Guardian Commentary Quiz

Hello chaps! The Guardian posted a pretty fun (because I did well for once) quiz today. It's fill in the blank classic commentary, but for the life of me I can't believe they skipped "Thomas, CHARGING THROUGH THE MIDFIELD!! THOMAS, IT'S UP FOR (blank) NOWWW! THOMAS!!! Right at the end!" Beat my 9 out of 12. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/mar/30/football-quiz-what-are-the-missing-words-in-the-commentary

The English Game

  If you are looking for a cure for the footie blues then I recommend the Netflix series, " The English Game."It came out this year and is a superb six episode mini series/. I watched two episodes yesterday evening and personally recommend this to any footie fan. It's not just about the FA Cup, but the tension between the haves and have nots in the late 1870s and early 1880s. It's a must watch.

Happy Friday from Blue Devil and Pink Kits!

We made to Friday, chums! Week 1 of Operation Working from Home to Save Lives is done. Enjoy the weekend (albeit with a distinct lack of footie)!

Tomorrow Man

Hi there, LOBers. I'm sure that, like me, you've been spending some time catching up tv series and movies that you haven't had a chance to watch during your busy schedules. Now that we're all at home and don't have any live footie to watch, I thought it might be useful to start a series of threads on recommendations for things to watch.

I'll go first. Kate and I had the chance to watch Noble Jones' independent drama "Tomorrow Man" the other night. It couldn't be more apropos our times. John Lithgow stars as a man who's obsessed with conspiratorial notions, spread on the Internet, of a looming crisis. His response to this is to prepare for the apocalypse by creating a well-stocked storeroom in the back of house with innumerable emergency goods. He happened to meet a woman played by Blythe Danner who he sees as a kindred soul, as she's an obsessive hoarder. The movie proves that romantic movies with older actors work as well as those with twenty and thirty somethings. Check it out!

RIP Manu Dibango

It has become inevitable that we will lose some cultural figures who are important to us in this pandemic. This is the first one for me - the Cameroonian jazz-funk legend Manu Dibango has died at age 86 in a Paris hospital from the COVID-19 virus.

I first became aware of Manu's work in the 80s when British pop stars started name-dropping him and he appeared on the records of the likes of the Specials AKA. His biggest hit was "Soul Makossa," which Michael Jackson riffed on his hit "I Wanna Be Starting Something." RIP Manu.

Checking In

Hiya, chaps! After two weekends without footie, I have to admit that I'm really missing my LOB family. So, I thought I'd post a check in thread at least once a week to see how everyone is coping with this odd situation. 

This is my first week back after Spring Break, albeit in distance learning mode. I was up early this morning just trying to keep the email at bay. As you can imagine, the faculty that I supervise are climbing the walls with issues related to on-line instruction. Otherwise, Kate and I are doing well. We've got a well-stocked larder, the weather has been unseasonably warm for March so we've been getting in lots of long walks in the neighborhood and we're reading a lot and doing lots of cooking. 

So, how are you lot? Let us all know.

Spectrum Does Python

Someone at Spectrum cable must have been binge-watching Monty Python sketches recently, as they've recently launched a set of ads that clearly riff on the great troupe's work. This one, featuring a human sacrificed, could be an out-take from The Quest for the Holy Grail, especially with the high pitched entreaty to "Go on, get on with it!"

Enjoy!

 

               

Marc Maron - End Times Fun

If you're looking for some topic humor to break up the monotony of bunkering in within your house within the coming days and week, have a look at Marc Maron's new Netflix special. Marc has a good go at the Trump administration (natch!), the Marvel comics universe and a number of other ills that are ailing our society. Check it out!

English Footie Shut Down!

It's with a heavy heart that I have to report that the Premier League and English Football League has been shut down until at least April. So, unfortunately, as I head into Spring Break this weekend, we will have none of the good stuff to watch. I had looked forward to watching three Leeds matches over the next ten days - now, that won't happen (sigh)....

So, enjoy your lie in tomorrow, and Sunday....

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 29 Update

A very good Thursday, everyone! While we're all still here and watching football, I thought I'd take a moment to update our standings today. So what's changed in the tables? Not a lot in the Premier League. However, I'm delighted that my Leeds boys are back on top of the pops, which adds a point or two to a lot our scores.

Serie A and La Liga have both suspended their seasons for now due to Covid-19 concerns, but the weekend's play put Barca and Juve back on top. Bayern continue on top in the Bundesliga. And Jamie Vardy's goal spree against Villa the other night now has him on 19 goals, two clear of Aubameyang in second place.

So here are the current standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 45 points
2. Swansong - 39 pts
3. Blue Devil - 37 pts
4. Someone Said - 32 pts
5. West Ham Rising - 28 pts
6. Man Utd Rules - 26 pts
7. Gooner71 - 24 pts
8. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 24 pts
9. Yellows - 22 pts
10. Red Devil 1FCK - 21 pts
11. The Bee's Knees - 20 pts
-   Pink Kits - 20 pts
-   United We Stand - 20 pts
14. Red Dragon - 19 pts
15. The Saint - 18 pts

Champions League Wednesday!

I've just heard that, as of next Thursday, I will no longer be coming over to work every day until the end of the semester. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with myself. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the Champions League offering this afternoon.

Atletico are 1-0 up from their home leg as they enter the cauldron that is Anfield tonight. It's perched on a knife's edge, in other words. Should be a fascinating match - join me if you're around.

Happy Birthday, WHR!

Many happy returns to our favorite Happy Hammer on his birthday. Hope you had a great day, Johnno!

Manchester Derby Sunday!

Morning, chaps! I'm getting a later than usual start to the morning due to the Spring Forward nonsense. I'm groggy but a cuppa will sort that out soon. Got to shake it off as we've got important business to attend to - Manchester Derby business.

Before that we've got the undercard match between Chelski and Everton. Join me for all of it!

Spring Forward Footer

Morning, chaps! The clocks spring forward this weekend. That can only mean one thing - we're heading into the home stretch with ten matches left of the domestic league season. We start this morning with Liverpool v. Bournemouth. The Scousers have dropped a couple of clangers recently; they can't possibly drop another one to relegation-threatened Bournemouth, can they? That's followed in the 10 o'clock hour by Arsenal v. West Ham, a London derby with some real import. At the same time, we've got a slate of Championship fixtures, including my beloved Leeds hosting county cousins Huddersfield. I'm hoping for three more big points in your quest for promotion. Finally, at the end of the day, we've got Burnley v. Spurs.

I'll be around for the early one and then I have to bugger off to an Open House event on campus. Might be back in time for the late one. Join me, won't you?

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 28 Update

TGIF, PPPers! Due to a busy week here at work and in the footballing world, I've been tardy in updating our game this week, but I thought I'd check in briefly to let you know where we stand as we approach another hurly burly weekend of the good stuff. The main event in terms of PPP implications this week was Man City's League Cup win on Sunday, which benefited Gooner, MUR, Swansong, and Simon to the tune of 6 big points in the league.

The other changes are relatively insignificant points-wise. Bournemouth and Villa have dropped back into the relegation zone in the Premier League, which added two points to some who had predicted the Villans' demise. Most of us lost points in the Serie A, as Lazio climbed over Juve to the top of the race for the Scudetto. And those of us who backed Barca for the La Liga title lost a couple as Real changed places with them.

So, here are the current standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 39 points
2. Swansong - 35 pts
3. Blue Devil - 33 pts
-   West Ham Rising - 33 pts
5. Someone Said - 30 pts
6. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 26 pts
7. Gooner71 - 25 pts
8. Man Utd Rules - 24 pts
9. Red Dragon - 20 pts
10. The Bee's Knees - 19 pts
-   Pink Kits - 19 pts
12. Yellows - 17 pts
13. Red Devil 1FCK - 16 pts
14. United We Stand - 15 pts
15. The Saint - 14 pts

The Rams vs United on Thursday Night FA Cup Fifth Round Footie

  In their infinite wisdom , the suits at the FA decided to have the Fifth Round matches played during the course of four weekdays.The final match of the Round is at Pride Park  as the only team below the Prem that remains in the Cup is the Rams. They host United on Plus with the winner facing the Canaries at Carrow Road in the quarterfinals  on the weekend of March 21st. Join me to see if United will advance , which will mean that the quarterfinals would be an all Prem affair.

Downsizing the Cable Package

Hey there, boys - I've got a favor to ask of you. I'm thinking of downsizing my cable package in order to save some monthly dosh. It appears to me that I've got some extraneous stuff, but I don't want to get rid of anything that I might need for, say, the Euros or some other footer competition that I don't watch every week. I'm currently paying $12 for a trunk of the cable package that features the following sports channels:

* CBS Sports
* ESPNU
* Fox Sports 2
* ESPN Deportes
* Fox Deportes
* BEin Sports

My hunch is that, now that so many competitions (e.g., Championship, FA Cup, League Cup) are on ESPN+, which I'm paying $5.99, I can downsize the cable a bit. What do you think? Would I be losing any valuable footer if I dumped the extra sports package?

Cheers!

Super Tuesday!

Happy Super Tuesday, everyone! It's a big day in the Presidential campaign, so, although there are a few Cup replays happening this afternoon, I thought that, at the risk of UWS' ire, I'd switch our focus on the LOB to politics for the day. I'll be posting throughout the day, as citizens in a dozen states are voting for their preferences on the Democratic Party side of things from Maine to California. If you're also scanning the results, feel free to post your impressions of the race.

A BIG SUNDAY

A big day today in Blighty in the fight for the Top Four(Five) as United, Spurs, Wolves and possibly Everton fighting for Europe....oh and there is a Cup Final. After the league matches, hop over to Bob's thread for the Cup
UWS

The First Real Silverware of the Season!

It's the ugly stepsister of knock-out tournaments, and it doesn't help that there are two Premier League fixtures crammed up against it, but the League Cup Final is still important to me and other old school fans. This afternoon, Man City and Villa will battle it out for the season's first real silverware.

Before that, we got the Premier League undercard matches of Everton v. United and Spurs v. Wolves. Not a bad Sunday morning, eh? Join me if you can.