United Extend Lead

Man United used a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty just before half-time to secure a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford over Everton. United records yet another clean sheet as keeper Edwin Van der Sar now holds the English club record with over 1100 consecutive minutes without giving up a goal.

The three points send United five points clear of Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa who are all on 48 points. Everton missed an opportunity to gain ground on the top five, especially since Arsenal and Villa drew today.

Tomorrow’s Chelsea-Liverpool match-up will keep United’s lead at at least four points over one or both of their top tier foes.

A Nil-Nil Kind of Day

It was this kind of a day for most of the Premiership

Second tier clubs were unable to make up ground on the leaders of the English Premier League, and were in fact unable to score at all.

Starting at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal put forth a sorry home effort against West Ham United, drawing nil-nil. The result is pretty nice for the Hammers who currently sit in eighth place. One does not pick up an away point at the Emirates very often. Arsenal, meanwhile, should be happy to get anything out of today’s match. They’re lucky that Aston Villa drew above them.

Next we go to Villa Park where Aston Villa were equally inept on a day where they could have put a huge distance between themselves and the Gunners below them. Instead, a nil-nil draw with seventh place Wigan was the result. Again, not bad for Wigan emerging from a tough away match with a point, though they’re still quite a ways behind Arsenal for the final European qualification spot. Villa equal Chelsea and Liverpool on points but trail in differential so retain fourth. Chelsea and Liverpool play each other tomorrow.

A third match today ended without anyone scoring, Blackburn and Middlesbrough at the Riverside. Both clubs are in the relegation zone and even with their shared points, do not budge from eighteenth and nineteenth respectively.

On to a match where both clubs bothered to score. Bolton held off Tottenham on Kevin Davies’ second goal in the 87th minute, 3-2. Darren Bent went for a double within a three-minute span (72nd, 74th) to even the match on two goals each. The victory sends Wanderers up to twelfth place while Spurs slink back to fourteenth, another good opportunity missed.

The Britannia Stadium saw a red card and a single goal from the home side in Stoke City‘s 1-0 victory over hapless Man City. City, who cannot win away at all, gave up a short-handed goal after Rory Delap was sent off for Stoke in the 37th minute. James Beattie scored just before half for Stoke and the score held. Stoke jump out of the relegation zone but still have just 24 points. City meanwhile, continue their up-and-down season, this time ending up in tenth place.

Hull City and West Bromich Albion also completed a match without a winner today, a 2-2 draw at the KC Stadium. Hull had a 2-1 lead but Chris Brunt’s 73rd minute penalty for Albion evened the score on two. West Brom remain DFL even with the point after Blackburn, Middlesbrough and Stoke all earned points today as well. Hull continue to fall and are now in eleventh place.

Finally, Erik Nevland had a second half brace and Fulham took a 3-0 lead before winning 3-1 over sorry Portsmouth. Ever since the departure of Harry Redknapp (for the not really greener pastures of Tottenham), Pompey have been downright awful as evidenced again by their terrible performance today. David Nugent did score in the 84th minute to avoid the clean sheet but Pompey fall down to fifteenth place with this result. Fulham get back on track with the three home points and claim today’s ninth position.

Manchester United and Everton are kicking off in a matter of minutes and the big Chelsea-Liverpool match will be tomorrow, as well as the woeful Sunderland-Newcastle battle.

The Procrastinator – January 30

So, it’s time for another edition of The Procrastinator newsletter, our bi-weekly attempt to write something coherent and interesting. This time around you’ll find mostly politics and some thoughts about the inauguration that happened just a few days ago.

For a web view, check out our newest feature, The Procrastinator Online.

The Procrastinator – January 30

Thanks for checking us out, as always, and enjoy the weekend and the Super Bowl.

Cheers

Premiership Predictions – Week 24

The Premiership brings its second slate of matches this week on Saturday and Sunday. We have a new hierarchy in the EPL with Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal filling out the European qualification right now. The leadership will all have tough matches on the weekend as United host sixth place Everton, Liverpool host Chelsea, Villa host seventh place Wigan and Arsenal host eighth place West Ham. In other words, the top eight clubs all play each other this weekend. Elsewhere, Tottenham look to jump further up the table in a match at the Reebok and Fulham are keen to regain stature if they can win at Craven Cottage against Pompey.

Saturday:
Man City @ Stoke City – Stoke
West Ham @ Arsenal – Arsenal
Wigan @ Aston Villa – Wigan
Blackburn @ Middlesbrough – Boro
Tottenham @ Bolton – Tottenham
Portsmouth @ Fulham – Fulham
West Brom @ Hull City – Albion
Everton @ Man United – United

Sunday:
Sunderland @ Newcastle – Toon
Chelsea @ Liverpool – Chelsea

Results thus far:

Week 1 – 19 points
Week 2 – 16 points
Week 3 – 12 points
Week 4 – 13 points
Week 5 – 13 points
Week 6 – 27 points
Week 7 – 14 points
Week 8 – 22 points
Week 9 – 18 points
Week 10 – 19 points
Week 11 – 11 points
Week 12 – 10 points
Week 13 – 16 points
Week 14 – 13 points
Week 15 – 9 points
Week 16 – 18 points
Week 17 – 11 points
Week 18 – 14 points
Week 19 – 15 points
Week 20 – 23 points
Week 21 – 21 points
Week 22 – 20 points
Week 23 – 21 points

What Gives with the Super Bowl Logo?

Paul Lukas asked a good question on the Uni-Watch blog the other day about the Super Bowl logo being used this year. Why does it feature so much green and blue? The logo clashes pretty badly with the Cardinals‘ red uniforms and just looks kind of cheesy with the Steelers‘ (especially because they always have a chest patch, so adding a second one starts to look like NFL Europe). Which leads to a larger question, why isn’t the logo tailored to the two teams involved in the game instead of just being generic? Can you really say it would take more than the two weeks between championship games and the Super Bowl to color coordinate a logo to the appropriate teams?

In this vein, the New York Times put together a pretty cool slideshow of alternative logos made by different graphic designers from across the country. Some of them are really fantastic, like the one pictured above. Some of them are downright odd or have nothing to do with the Super Bowl. But either way, take a look and let me know which one you like best.

The AD Hall Super Bowl Pick

Ok, I know you’ve all been waiting to hear what I think about the Super Bowl.

Or maybe not. But too bad, you’re going to find out anyway. Here’s how I think it’ll play out:

1st quarter:
Steelers – Hines Ward TD catch from Ben Roethlisberger – 7-0 Pitt
Steelers – Jeff Reed FG – 10-0 Pitt

2nd quarter:
Cardinals – Larry Fitzgerald TD catch from Kurt Warner – 10-7 Pitt
Steelers – Jeff Reed FG – 13-7 Pitt
Cardinals – Steve Breaston TD catch from Kurt Warner – 14-13 Arz

3rd quarter:
Steelers – Gary Russell TD run – 20-14 Pitt
Steelers – Jeff Reed FG – 23-14 Pitt

4th quarter:
Cardinals – Neil Rackers FG – 23-17 Pitt
Steelers – Jeff Reed FG – 26-17 Pitt

So there you have it, 26-17 Pittsburgh over Arizona in Super Bowl 43. I think Hines Ward will win the MVP after catching a half-dozen balls and a touchdown after his leg injury in the AFC title game. I like the Pittsburgh defense to stifle completely the Arizona running game but I don’t see Kurt Warner having enough time to get off all of his usual throws and he’ll have two interceptions. Ben Roethlisberger will also have an interception and he won’t complete more than twelve passes but it’ll be enough.

Strange Things are Afoot in College Basketball

Each day, it would seem, is further answer to my previously posted questions about whether or not there are any great college basketball teams this year. For the third straight week and the fourth time this season the nation’s top-ranked team lost. Last night it was Duke losing at no. 6 Wake Forest. Hardly a slouch loss, but still a loss by the no. 1 team. Here’s what else happened last night:

No. 3 Pittsburgh loses at no. 21 Villanova
No. 5 North Carolina needs a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Ty Lawson to escape Florida State
No. 15 Syracuse loses to Providence and gives up 100 points
No. 25 Georgetown loses to Cincinnati

Each of those teams has been ranked in the top 10 this season and could again before it’s all said and done. No. 2 UCONN, no. 7 Louisville, no. 10 Xavier and no. 18 Memphis all won easily so everyone isn’t losing. But it’s the frequency with which supposedly great teams are losing, even if it’s to other highly-regarded teams, that makes this season so confusing.

I’m sure it won’t take long, if they haven’t started already, before tv pundits start announcing that this could be the greatest NCAA tournament ever. Maybe that’ll be true, or maybe like last year all of the top seeds will advance. But no matter what ends up happening in March and April, this has absolutely been the weirdest January I can remember.

Liverpool Choke, Drop to Third

Mido’s 83rd minute penalty for Wigan brought a 1-1 home draw against Liverpool, a nice result for the debut of the Egyptian striker. The Reds had taken a 41st minute lead one Yossi Benayoun’s goal but Mido connected from the spot to earn the draw. The shared points sent Liverpool down to third position based on differential with Chelsea, and just a single point ahead of Aston Villa. Wigan made up some ground in seventh place on Everton.

Chelsea moved ahead of Liverpool on the strength of Salomon Kalou’s second half brace, 2-0 over Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge. The Blues now sit behind Man United by just two points (but with a match ahead). Boro sink into the relegation zone, stuck on 21 points.

At Goodison Park, Robin Van Persie saved the day for Arsenal with his last-gasped goal earning a 1-1 draw between fifth place Arsenal and sixth place Everton. Tim Cahill scored again for the Toffees in the 61st minute but it was not enough to play catch-up to the Gunners one spot above them by five points.

Man City used new boy Craig Bellamy to full effect as the new signee scored his first goal for City in a 2-1 win over Newcastle at the City of Manchester Stadium. Shaun Wright-Phillips also scored, his in the 17th minute for home-strong City, now in ninth place. Toon remain above the relegation line in sixteenth place but have shown no signs of moving up in recent weeks.

Upton Park played host to a 2-0 home victory for West Ham United over struggling Hull City. David Di Michele and Carlton Cole scored for the Hammers as they surge past Hull and City into eighth place. Hull drop now to tenth having scored just seven points in several months after reaching 20 points so quickly.

Finally, Stephen Warnock and Benni McCarthy scored second half goals to offset two Bolton goals in the first half for a 2-2 draw for Blackburn at Ewood Park. The draw pulls Bolton to fifteenth place and ekes Blackburn out of relegation on goal differential.

What’s the Deal with NHL Contracts?

Are we really at the point now where people care so little about professional hockey that one of the more outrageous occurances in sports don’t even get covered any more?

It’s being reported that Henrik Zetterberg, the 28-year old Detroit Red Wings player is going to sign a 12-year $72 million contract. Zetterberg was last year’s Conn Smythe winner (for those who don’t know, that’s Playoffs MVP) and is generally a fantastic player. But really, 12 years??

In 2006 the Islanders signed goalie Rick DiPietro to a 15-year $67.5 million contract! And in 2001 the Islanders signed Alexei Yashin to a 10-year $87.5 million deal. I don’t know enough about or follow hockey closely enough to know more examples.

Can you imagine a 10 to 15-year contract in any other sport? It’s hilarious and fantastic at the same time. It could also be devastating if that player either doesn’t pan out or gets injured. But why isn’t this looked on with more fascination around the sports media world? I guess A-Rod (or should we say A-Fraud now?) got a 10-year deal, but that is super rare.

Villa Keep on Trucking

While Man United was making history, Aston Villa continued its stirring run through the Premiership with a 1-0 victory out at Fratton Park. New boy Emile Heskey (pictured), just signed last week from Wigan, scored the only goal of the match in the 21st minute and Villa went a man up after Nadir Belhadj’s second yellow for Portsmouth in the 71st. Villa briefly tie Liverpool on 47 points though the Reds will play tomorrow and have a better goal differential. Pompey sink below Spurs into fourteenth position.

Speaking of Man United, the men in red recorded their record 11th straight clean sheet with 5-0 dismantling of West Bromich Albion at The Hawthorns. Clearly United are reaching their peak at this point in the season and are now three points clear of Liverpool with equal games played. Again, Liverpool play tomorrow but for now United are clear at the top. Berbatov, Tevez, Vidic and Ronaldo (twice) scored for United. West Brom are in nineteenth.

Tottenham finally found some offense in a home match against sorry Stoke. Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe and Michael Dawson all scored for Spurs in a 3-1 rout of Stoke City at White Hart Lane. While they are not out of the woods by any stretch, Spurs did themselves a favor by picking up the full three points. They are on just 24 points but are now in thirteenth place and within three points of ninth. Stoke are DFL.

Finally, the object of Spurs’ desire, Kenwyne Jones scored a 55th minute goal to give his current club Sunderland a nice 1-0 victory over Fulham at the Stadium of Light. With the win, Sunderland move up to eleventh place, now only behind Fulham for tenth on differential.

Six more matches tomorrow so come back to see the results…

This Isn’t Right

The main headline and story on CNN.com several moments ago was a new study released showing the results of multiple concussions on now-deceased NFL players. The story also talks about still-living former players who have gone through depression, sleep depravation and other problems due to the traumatic injuries to their brains while playing in the NFL. Clearly this is a sports story.

It would stand to reason that a story that important and that explosive would reach the front headlines of every major sports website out there. One would think anyway:

SI.com – sidebar headline – main story and two other headlines are about the Super Bowl (note: SI.com is operated by CNN)
ESPN.com – no headline at all – main story is about the Super Bowl
CBS Sports Line – no headline at all – main story and four other headlines about the Super Bowl
Yahoo Sports – no headline at all – main story and six other headlines about the Super Bowl
Fox Sports – no headline at all – main story and one other headline about the Super Bowl
NBC Sports (who will be airing the Super Bowl) – no headline at all – main story and four other headlines about the Super Bowl

I’m not suggesting collusion but it’s shocking that this kind of story gets absolutely no coverage while there are multiple different stories about the Super Bowl on every single site. I’d be willing to bet that searches concerning gambling odds on everything from the final score to who will win the opening coin flip (can it really be anything other than 50/50?) are easier to find than this story.

I don’t know what it will take for people to take this subject seriously. I know that I probably had a handful of concussions while playing football and that was just through the high school level. The worst two hits I ever took were in practice and one of which was from a guy on my own side of the ball! Maybe if someone like Brett Favre were to die at 45 due to traumatic brain injuries it would shake up the NFL like when Kory Stringer died eight years ago. I hope it doesn’t come to that but it might be the only thing that could actually get the public’s attention.

Premiership Predictions – Week 23

After taking the weekend off for FA Cup fourth round matches, the Premier League returns for some mid-week games. The best match of the week looks like it will be Everton’s trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal. The Toffees are on the outside looking in on European qualification and they can make a big case for their inclusion with an away win in London. Man United can maintain their top billing with a win over lowly West Brom while Liverpool will host Wigan. Aston Villa will need to summon more offense to keep their surge going against Pompey while Chelsea get a home match against Boro.

Tuesday:
Fulham @ Sunderland – Sunderland
Man United @ West Brom – United
Stoke City @ Tottenham – Tottenham
Aston Villa @ Portsmouth – Villa

Wednesday:
Middlesbrough @ Chelsea – Chelsea
Newcastle @ Man City – City
Liverpool @ Wigan – Wigan
Arsenal @ Everton – Everton
Hull City @ West Ham – Hull City
Bolton @ Blackburn – Bolton

Results thus far:

Week 1 – 19 points
Week 2 – 16 points
Week 3 – 12 points
Week 4 – 13 points
Week 5 – 13 points
Week 6 – 27 points
Week 7 – 14 points
Week 8 – 22 points
Week 9 – 18 points
Week 10 – 19 points
Week 11 – 11 points
Week 12 – 10 points
Week 13 – 16 points
Week 14 – 13 points
Week 15 – 9 points
Week 16 – 18 points
Week 17 – 11 points
Week 18 – 14 points
Week 19 – 15 points
Week 20 – 23 points
Week 21 – 21 points
Week 22 – 20 points

Murray, Out

AD Hall favorite Andy Murray was defeated in five sets this morning by Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, failing to reach the quarterfinals in the Australian Open. Murray was a bit of a trendy pick to win the tournament as he has yet to do in any other Grand Slam event.

This has been a really weird tournament so far. There have been some really big upsets (Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Murray, James Blake, etc.) as well as really hot temperatures, fights between fans (mostly Serbs and Croats), an extraordinary number of streakers and what looks like a virus going around between players forcing retirement in several matches. I know the Australian Open is always the wildest and weirdest tournament of the Grand Slam season both because of its location (you know, Southern Hemisphere summer) and the fact that it being the first major tournament, many players aren’t yet in their best shape or focus. But this has been truly bizarre. Who knows, maybe Rafa Nadal will win it and all will be well with the world but I have a feeling the oddities are not yet done in Melbourne.

Draw’s the Game

Both FA Cup matches today were unable to find a single winner. Arsenal started the day traveling to Wales and drawing Cardiff City nil-nil at Ninian Park. The match was quite different from other nil-nil matches we’ve seen this season as both clubs had ample opportunities in a very exciting match. The Emirates Stadium will now play host to the re-match.

The other match today saw Liverpool even out Everton 1-1 when Steven Gerrard scored in the 54th minute at Anfield Road. Joleon Lescott had given the Toffees the lead on his header in the 27th minute but Everton were unable to keep the Reds from hitting the back of the net. Goodison Park will host the rivalry re-match on February 4.

Spurs Crash Out of FA Cup

With their quick-strike capabilities on display, Manchester United slipped past Tottenham in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup today at Old Trafford, 2-1. Roman Pavlyuchenko opened the scoring with a quick goal in the fifth minute for Spurs and gave the underdogs early hope. But in the 35th and 36th minutes, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov (against his former club) tallied successive goals to give United the lead, 2-1. That score would hold through a tough second half to send United through and send Spurs crashing out of the FA Cup.