Come on, you Hornets!

Last time Neil Warnock's Evil Leeds played at the hallowed ground of Elland Road, they let in seven - a new club low. Well, I'm hoping to break records again today as Watford come to town. I'll take nothing less than a 0-8 mullering. Come on, you Hornets!

Champions League Quarter-finals!

I'm getting to the afternoon's matches a wee bit late. It's the last English club in the CL this season up against a very tasty Benfica side. I'll be in and out as usual but following this one and a scattering of FA Cup and Championship matches as well.

It's Man United Time

It's the final stretch of the season ,also known as Man United time.We need to beat Fulham at Old Trafford, no exceptions, no excuses. This will put us three points clear of Citeh as we look to reatain our title and clinch it before that meeting on April 30th. Come join us to see if we thrash the Cottagers on Monday Night footie.

Back in Sync with the UK

I'm back on Sunday hunting down the last scraps from the weekend's footie schedule, noting that the UK is now in sync with us again with summer hours. It's Newcastle visiting West Brom at the Hawthorns next up. They have a chance to join Chelski on points with an away win. Join me to see if they can do it.

Evil: Meet Evil.

Neil Warnock's Evil Leeds travel to meet Evil Millwall today. Tough call. I suppose what I'd really like is for some primordial chasm to open up inside the Den and swallow up the whole lot of them. Fortunately, we start the day at 8:45am EST with Chelski v. Spurs, which should have some actual football on display. Join me for the evil action and some other nonsense otherwise.

Guess where Bob and Steve will be April 8th?

COME ON YOU CHELSEA!

I will be cheering for Chelsea today as I did last week when they played Napoli. This time it is due to the fact that a Chelsea victory helps Manchester United's title hopes.We have three other EPL matches that are being played due to the FA Cup quarterfinals as well as thgree matches from the Championship. Come join us for all the midweek action.

Come on, you Forest!

The Black Country, mushy peas, Cloughie - I luv 'em! Or at least this afternoon, I do as Warnock's Evil Leeds regime grinds on at Elland Road. Come on, lads - give us a pounding. And Sack. Warnock. Now!

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 29

With nine matches left in the Premiership season, we're rounding the final corner. There's a bit of shifting going on with the PPP stakes but there are still plenty of points left that I haven't allocated yet. AZ Kicker, MUR, Simon and Yellows are still in the FA Cup hunt, Gooner, MUR, Thomas, and UWS still have a stake in the Europa League and most of us are still in the Champions League (mainly because we mostly picked Barca). But for the time being I'm still top of the pops and loving it. Here are the current standings:

1. Blue Devil – 29 pts
2. Matthew – 25 pts
3. Gooner71 – 24 pts
4. Man Utd Rules – 23 pts
5. Yellows – 23 pts
6. Thomas – 22 pts
7. AZ Kicker – 21 pts
8. United We Stand – 18 pts
9. Simon Burke – 16 pts
10.West Ham Rising – 14 points
11.Someone Said – 10 pts

Another Super Sunday

It's a pleasure to be back in Blue Devil HQ for what promises to be a Super Sunday of Premiership, Championship and FA Cup action this morning. It all starts in a few minutes with ManYoo's visit to Molineux. Join me for all the usual LOB fun and games.

Another St. Patrick's Day Tribute

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Here's another St. Patrick's tribute for the LOB courtesy of some quality technical work from our own Bivalve. Enjoy!

Happy St. Paddy's LOB

Come on, You Hammers!

I'll be blowing pretty bubbles in the air this morning as the Happy Hammers take on Neil Warnock's Evil Leeds. We need a major Hammering to put another nail in Warnock's regime and hasten his departure from my beloved LUFC. Unfortunately, I holed up in Philly overnight as those numpties at US Air couldn't pull their fingers out and get me on a connecting flight home to Buffalo. That means I may be, well, a bit in and out in the morning. Enjoy the matches and I'll check in when I can. Come on, you Irons!

Do We Care?

Here is the Champions League Quarter Final Draw
Paul Brietner is making the draw

Apoel FC vs Real Madrid
Marseille vs Bayern Munich
Benfica vs CHELSEA
AC Milan vs Barcelona

First team plays at home first

Now the draw for Semi Finals
Marseille vs Bayern Munich vs Apoel FC vs Real Madrid
Benfica vs CHELSEA vs AC Milan vs Barcelona

The Final's HOME TEAM is Semi Final #1
SO.... Bayern could be the home team AT HOME... the FInal is in Munich


THE SPANISH MUST BE THRILLED!!

Your thoughts?

UWS

Let's Do a Chelsea You Mancs!

Here's hoping that the Mancs can emulate Chelsea and do the improbable:

COME FROM BEHIND AND ADVANCE!

Citeh is more likely to do that as they are only a goal behind and at home, but United have a difficult trip to the Basque region and trail by a goal.Also, we want both clubs to advance in order to help England's UEFA coefficient. Come join us if you can as Bilbao vs Man United kicks off at 1PM and Citeh vs Sporting Lisbon kicks off at 3:05.Will these clubs do as Chelsea did and complete their comebacks? The only way to find out is to watch the Europa League action as we sure hope the results favor Roon more than this photo did.

And Then There was Chelsea

Come join us and see if Chelsea, the only remaining EPL club in the CL can pull out a miracle and eliminate Napoli. New boss and former player,RDM, is now in charge of Chelsea. Also former Chelsea boss, Jose "The Special One" is in charge as his Real Madrid side is in action at home to Lokomotiv Moscow as they scored a creditable 1-1 draw in the Russian capital. Come join us for this Pi day special.

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 28

Sorry, WHR - United are back on top of the Premiership, and I couldn't happier. Yes - I'm top of the PPP heap and it's about bloody time. Here are the current standings:

1. Blue Devil – 27 pts
2. Yellows – 24 pts
3. Matthew – 23 pts
- Thomas – 23 pts
5. Gooner71 – 22 pts
6. Man Utd Rules – 21 pts
7. AZ Kicker – 20 pts
8. United We Stand – 18 pts
9. Simon Burke – 16 pts
10. West Ham Rising – 11 points
11. Someone Said – 10 pts

Is this the best we can do?

I was reminded today while chatting with MUR about how gob-smacked I was watching the highlights of the Champions League the other day when at the start of the match, I saw two of the men who try to ruin every fall, winter, and spring weekend, and quite a few midweek days as well, line up for the evening's match. In this match, the ref was Howard Webb, and the guy watching the goal-line was Mark Clattenburg. I thought, hold on, these two? That's the best England can send to a second leg Champions League knock-out match? Has UEFA not seen them in action? Or inexplicably, do the board of UEFA want their premier spectacle ruined by these cretins.

I started wondering, was it always this way? And more usefully, what's the other option. It can't be more of these guys. I don't think I can take it. What do you think?

The Merseyside Derby and the CL on Tuesday

It's an action packed Tuesday as we have a rescheduled Merseyside Derby that kicks on ESPN2 at 4 PM and we have CL action kicking off at 3:45 PM as Inter Milan hosts Marseille.I will be focusing on the Derby that both managers will want to win and Moyes would love to celebrate ten years in charge with a win. Come join me and I will let you know why this match has special meaning for me.

A vital Monday Night CL Qualifier

I am on vacation and am lazy, so I cut and paste an article that was better stated than yours truly could have.
Riding a wave of momentum after three consecutive victories, Arsenal will host Newcastle on Monday night in a clash of Champions League hopefuls.

The first meeting between the two sides this season was actually the Premier League opener at St. James' Park (back when the stadium still had its historic name). Controversy ensued, as Joey Barton performed his usual thuggery and Gervinho got sent off in a 0-0 draw.

Both teams are strikingly different from the ones that squared off on Tyneside way back in August, but both are improbably fighting for Champions League spots.

An Arsenal win will incredibly bring them just one single point behind Tottenham's best team in memory. And if the Magpies emerge victorious, they will be only two points behind the Gunners and Chelsea in fourth place—in other words, Champions League dreamland.

Footie Trivia Question of the Week

About time we have a trivia question thrown out there

I saw this question asked on the BBC but I did get the answer. I think I know the answer so I though I would ask LOB
What do Alan Hansen, Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs all have in common?

Good Luck

Hopefully, you will agree with me and we'll be right!

UWS

Warnock's Leeds Must Lose!

Hear me out. Our season is over, with slim to no hope of promotion and assured safety. In order to force Warnock out, Leeds must continue to lose (I don't even want us to score any goals!) perhaps as long as the end of the season - 11 more games. That would almost certainly force Warnock out and we could start fresh with a proper manager next season. Join me this morning to see what happens.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

With the big boys not playing each other this weekend, the Premiership weekend is dominated by a couple of relegation dogfights. We get started with QPR at Bolton. Later it's Wolves and Blackburn. "A pivotal day," says Ian Darke. Join me for all the fun, won't you?

Happy Birthday, WHR!

Help! Help! I'm Being Repressed!

Come on you Mancs!

Come join us for some Europa League action as the two Manchester clubs are England's remaining representatives in this competition. Citeh have another trip to Portugal as they kick off in the Portugese capital at 1 PM. United kick off vs Atletico Bilbao at 3:05 PM.

Walkers Poppodam Commercial

The sitar on a strap slays me!

A Big Tuesday!

It's another big, big Tuesday evening in European footie. Of course most eyes will be on the Emirates where Arsenal - on the back of two big results against Spurs and Liverpool - will try to overcome a four goal deficit to Milan. I'll also be hoping for the best from Evil Leeds as we take on Hull City away amongst a full slate of Championship fixtures. Join me from 2:45 pm onward for all the fun.

Happy 60th Birthday, Sir Viv Richards!

The greatest cricketer ever is 60 today. I still remember him crushing England at Lord's back in the 70s. Enjoy!

Footie Trivia - Humorous Injuries Edition

Some mother's do 'ave em - footballers, that is. Not the brightest lot. I was reminded of this truism when I came across a list of humorous self-inflicted footie injuries on the Guardian website. I thought it might make a fun quiz:

"Match the hilarious self-inflicted injury to the numpty below:"

1. Got an infected toe after trying to burst a blister...with a power drill!

2. Jabbed his eye with a boarding pass at the airport.

3. Overextended his flexor muscle while stretching in bed.

4. Strained his knee tendon during an extended session of Pro Evolution Soccer.

5. Injured his Achilles tendon when his toddler daughter ran over it with her tricycle.

6. Knocked himself unconscious by hitting his head on the dugout celebrating a goal.

7. Broke his foot kicking an advertising hoarding to celebrate a teammate's goal.

8. Knocked out his front teeth taking golf clubs out of his car.

9. Lopped off a toe with his lawnmower while mowing the lawn.

10. Broke his leg doing a celebratory back flip after a goal in pre-season.

a. Perry Groves

b. Shaun Goater

c. Rio Ferdinand

d. Charlie George

e. Celestine Babayaro

f. Leroy Lita

g. Kasey Keller

h. Milan Rapaic

i. Darius Vassell

Good luck, chaps!

Some Early Sunday Morning Footer

We have three EPL matches on the menu starting bright and early at 7 AM as Newcastle hosts Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear Derby. The hosts will want to win to help their chances of qualifying for Europe next season. Next is Fulham vs Wolves as the visitors will want to get something out of this match to escape from the drop zone. The final and most important of the three EPL matches is third place Spurs vs second place Manchester United as United need victory to stay in the title race. There is even an N Power Championship match as Evil Cardiff hosts West Ham United. Come join us for some great footer bright and early.

Another Brilliant Premiership Weekend

We're set for another brilliant weekend, chaps. It all starts with Arsenal at Anfield to meet the Scousesox and ends with Evil Leeds hosting table toppers Southhampton in the late one. Join me for all the action!

Any Chance of an LOB Reunion?

I'm starting this thread so that we can begin chatting about the possibility of an LOB reunion this summer to correspond with Euro 2012. Here are the details. The tournament kicks off Friday, June 8, with host team Poland in action. England's first match is against the French on Monday, June 11th at noon EST. I've wiped my slate clean for June, but I know that our teacher members will be in school through most of the group stages. So, let me humbly suggest that we try to shoot for getting together for the quarter-finals - they start on Thursday, June 21 and carry on through Sunday, June 24. England will either play on Saturday (probably against Spain) at 2:45 EST, if they place second in the group, or Sunday (Italy against Italy) at 2:45 EST. More about the schedule here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2012_schedule

In terms of the location, I'm an open book. I don't mind traveling and booking into a hotel if necessary. I would also welcome anyone up here to beautiful WNY (I can host at least two people - or three if they're especially friendly) in my apartment and there are plenty of cheap hotels nearby as well.

So, what say you, folks?