Man United Survive Denmark

Facing a strong test from home-standing Aalborg, Man United took a brace from Dimitar Berbatov in the second half on top of a Wayne Rooney first half strike to win 3-0 in Denmark. Aalborg played hard and well but ran out of gas in the second half against the constant threat of United attack. Almost thirty shots were sent at keeper Zaza, and he did well on the majority, but that many shots are almost guaranteed to net a few. On the uni front, United wore their majestic blue European kits.

Marcos Senna saved Villareal in Spain with this 67th minute goal against Celtic. United and Villareal now sit atop Group E with 4 points each.

Ze Roberto scored in the second half to even the score with Lyon after a first half own-goal, bringing a point to Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Don’t even get me started…

Meanwhile, Fiorentina and Steaua drew nil-nil at the Artemio Franchi to earn each side a point in Group F. Bayern lead the group on four points while Fiorentina and Lyon lurk with two. Steaua did well to earn the away point but have work to do in order to catch up.

Group G saw Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor destroy Porto at the Emirates Stadium, 4-0. Each scored twice in each half, with Adebayor’s final tally coming on penalty. Still, Porto sit on three points with Arsenal just ahead with four.

Fenerbache failed to score at home and drew nil-nil to Dynamo Kiev at Sukru Saracoglu. Fenerbahce earned its first point and Dynamo tallied its second, but each side appears to lack the quality of front-running Arsenal and Porto.

Finally, in Group H, Real Madrid earned its second victory and six points on Ruud van Nistlerooy’s 31st minute tie-breaker. Danny evened the scored after a Zenit own-goal left the home side trailing early. But van Nistelrooy’s goal gave the Spanish giants an impressive away victory.

And in Bulgaria, BATE Borisov gave up two late first half goals to Vincenzo Iaquinta and ultimately drew 2-2. Sergey Krivets and Igor Stasevich scored in the 17th and 23rd minutes, respectively, but the Bulgarians could not hold off Juventus late in the half. Through two rounds, Madrid sit on six points with Juventus following on four. BATE earned its first point while last year’s UEFA Cup champions Zenit have yet to gain a toehold.

Champions League Match Day Two

The Champions League returns today with eight matches across the continent. Here are the match-ups:

Group E:
Man United @ AaB Aalborg
Celtic @ Villareal
Group F:
Steaua @ Fiorentina
Lyon @ Bayern
Group G:
Porto @ Arsenal
Dynamo Kiev @ Fenerbahce
Group H:
Real Madrid @ Zenit (already in progress because of the time difference in St. Petersburg)
Juventus @ BATE Borisov

Expect to see a strong effort on the part of the Danes against Man United and generally the home sides across the board. Aalborg will have the services of sent-off Michael Beauchamp, who appealed his red card against Celtic and had it rescinded. Both Steaua and Fenerbahce need to earn points to stay afloat in their groups as each lost its first match.

BORING

The Oklahoma City Thunder (nee Seattle Sonics) introduced their new uniforms yesterday. Yawn. I won’t break them down in the same manner I did with the logo/colors, but I do have a few thoughts.

1. Boring. Nothing interesting about these at all. I’m glad they’re not over-designed, as so many new uniforms are. But this was the one chance at a first impression and re-branding of the franchise and this is all we’re getting?

2. The road uniforms could have been a lot more interesting. I really don’t like both words of ‘Oklahoma City’ coming above the numbers. Maybe it doesn’t quite stretch like UNC used to do in the ’60s because ‘City’ is such a short word, but it still looks weird. Better than just having OKC though, which is what Phoenix shamefully does.

In the long run, this is a design that can be improved upon and it’s way better than the original offerings from, say, Vancouver or Toronto (most up to date seen here and here).

As an aside, new alternate uni for the Bucks and new unis for the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Conference Calls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the release of this week’s updated college football rankings, debates will surely begin to swell across the nation.  On some cookie-cutter liberal arts campus in a mid-sized town, philosophies are clashing: on one side, there’s a corn-fed hulk (a la Ricky Roe) who notices that the Big 12 now boasts 4 of the nation’s top 7 teams; on the other side, there’s a four-named, mop-headed Southern boy (likely from a state school) who swears that the SEC is the pinnacle of college football.

We could sit here all day and analyze various statistics, circumstances, and mitigating factors, all the while trying to settle this debate; or, we could simply look at 3 key points and end the whole thing rather quickly.

1.  The college football season is only 4 weeks old.

While this season will no doubt (and has already) featured more top-10 versus top-10 games than one might ever expect to see, it is still in its adolescent stages. 

Sure, at this point, all 12 teams in the Big 12 are at .500 or better.  However, Big 12 teams haven’t even played a single conference game.

Sure, Vanderbilt (at 4 – 0) makes the SEC look stout; yet Vandy still has games against Auburn, UGA, and Florida, and they also escape having to play Alabama and LSU.

In the Big 12, there’s the Red Raiders, with their 440 yards per game; guess what — they also surrender 370 per contest. 

In the SEC, there’s Auburn, who boasts a 4 – 1 record — but that includes a 3 – 2 win (Miss. St.).

At this point, it’s too early to make definitive statements.  Period.

2.  The Big 12’s powerhouse-versus-powerhouse showdowns are less frequent.

Thus far, Oklahoma has not played Texas, Texas Tech, or Missouri.  (In fact, the Sooners and Tigers will sadly not meet this season.)

Oklahoma does have to play Texas, and Oklahoma State (4 – 0, who knew?), which will tell us more about how good they are.  Likewise, Mizzou will face Texas, and Texas Tech, and Nebraska — a far cry from their early-season non-conference action.

In the SEC, we’ve had (and will have) the benefit of several high-profile weed-out games, e.g. Georgia-Alabama, LSU-Auburn, and Alabama-LSU (upcoming).  Because of these games, we’re more equipped to opine as to who’s good, who’s very good, and who’s only so-so.

The same considerations cannot be made (yet) for the Big 12.  (Which is not to say that it’s inferior to the SEC — we just don’t know enough yet.)

3.  It’s hard to apply metrics to an entire conference.

What does it really mean to say that a conference is “better” than another? 

Sure, most people would argue that, top to bottom, the SEC is as good as it gets.  Ole Miss beat Florida.  Vandy is 4 – 0.  So on.  So forth.

At the same time, it’s plausible that the Big 12’s top 3 teams — Oklahome, Missouri, and Texas — could more than hold their own in the SEC.  (Not certain… but plausible.)

So, it could be the case that the Big 12 is more top-heavy than the SEC, and that their top 3 are better than Alabama, LSU, and you-pick-#3.  It could also be the case that, as a whole, the SEC is more consistent than the Big 12 (i.e., that Ole Miss would spank Baylor, or that Mississippi St. could handle Iowa State).  Such arguments are simply tangential and difficult.

…

At this point in the season, what we can say is that the SEC and the Big 12 are the two premium conferences in college football.  It’s very likely that the champions from these two entities will face off for that famous crystal football.

Three Cheers for Houston Nutt

Well at least one?

After having to resign (before fired) from Arkansas before even going to the Cotton Bowl, Nutt was hired as the new coach at Ole Miss. Having gone 5-6 and 4-7 in ‘04 and ‘05, Nutt’s Arkansas teams rebounded to go 10-4 and 8-4 in ‘06 and ‘07 lead mostly by Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Arkansas beat eventual-champion LSU in triple overtime last year and went to eight bowl games in his ten years, winning two, including the ‘99 Cotton Bowl. His Arkansas teams went 75-48.

This season, Ole Miss already had three wins including last weekend’s upset of Florida in Gainesville and just barely lost at Wake Forest. Last season the Rebels were 3-9 and only beat Memphis, Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State. In 2006 they were 4-8, 3-8 in 2005, 4-7 in 2004. In other words, Ole Miss has been terrible since Eli Manning graduated after the 2004 Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma State.

In 2008, Arkansas is 2-2 so far with extremely close victories over Western Illinois and Louisiana Monroe. The two losses have been 49-14 to Alabama and 52-10 at Texas. Granted, Texas and ‘Bama appear to be class teams, but those are two terrible blowouts.

The difference between the two teams this year? Houston Nutt. Arkansas hired traitor/bastard/idiot Bobby Petrino from the Atlanta Falcons over the winter and essentially everything has gone wrong since. Meanwhile, Ole Miss brings in Nutt, a 10-year veteran of the SEC West and immediately their fortunes turn around. I think Houston Nutt deserves some credit, not just for being a better person and coach than Bobby Petrino, but for being generally underrated all this time in Fayetteville and now in Oxford.

Another American Buys Into the EPL

Sunderland joined the ranks of Premier League clubs controlled by majority-American ownership last week when a man called Ellis Short acquired 30% of the Black Cats’ ownership. Short is a Dallas-based businessman who runs a private equity firm and also owns Skibo Castle, an exclusive resort in Scotland where Madonna and Guy Ritchie got married in 2000.

Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool already have American-majority ownership with Malcolm Glazer, Randy Lerner, and Tom Hicks and George Gillett at the helms. Short is certainly less well known than the others but is obviously ridiculously rich and doesn’t plan on interfering with on-field or personnel decisions like the idiotic Mike Ashley (who is not an American, but sometimes acts like one). He also has a chance to send Sunderland above Newcastle and Middlesbrough on the table, the club’s two biggest rivals.

Short is an Irish-American and apparently already was a supporter of Sunderland, certainly a rarity in the US as they only joined the Premier League last season. Hopefully he will not serve as a source of popular revolt like in Manchester and Liverpool. A good relationship between an American ownership group and an English club is a much-needed part of the growing American interest in the game.

Super Lame

I would consider myself a fan of Bruce Springsteen. There aren’t many albums out there better than Born to Run. But as Super Bowl half-time show?

The Boss is simply the next in line of a group of aging, mostly irrelevant rockers to serve as entertainment during the most-watched sporting event in America. From the Rolling Stones, U2, Tom Petty and Prince, the Super Bowl and NFL have reached into the past for their show. The reason for this is of course obvious. But who actually finds rock stars decades after their prime interesting on tv? I think The Boss would be pretty cool to see if I were actually at the Super Bowl (though not as one of those dopey groupies they stick down on the field to hold lighters and jump up and down). But on tv? Mick Jagger exposed us to his bare midriff and super tight pants a few years ago which was far more disturbing than seeing one second of Janet Jackson’s partially covered up breast.

And now that I think of it, why is there a concert at half-time anyway? Isn’t it way more interesting to see a good marching band perform at half or better yet, do nothing at all? Most people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, not the programming. And most of the rest just want to see the game. I wouldn’t care if there was never again a half-time show, like it used to be before 1988. I wasn’t old enough to see Chubby Checker in San Diego, but I do remember Michael Jackson at the Rose Bowl in 1993. That was cool, but it was far less interesting than the game.

I understand the networks want to get as large an audience as possible, but really, they’re making so much money from selling ad spots at this point does it even matter anymore how many viewers they’re getting?

Uni Revision

I stand corrected. As the throngs (read, both) of Georgia residents who read this blog pointed out, black is a primary color in Georgia’s normal scheme. The student newspaper is The Red and Black. So, my apologies on missing that one.

However, that does not mean they should ever wear black. The Auburn game last year was the first game Georgia had ever worn black in football. They wore them again in the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii and then they wore them last night is the ass-whipping that was the Alabama game. Three times in the 116 year history of the program. This is what Georgia is supposed to look like at home. Or this. Or this. Or this. Or this. There are rumors that the Bulldogs wore black in their ancient past, often using this as an example. But there is no evidence this was ever used in a game.

Yes, the basketball team has worn black before. But they usually look like this. And previously like this.

I just don’t like the black look, whether it’s part of your color scheme or not.

Consistently Inconsistent

Man City fell today at the JJB Stadium against Wigan, 2-1. City lost to Villa in their first match, won two 3-0 matches in a row against West Ham and Sunderland, then lost 3-1 to Chelsea at home then won 6-0 against Pompey and now fall to Wigan away.

Yes, the club is getting used to Robinho in the lineup, but a week after scoring six goals, City could only muster a Vincent Kompany strike in the 22nd minute. Antonio Valencia scored early for Wigan on a wicked shot and a controversial Amr Zaki penalty in the 34th minute provided the game’s final score.

The loss today kept City from reaching the Champions League level on the table and leaves them sitting tied with Pompey on nine points. Wigan sit tied with Man United on eight points.

The table is as follows through six matches (though Man United and Fulham had one postponed):

1. Chelsea 14
2. Liverpool 14
3. Aston Villa 13
4. Arsenal 12
5. West Ham 12
6. Hull City 11
7. Blackburn Rovers 10
8. Manchester City 9
9. Portsmouth 9
10. Wigan Athletic 8
11. Manchester United 8
12. West Bromwich Albion 7
13. Sunderland 7
14. Everton 7
15. Fulham 6
16. Middlesbrough 6
17. Bolton Wanderers 4
18. Stoke City 4
19. Newcastle 4
20. Tottenham 2

And So It Begins…

The Stephen Garica era at South Carolina is about to begin in earnest. He still probably won’t start at Ole Miss next weekend, but his 131 yards passing and 86 yards rushing put him solidly in first place among the group of pretty average quarterbacks currently residing here in Columbia. Carolina defeated UAB 26-13 with Garcia throwing for one touchdown and running for another. The victory for the Gamecocks was relatively benign, but considering this is the third quarterback to see significant time in only five games, I suppose it’s somewhat understandable.

Garcia brings a different skill set to the ballgame than does either Tommy Beecher or Chris Smelley. Garcia has a rifle for an arm but apparently also has some nice wheels. The ability to move around and create some offense when the blocking breaks down (which is pretty frequently) is a huge asset for the foundering Gamecock offense.

Carolina travels to Oxford next weekend to play the rejuvenated Ole Miss side that just knocked off Florida at the swamp. The reality is that it’s a good chance for Carolina to play the Rebels as they’re unlikely to play as well the game after beating Florida. But still, the ability to win such a game, especially on the road, has to scare the shite out of South Carolina, who probably saw this game as a guaranteed victory when tallying in the pre-season.

The Gamecock defense remains stout and will probably keep them in the game, even against Ole Miss who scored 31 points on Florida. But unless the O makes some serious headway, it’s likely Carolina will fall in Oxford.

Spurs are Terrible

Apparently Newcastle are the only club in Europe (well, I guess Wisla Krakow too) who are worse than Spurs. After losing 6-0 to Man City last weekend and 4-0 to Chelsea in mid-week Carling Cup play, Pompey produced a clean sheet at Fratton Park against listless Spurs. Jermain Defoe, late of Tottenham, scored on a penalty in the first half and Peter Crouch, the tallest player in the Premiership, tallied a goal in the second half to sink Spurs.

This is truly sad. Spurs remain the worst club in England with the loss, sitting on two total points through six matches. Even Newcastle and Stoke City have each won one match while Spurs have obviously relied on two draws (though one was at Stamford Bridge). No one, especially this woeful predictor, could have seen how awful Spurs were going to be. On paper it makes no sense, they have a solid squad of purportedly high-impact players. But for whatever reason they have not meshed at all. Last season, Juande Ramos got his boys to play reasonably well and saved a season started by Martin Jol’s failed policies. But with almost a completely new team, Ramos has not gotten results from this club.

Perhaps they have another second half resurgence in them, but even if they do, I can’t picture them finishing higher than last year, which was eleventh.

I Guess That’s Why You Play the Games

A ridiculous weekend in college football left the no. 1, 3, 4, 9, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 24th ranked teams defeated with only three of those losses coming against other ranked teams. Here’s what I think the new top ten poll should look like, despite the fact that writers would never go along with it:

1. Oklahoma – Destroyed 24th ranked Texas Christian, 35-10.
2. Alabama – Destroyed doesn’t even begin to describe the first half against Georgia. Eased up in the second half but still won between the hedges, 41-30.
3. LSU – Beat Mississippi St., not as handily as one might expect, but they’re still a damn good team. Play at Florida in two weeks, should show a lot about both teams.
4. Texas – Wiped the floor with Arkansas, 52-10. Granted, Bobby Petrino’s Razorbacks totally suck, but Texas is for real.
5. Missouri – Didn’t play this week but have been awesome all year. Play at Nebraska next week.
6. Southern Cal – You can’t lose to a team that gave up 35 points to Stanford and expect to stay at the top of the polls. Next up is Oregon.
7. Florida – What were they doing losing to Ole Miss at home? At Oxford, day after the Presidential debate, ok. But not at home.
8. Penn State – Yes, this is a big jump from their spot of 12 last week, but they beat up a good Illinois team and I think they’re absolutely the best team in the Big 10. The spread offense JoePa is running, well having some other coach run for him, has been outstanding.
9. BYU – Got a lucky break against Washington but have been really solid. 1st in the country in total offense and points, second in points against and third in total defense.
10. Georgia – They only ended up losing by 11 but it was so over in the first half, that hardly matters. 31-0 at home on black out night? Seems like the ‘Bama coach was right about the funeral.

So the real question now is, will anyone go undefeated? Looks like the only viable options are Oklahoma, Missouri and BYU. Oklahoma will have to play Texas in the Red River game, though it is in Norman, which will be really tough. Missouri plays at Texas but avoids Oklahoma because of unbalanced scheduling in the Big 12. BYU goes to Texas Christian and to Utah before it’s all said and done.

Hull City Earn Famous Victory v. Arsenal

In their first season in the Premiership, Hull City have achieved one of the most difficult tasks in English football, a victory at the Emirates Stadium in London. With Geovanni and Daniel Cousin scoring within four minutes in the 62nd and 66th minutes, after an own-goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead, Hull were able to survive a furious final twenty minutes. William Gallas saw his wicked header ricochet from the crossbar, Robin Van Persie’s screaming shot from twenty-five yards sailed just over and Kolo Toure bonked a point-black opening left of goal, all within the final five minutes before full-time.

The victory sends Hull City into the top eight of the Premier League table and keeps Arsenal from keeping pace with Chelsea and Liverpool.

More Trouble Tyneside

More issues facing Newcastle as they fell at St. James’ Park today, 2-1 to Blackburn. Christopher Samba and Roque Santa Cruz scored first half goals for Rovers while Michael Owen continued to be the only player who ever scores for Toon, on a penalty in the 50th minute.

At Villa Park, Djibril Cisse scored in the 10th minute for a quick lead for Sunderland. But the Black Cats were not able to contain Ashley Young or John Alieu Carew, each scoring in the first half for Aston Villa for a 2-1 home victory. After a Carling Cup loss to QPR mid-week, Villa did well to earn three points on home turf today and currently sit in Champions League position.

Man United scored twice in the second half to defeat Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. A Ronaldo penalty in the 60th minute and a Wayne Rooney goal in the 77th helped United earn the three points necessary to start backing up Rooney’s claims. The victory was only the second this season for United while Bolton slides near the relegation zone, only escaping at the moment on goal differential.

West Bromich Albion used a Jonas Olsson in the 53rd minute to steal three points away to Middlesbrough at the Riverside. West Brom now sit comfortably mid-table.

Carlton Cole and Matthew Etherington scored within two minutes just before half to give West Ham a 2-0 lead at the break. Andy Johnson was sent off just before half leaving Fulham a man down for the entire second half. Danny Murphy did connect from the spot in the 59th minute but the Hammers were able to escape Craven Cottage with three more points and at the moment, slip into place for a Champions League spot.

Finally, at Britannia Stadium, Chelsea earned three away points as Bosingwa scored in the first half and Nicolas Anelka knocked one home in the second for a 2-0 victory over Stoke City. The Blues are tied with Liverpool on top of the table while newboys Stoke slip into the relegation zone with Newcastle and Spurs.

Arsenal and Hull City kickoff as we e-speak.

Tomorrow’s matches:
Spurs @ Pompey
Man City @ Wigan

Liverpool Take Out Everton, Sit Atop Table

A Fernando Torres second half brace, in fact two goals within three minutes, sent Liverpool to an away victory at Goodison Park against Everton. Tim Cahill missed out on a nice chance from a corner in the first half, denying the home side an early lead. Instead, Torres’ double strike stunned Everton and effectively ended any threat on Liverpool’s still-unbeaten season as Cahill was sent off with straight red in the 80th minute.

Seven more games to go this morning…