Anyone Else Following the Matches This Afternoon?

I'm buried in a research paper this afternoon, with only a sideways glance and the scores as they come in from the two matches - Liverpool v. Hull and Rotherham v. Reading. Both have major implications for the relegation battles in the respective divisions. This is a marker so you can feel free to comment through the afternoon. Cheers!

Footie Trivia of the Week!

Hiya, footie trivia fans. Here's a nice "Who Am I" question, courtesy of BBC Five Live 606:

"Try to guess the identity of this Premiership footballer based on these three clues:

1. His life on the football pitch began before he was born. His mother played professionally until she was three months pregnant!"

2. He was the first non-French player to win back to back Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009.

3. Before this weekend's action, he had been fouled 96 times in the Premiership this season.

Who is he?"

A Top Rate Sunday

It sure is as three of the top four are in action this morning. The first match is the Toffees vs Man United followed by Arsenal vs Chelsea. Please join me.

The Start to Another Big Weekend

I'm up early at the Cottage settling in to enjoy another huge Premiership morning. It's just started with table topping Watford kicking off against Brighton in a crucial Championship clash. At the bottom of the hour, we've got a Yorkshire derby with my beloved visiting well, Not a Big Club at All. Then the Premiership takes over with a Europa League qualification clash between Soton and Spurs. At 10 am EST we've got a relegation dogfight between Leicester and Burnley. Finally the late one features a faltering Citeh against a relegation threatened Villa.

Celebrating Silhouettes

Can you guess who scored? I thought I did really well and 'almost got relegated'
Give it go

Scoring Quiz

How did you do?

UWS

If it's Thursday...it must be The Europa League!

It's a big day in the Europa League, with Quarter Final second legs popping up all over Europe. The one I'll be watching is Zenit v. Sevilla, with the Spanish side taking a narrow 2-1 lead into their return leg in St. Petersburg. There are six points on the line for the PPPers who stumped for one side or the other in that tie. Join me from 3pm EST onward for all the action.

If It's Tuesday...it must be The Champions League!

Hiya, lads - I'll be racing back from a tedious meeting with the Dean this afternoon to catch this afternoon's Champions League Quarter Final second leg action. One of the fixtures - Barcelona v. PSG - is essentially a dead rubber now, with Barca racking up a 3-1 away win in the first leg. But the other one - Bayern v. Porto - could be a thriller. Bayern were caught out in Porto last week, going down 3-1. But keep in mind that they'll only need a 2-0 win at home today, due to that valuable away goal. Join me from 2:45pm EST onward.

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 32 Update

Another big weekend in the Premiership and FA Cup is past us and we're now down to six matches left plus some big cup action. The big thud that you heard over the weekend was Diego Costa falling off his GB perch and Liverpool exiting the Cup at the semi-final hurdle, both of which meant a tumble for the Blue Devil and rise of STRose to the top of the charts. It's not over yet but the Shield will almost certainly be going to either end of Route 90 in upstate New York. Here are the current standings:

1. STRose - 41 points
2. Chelskilad - 40 pts
3. Blue Devil - 36 pts
4. Swansong - 32 pts
5. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 30 pts
6. Gooner71 - 28 pts
7. The Red Dragon - 27 pts
8. The Red Devil 1FCK - 26 pts
9. Yellows - 25 pts
10. Someone Said - 23 pts
11. Man Utd Rules - 21 pts
- United We Stand - 21 pts
13. West Ham Rising - 17 pts

Fancy a Sunday Premiership Double-header?

I'm settling on this lovely Sunday morning to watch Citeh's match up with West Ham from the Etihad. I may not stick around for the later match, so join me for a cuppa and a natter about yesterday's footie and whatever we've got in store today.

An Embarrassment of Riches

There's honestly so much football on this morning that we simply can't watch it all. Someone thought it was a bright idea to schedule a Cup Semi Final match between Reading and Arsenal up against one of the key matches in the title race - Chelski hosting ManYoo. I'll be skipping the early Championship match between Wolves and Ipswich in favor of extra kip, but I'll join you for the regularly scheduled fixtures building up to that quite spectacular finish. Join me for all the action here on the LOB!

Europa League Quarter Finals Live!

How about a spot of Europa League action this afternoon, chums? I'll be on hand from 3pm EST onward and will be looking forward to your company.

Champions League Quarter Finals Live!

The big boys of Europe are involved in the quarter finals of the Champions League this week. Yesterday, Juventus scored a narrow 1-0 home leg win over Monaco and the Madrid clubs played to a cagey 0-0 draw at Atletico.

Today, we've got Bayern hosting Porto and the marquee match-up of PSG v. Barcelona. I'll be watching that one - won't you join me?

Major League Soccer - Week 6 Update

My apologies to all of you MLS devotees for my lack of updates over the past couple of busy weeks. It's high time to check in on the goings-on Stateside. This week, I'm going to do the top three winners and the bottom three losers of the week:

Top of the Pops:

1. Vancouver Whitecaps - No team is looking better than the Caps are at the moment. Their attack continues to impress but their defense has also been watertight. They've gobbled up 12 points in their first five matches - best in the league. Now the question remains - can they keep up this pace.

2. New York Red Bulls - The Red Balls are the cream of the East Coast at present. Jesse Marsch has come into what appeared to be an impossible situation in the preseason, and has guided this team to an unbeaten start through three games. The big time Charlies - Henry and Cahill - are gone but the likes of Bradley Wright-Phillips, ex-LUFCer Lloyd Sam and (gulp!) Dax McCarty have helped fans to forget their loss.

3. Real Salt Lake - Another unbeaten side on the list. I fully expect RSL to decline big time in the summer doldrums, however, they've proven me wrong so far. Javier Morales is playing like a new man.

Losers:

1. Philadelphia Union - Two points through five matches is a rough start for anyone. But already it seems like the wheels are definitely falling off as a goalkeeper change may be on the horizon.

2. Colorado Rapids - The Crapids are crappitier than usual this season. An anemic attack and a leaky defense have many fans questioning whether Pablo Mastroenni will win the MLS sack race this season.

3. Toronto FC - Dear oh dear; new year, same bloody story with them. The league's most passionate supporters deserve a great deal more than this.

Let me know what you're thinking about MLS this week, won't you?

NBCSN.... What a fine Job!

I emailed this article to a few of you but it was suggested to post it on LOB
Interesting article about NBCSN and their coverage of the Premier League
Here's the website
Premier League on NBCSN


Your thoughts,
UWS

Sunday Derby Day!

It's another huge Sunday in the Premiership today, with two matches that will have a good deal of bearing on the top four. Arsenal notched their requisite win against Burnley yesterday, to put pressure on Chelski at the top today. They kick off against their London rivals QPR, who are scrapping to avoid relegation.

Then there is the big one. Both Citeh and United are now all but guaranteed CL slots for next season. So, is this just about bragging rights today. No - the Derby is always about much more than that, isn't it. Spend your morning on the LOB, won't you?

Wahay - It's Saturday!

After a long, long week at work, it's an absolute pleasure to join all of you for some Premiership footie this morning. We start with the mid-table clash of Swansea v. Everton. That's followed at 10am EST by Spurs v. Villa. I'll be leaving at half-time for an Open House event on campus but the rest of you can enjoy Arsenal's visit to Turf Moor as the late one. Join me for a cuppa this morning, eh?

The Louis van Gaal Phrase Generator

Happy TGIF, chaps. Frittering away the hours until the Manc Derby this weekend? Never fear, Gooner has found the perfect diversion for a Friday afternoon/evening. It's a quite marvelous creation from the boffins at The Guardian that allows you to see different combinations of LVG-speak. Check it out here:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2015/apr/10/louis-van-gaal-phrase-generator-manchester-united?fb_ref=Default

Have fun!

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 31 Update

Now that Liverpool has prevailed in the FA Cup this evening, it's time to take stock of our PPP game again. Chelsea are still on top of the pops, but the other four shifted with City dropping to fourth. So a few points won and lost there. Harry Kane and Diego Costa both failed to score and thus are both stuck on 19 goals; Costa is a real worry for me as he's now out for several weeks (and perhaps the rest of the season) with a hamstring injury. I may well lose six points on that score. But the big story this weekend was Barcelona retaking the La Liga lead; all of us lost four points on our predictions of Real Madrid for that one. So, here are the current standings, with a three-way tie at the top - cor!

1. Blue Devil - 41 points
- Chelskilad - 41 pts
- STRose - 41 pts
4. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 34 pts
5. Swansong - 31 pts
6. The Red Dragon - 30 pts
7. Gooner71 - 28 pts
8. The Red Devil 1FCK - 26 pus
9. Yellows - 24 pts
10. Man Utd Rules - 23 pts
11. Someone Said - 21 pts
12. United We Stand - 20 pts
13. West Ham Rising - 15 pts

A Sunday double header

It's a Sunday double header starting with Burnley vs the Spuds followed by the Tyne- Wear Derby at the Sol. Hope you can join me.

Back with a Bang!

We're back with the Premiership this morning after a lengthy international break. I had a late, late night out so it's important that we're starting with the match of the weekend, otherwise I'd be conking out on the couch with a Stoke v. WBA. It's Liverpool at the Emirates - two footballing teams in good form - to start us off, with the added interest of the Raheem Sterling drama. Then stick around for United v. Villa at 10 am EST and Chelski v. Stoke at 12:30pm.

The Raheem Sterling Saga

With the Premiership on hiatus this week during the international break, the tabloid hacks on Fleet Street have been all a twitter about Raheem Sterling's future prospects. Brendan Rogers has insisted that his 20 year old England starlet is "going nowhere;" however, Sterling has to date failed to sign an extension of his contract, which is up in the summer of 2017. Arsenal have been sniffing around - as they will, right? - seeing if they can snap up another nippy, little wide man to add to their collection. This all begs a number of questions? Is Raheem £100K a week in wages? Does Arsene Wenger really need another nippy, little wide man at the Emirates? Has the transfer market gone mad?

In any case, things couldn't be better poised for Saturday's early morning treat between the two clubs involved. 

Your thoughts, gents?

AC/DC Tribute on KCRW's Guest DJ Podcast

AC/DC have had a troubled year, with news that rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young had left the band after an Alzheimer's diagnosis and of drummer Phil Rudd's arrest on multiple charges including procurement of murder, arson and methamphetamine possession. So, it was a welcome break when KCRW hosted a brief tribute to the band featuring various guests from comedian Marc Maron to snowboarder talking about their favorites from the Aussie band. You can check it out on iTunes and your other favorite podcast emporiums. Enjoy!