FA Cup Fourth Round Weekend!

Finally, I'm back in Blue Devil HQ for a footer weekend after much rambling. Unfortunately, it'll be Arsenal rather than my beloved Whites against Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield on Sunday, but I'll make the best of it. It's Chelsea v. Everton at the crack of dawn and the Cup action doesn't quit until the 1976 Cup Final replay between the Saints and Red Devils. I'm counting on you to join me for the fun.

WTF with Marc Maron

I was delighted to hear that Marc Maron, one of my favorite personalities from the late lamented Air America progressive radio network has landed on his feet with a new podcast "WTF." Maron has always been best known for plumbing the depths of fortysomething, male self-loathing. In the podcast, he puts guests such as fellow comics Patton Oswalt as well as cultural icons such as Hank Rollins on the couch for an hour of radical therapy. It's honest stuff and funny as hell. As the pod title suggests, though, it's NSFW or the kiddies. Download it for free from iTunes or by Googling Maron's own website. Enjoy!

State of the Union Drinking Game

It's State of the Union night tonight and as usual I've got the drinks in for one of my January highlights. If you're game for watching Barack and playing along, grab your favorite libation and join me at or around 9pm for the festivities. Here are the rules for this year:

Take a drink if:

1. A media pundit mentions the phrase "move to the center" during the evening.
2. Barack Obama says mentions "Tucson."
3. Michelle Obama is shown wearing sitting next to Oprah in the gallery.
4. John McCain and Joe Lieberman are shown sitting next to each other.
5. Joe Biden pats John Boehner on the back at any point during the evening.
6. Barack promises to get troops out of Afghanistan by the July deadline.
7. Any Tea Party caucus member gives the President a standing ovation.
8. Barack Obama brags about ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
9. A Chilean miner in the gallery is applauded.
10. Paul Ryan says the phrase "cut entitlements" in the GOP response

Drink up if:

1. Michelle Bachmann applauds anything Obama has said.
2. John Boehner cries.
3. A Supreme Court justice heckles the Prez.

Feel free to add your own rules....

Cheers!

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 23

My apologies for my delinquency in updating our game during recent jaunts to London and Belize. A lot of water has flowed under the Premiership bridge since we last looked at the table. However, United are still on top and Dracula is still scoring boatloads so the table is largely unmoved:

1. United We Stand – 27 points
2. Thomas – 25 points
3. Man Utd Rules – 24 points
4. Someone Said – 21 points
5. Matthew – 20 points
6. Gooner71 – 14 points
7. Simon Burke – 17 points
8. Blue Devil – 12 points
8. West Ham Rising – 12 points
10. AZ Kicker – 8 points
11. Blubber Boy – 5 points

Andy and Hairy Hands caught making sexist remarks

Uh-oh, Andy Gray and Richard Keys are the lastest two numpties that can't control what they say when the red light is on.

I think they've really slandered Sian Massey who did a good job in the Liverpool Wolves game, but I can't recall Wendy Tom's performance. I agree with Keys that Karren Brady is beyond the pale, but not because she's female.

Here's the full story

Where Have We All Been?

Our LOB coverage has been very spotty as of late. I have been the biggest culprit. I will be around all day today in between taking care of the wife after her surgery

JOIN ME

UWS

Alan and the lads are back!

Finally. The former "It's Up For Grabs" Podcast hosted by Alan Davies with Ian Stone, Keith Dover and DJ Tayo Papula has returned, rebranded as "The Tuesday Club," an homage to the bad old days when Tone, the Romford Pele, and Merse would do a bit of refueling on a Tuesday and still have some time to recover in time for Saturday.

Available from iTunes and HERE

Favorite Karaoke Tunes

After this week's epic karaoke battle with the Friends Across Borders crew in Belize, I got to thinking about my experiences doing karaoke in Japan. My favorite tunes to cover have always run to the corny and ridiculous, often performed in small groups or duet style. Here is my top ten in reverse order:

10. Sir Mix-a-lot - Baby Got Back
9. Shania Twain - I Feel Like a Woman
8. Merle Haggard - Mama Tried
7. Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer (mainly for the vocoder effect)
6. Sonny and Cher - I Got You, Babe
5. Sisqo - The Thong Song
4. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
3. Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting
2. Bobby Darin - Mack the Knife

And my all time favorite....

1. Peaches and Herb - Reunited

So, what are your "go to" karaoke tunes?

From total football to totalitarian football

Some wag posted that comment on the Guardian, but seriously, what is up with this story? Ruud Gullit is taking the reins at a club in Chechnya? And one controlled by warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, a guy who dare not leave Russia for fear of being picked up by the Hague's war crime tribunal for his part in the bombing and leveling of Grozny? William Burns, former US ambassador recalls, "the president of the province, is not adverse to showering dancers with $100 bills and at a wedding he presented the marrying couple with "a 5kg lump of gold", but that does not necessarily mean Gullit will receive such lavish bounty.

There may be more to Kadyrov, after all, than extravagant generosity (and "dancing clumsily with his gold-plated automatic stuck down the back of his jeans" as Burns described his wedding antics). Because Burns branded him "a warlord pure and simple", while Big Paper tells us that: "Human rights groups say he and his armed security forces have carried out countless abuses including murder, kidnappings, torture and punishment of families whose relatives join the rebels up in the mountains. Kadyrov is also accused of involvement in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the crusading liberal journalist shot dead in Moscow in 2006. She called him a "coward, armed to the teeth". He has been further linked to the murder of the human rights worker Natalia Estemirova, abducted and shot in Grozny, Chechnya's capital, in 2009. He denies both allegations."

If Gullit has not yet met his new employer, he may be wondering how he will recognise Kadyrov when he sees him. Here again Burns's wedding reminiscences may prove helpful. "Most of the tables were set with the usual dishes plus whole roast sturgeons and sheep," quoth Burns in this must-read dispatch. "But at 8pm the compound was invaded by dozens of heavily armed mujahideen for the grand entrance of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, looking shorter and less muscular than in his photos, and with a somewhat cock-eyed expression on his face."

Yikes.

Read more HERE

Premiership Transfers - January Window Update

The Premier League transfer window picture heated up today with Darren Bent's 24 million pound move to Villa. At a more modest 3 million pounds, Steven Pienaar added to the already impressive winger roster at Spurs. But Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko is still the biggest transfer of the window at a cost of 27 million pounds for the Emiratis funding Citeh. Keep up with the latest transfers here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfers/5487742/Premier-League-Transfers-January-2011.html

Your thoughts on who will make the biggest impression?

Local Derby Sunday

Come join us as there are three local derbies in the EPL today. We start with the Tyne Wear Derby and a relegation local derby with "The Second City Derby" Next, Kenny Dalglish manages in the Merseyside Derby in just his third match in charge. We save the best for last as Manchester United travel to the Lane in a must win match for both teams.

Cable Television - A Modest Proposal

Anyone else frustrated with cable (or satellite television) packages? We pay an exhorbitant flat fee for a hundred odd channels, most of which we never bother with, and then often extra dosh for those we desperately need (FSC, e.g.). So here's a modest proposal: pay a dollar for each channel you actually want. I could probably live with $25 channels and earn a significant savings on my current bill. Imagine it - no home shopping, Spongebob, televangelists, golf or Nancy Grace to bother you. Here they are:

1. NBC affiliate
2. ABC affiliate
3. CBS affiliate
4. PBS affiliate
5. Fox affiliate
6. TNT
7. MSNBC
8. ESPN
9. ESPN2
10. FSC
11. Fox Soccer Plus
12. HBO
13. AMC
14. Travel Channel
15. Sundance
16. IFC
17. Ovation
18. VH1 Classic
19. MTV Jams
20. Food Channel
21. Comedy Central
22. Showtime
23. BBC America
24. Cinemax
25. Flix

So what are your twenty-five choices?

Happy Birthday Commish

Happy 47th Birthday Robert!
I am sure you are enjoying the sun while I sit in a frozen tundra!

Have a great day

UWS

FA Cup preview

This may come as a shock to a few of you but it turns out Arsenal have been drawn against Leeds United in the FA Cup. I didn't know they still had a team after they folded back in the 2000's sometime. It turns out not only do they have a team but they are still in the FA Cup having qualified through the qualifying prelims and then somehow getting through the first 2 rounds as well. I have no idea how this happened but good luck to this bunch of plucky pluckyers.

They played Arsenal once before and only once. This was it.

The side that bought you Nasty Norman Hunter, Peter Punisher Lorimer, Johnny "not really Irish" Giles and Eddie Evil Gray takes on a beautiful team at the Emirates this Saturday.
As a caution Arsenal aren't risking anyone you have ever heard of due to Leeds reputation as horrible legbreakers.
Only last week a Leeds fan was defending the maulers of Birmingham. Once Leeds, always Leeds.

Armchair Premiership Pod

Simon alerted me to a special mid-year edition of celebrity Arsenal fan Alan Davies' "Armchair Premiership" pod. Like the stellar "Armchair World Cup" pods, it features Alan's Gooner rabble in comic form. To access the show, you have to play it through the BBC website here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00x2pvg/Armchair_Premier_League/

Enjoy!

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 21

I've neglected the updates during my London trip, so it's high time that we take a look at the PPP standings as they've changed quite a bit due to the dramatic events during the holidays. Here's where we stand now:

1. United We Stand – 19 points
2. Thomas – 17 points
2. Man Utd Rules – 17 points
2. Matthew – 17 points
2. Someone Said – 17 points
6. Gooner71 – 11 points
7. Simon Burke – 10 points
8. Blue Devil – 8 points
8. AZ Kicker – 8 points
11. West Ham Rising – 7 points
11. Blubber Boy – 7 points

Premiership Midweek!

It's a big night of Premiership action tonight and I'm back in the office after my London holiday break. I'll be watching the Citeh v. Arsenal clash and following the others on Football 365. Join me if you're doing some Wednesday loafing about.

Footie Moments of 2010

In this space last year, I wrote that, "as we approach the World Cup in South Africa, it feels as if 2009 may be paving the way toward a magnificent 2010 that may well include a Division One championship for my beloved Leeds United and (big gulp) a World Cup for England." Well, Leeds did achieve promotion (if not the Division 1 title, which went to Norwich) but the South African World Cup was a big, big let-down, especially where England were considered. Here are the highlights of 2010 for me:

Team of the Year: Spain; often accused of playing "tippy tappy" football, they came good in South Africa and were one of the most consistent highlights of 2010. Worthy World Champions and the template for football of the future.

Player of the Year: David Villa; while many big stars at club level failed to step it up in South Africa, Villa was rare in taking his club form and turning on the flair for Spain in the summer.

Game of the Year: Spurs v. Leeds in the 4th Round of the FA Cup. Jermaine Beckford's last minute penalty heroics at Shite Fart Lane had me out of my easy chair frightening the neighbors.

Disappointments: England's inevitable collapse to the Germans in the Round of 16 in South Africa; FIFA's corrupt awarding of the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar.

Hopes for the New Year: At the risk of incurring more wrath from fans of a certain Lancastrian club who are drooling at the prospect of their forwards tucking into our fragile back four next year in the Premiership, my hopes for Leeds remain humble. Survival in the Championship is paramount and almost achieved; a playoff spot would be gravy on top.

So, what got you lot yelling at the telly in 2010?

New Year's Day Footer

It's a big, big start to 2011 in English footer today. The action starts in a few minutes with United's trip to the Hawthorns (7:45am EST), followed by Leeds hosting Boro (8:30), the regularly scheduled fixtures including relegation six-pointer West Ham v. Wolves (10) and finally Arsenal's trip to Birmingham at 12:30pm. Celebrate 2011 the right way by tuning in and chatting on the LOB.

Happy New Year LOB Cabal