainly one to put on your list.

A World Final of Records

Congratulations to Spain in winning their first World Cup. In the process they set some final and tournament records. The Dutch set a couple of records as well, but for the wrong reasons. Let's start with the Dutch records:

1) Tied the record for most yellow cards in a World Cup match with nine.That was a record for the final as well. Portugal also had nine in 2006 vs the Dutch.
2) The Dutch became the first team to lose the final twice in extra time.

Now for Spain's numerous records :
1) Most consecutive 1-0 wins in a tournament and most 1-0 wins in a tournament with four 1-0 wins.
2) They were involved in five 1-0 decisions . This is a record for one tournament.
3) Tied the record with four consecutive 0-0 halftime scores in a tournament with East Germany in 1974. Italy 1982 and Poland 1982 had four 0-0 halftime scores, but those were not consecutive. Cameroon had five consecutive 0-0 halftime scores spread over two tournaments.
4) The fewest goals scored by a World Cup winner with eight and 1.14 goals per match was the lowest rate for a World Cup winner.
5) Became the first team to win the World Cup after losing the opening match.
6) Did not concede any first half goals in a tournament after playing the maximum number of possible matches. This was matched by Germany in 2002, W. Germany 1990 and Italy 1990.
7) Conceded only two goals to win the World Cup. This was matched by Italy in 2006 and France in 1998.
8) Scored the latest match winning goal in extra time.

If I missed any records please let me know.

World Cup Predictions Game Final Score!

Congratulations, Thomas! You've come tops in what turned out to be a battle of the Nocito clan right to the end. I really thought Matthew had won it but the Dutch lads and David Villa let you down badly today. In this last stage, Jonathan won two points for the German 3rd place win, 7 of us picked up 8 points for picking Spain as the World Champions and, unfortunately no one got points for Golden Boot as we didn't have the foresight to pick Thomas Mueller who grabbed it for two more assists than the other three on five goals. In the end, well done to all of us for playing along. I'm certainly considering posting another similar Predictions Game for the upcoming Premiership season as this really added something to what turned out to be a bit of a flat World Cup tournament.

The final standings:

1. Thomas - 47 points
2. Jonathan - 46 points
3. Blubber Boy - 45 points
4. Matthew - 45 points
5. Someone Said - 45 points
6. AZ Kicker - 43 points
7. Blue Devil - 41 points
8. Chelskilad - 41 points
9. Gooner71 - 41 points
10. Simon Burke - 36 points
11. United We Stand - 35 points
12. Yellows - 34 points
13. ManUtd Rules - 29 points
14. West Ham Rising - 24 points
15. Kathy - 19 points

The WORLD CUP FINAL!!!

Day 30 is here! The World Cup Final has arrived again. I can't believe how quickly these matches come up every four years!
Will Spain become only the second team win the World Championship after winning the European Championship? West Germany won the Euros in '72 and the World Cup in '74 (France won both but the opposite order)
Will Holland become only the second team to go through an entire World Cup campaign, qualifying and tournament, winning all their games? Brazil did it in "70

Join me


UWS

World Cup Day 29

So, we are down to two matches left in the the 2010 World Cup
This is the match these two teams didn't want to play in but hopefully they will go out there and play and exciting game!
Will either of these two go away with the Golden Boot?

Join me

UWS

Friendly's Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt Monstrosity!

Just when you thought it was safe for you and your arteries to enter a fast-food restaurant again, the Friendly's chain (beloved among New Englanders) has one-upped KFC by introducing the new "Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt." This behemoth goes the KFC "Double Down" one better by offering not one, not two but three sandwiches in one. Yes, that's right - a hamburger wedged in between two grilled cheeses. What a country!

World Cup Predictions Game Semis Update

It's around this time every WC cycle that I start feeling a bit down about the prospect of only two matches left and then a yawning gap of four years until Brasil 2014. Ah well - we've still got the Predictions Game to update. Here are the current standings:

1. Matthew - 45 points (2 teams left in the tournament)
2. Chelskilad - 41 points (2 teams left)
3. Thomas - 39 points (1 team left)
4. Blubber Boy - 37 points (1 team left)
5. Someone Said - 37 points (1 team left)
6. Jonathan - 36 points (1 team left)
7. Simon Burke - 36 points (1 team left)
8. AZ Kicker - 35 points (1 team left)
9. United We Stand - 35 points (1 team left)
10. Yellows - 34 points (1 team left)
11. Blue Devil - 33 points (1 team left)
12. Gooner71 - 33 points (1 team left)
13. ManUtd Rules - 29 points (1 team left)
14. West Ham Rising - 24 points (0 teams left - sorry!)
15. Kathy - 19 points (0 teams left - sorry!)

Happy Birthday, UWS!

I hope that you'll join me in wishing our loyal LOB member United We Stand a very happy birthday today. Have a great day, mate!

Semi Final #2 Germany vs Spain Live!!

So, who will earn the right to face Holland in the 19th World Cup Final?
Will it be Germany? A repeat of the 1974 Final!
Will it be Spain? A guaranteed new World Champion!

Join me

UWS

Craig Johnston's open letter to Sepp Blatter about the Jabulani

That ex-Liverpool player and inventor of the Predator boot Craig Johnson has written an open letter to FIFA complaining about the Jabulani's lack of quality. It's interesting reading.

Click HERE to read it

Holland vs. Uruguay Live!

It's semi-final time at SA 2010 and first up are Holland and Uruguay. I'm stuck at work today, so I'll look forward to reading your cogent comments on the match while I'm watching the tape delayed broadcast. Now that FIFA have wisely given Holland's first goal against Brazil to Wesley Sneijder, both he and Diego Forlan are on four goals and are a distinct Golden Boot threat to five-goal Spanish striker David Villa. Enjoy the match!

World Cup Predictions Game Quarterfinals Update

Well, that was a fun weekend! And we're through the Quarterfinals now, so it's time to take another quick look at the table for our World Cup Predictions Game:

1. Matthew - 41 points (2 teams left in the tournament)
2. Blue Devil - 35 points (1 team left)
3. Thomas - 33 points (2 teams left)
4. Blubber Boy - 31 points (2 teams left)
5. Someone Said - 31 points (2 teams left)
6. Jonathan - 30 points (2 teams left)
7. Simon Burke - 30 points (2 teams left)
8. AZ Kicker - 29 points (1 team left)
9. Chelskilad - 29 points (2 teams left)
10. United We Stand - 29 points (2 teams left)
11. Yellows - 28 points (1 team left)
12. Gooner71 - 27 points (1 team left)
13. West Ham Rising - 24 points (1 team left)
14. ManUtd Rules - 23 points (1 team left)
15. Kathy - 19 points (0 teams left - sorry!)

World Cup Quarter Finals- Day 2

So, who will join Holland and Uruguay in the Semi Finals
Join Me

UWS

World Cup Quarterfinals - Day 1

The Quarterfinals of SA 2010 get started with a bang this morning with a match worthy of a final - Brazil v. Holland. The last time these two sides met in a big tournament, they produced a 3-2 thriller in 1994. Let's hope for a repeat today.

LOB Bookclub - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I thought that we might pick the bones of Stieg Larsson's book now that the three of us have finished it. I also had the chance to see the brilliant adaptation by Niels Arden Oplev at a local arts theater last week. Plenty to talk about then.