Posted by Creaven on January 21, 2010 under England, Europe, MLS, Major League Soccer, Premier League, USMNT, United States, World Cup | 
Popular columnists have real Q&A columns. Readers e-mail questions and the columnist answers them once every couple weeks. But I’m not popular. I might get a question or two in the comment section but not enough to write an entire column. So what should I do?
Simple. Make my own questions! I get to use a column format I’ve always enjoyed and I get the questions I want. Perfect. It’s like a Republican going on Fox News; it’s impossible to fuck up. So let’s get to it…
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Posted by Creaven on January 19, 2010 under World Cup |
Even before Clint Dempsey plopped to the ground Sunday the United States was already nearing The Tipping Point.
Charlie Davies is recovering from a shattered leg; Oguchi Onyewu is trying to rush back from a patellar tendon rapture (his knee is fucked up); Jermaine Jones might never recover from his broken leg; Jozy Altidore can’t score a goal in the English Premier League; Carlos Bocanegra is stuck on the Stade Rennes’ bench; DaMarcus Beasley started playing well for the first time in years and then tore his hamstring.
Now it’s looking likely Dempsey is going to get as much playing time at the World Cup as I am. After the World Cup draw U.S. fans (including me) were oozing with optimism, but with Robbie Rodgers probably making the team Algeria and Slovenia suddenly seem like much tougher foes. But are things really that bad? Let’s take a look…
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Tags: Algeria, Bob Bradley, Clint Dempsey, English Premier League, Fulham, Hull, Jermaine Jones, Jozy Alitdore, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Slovenia, World Cup
Posted by Creaven on January 15, 2010 under Major League Soccer |
Awwwww, Major League Soccer. If anyone should be an MLS fan it should be me. I grew up playing the sport; I love watching the sport; I’ve covered the sport at the high school, college and professional level; I have a blog called IntelligentSoccer.com. If the MLS can’t win me over there’s something seriously wrong.
So why doesn’t MLS connect with me? First, the product is terrible compared to other leagues. Why would I want to watch the Kansas City Wizard play the Columbus Crew when, every week, I can watch matches from the English Premier League, La Liga, Seire A and Bundesliga? What is MLS’s solution to the product problem? Expansion, of course. Copying the NHL’s over expansion plan might no be a brilliant idea, just throwing it out there.
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Posted by Creaven on January 14, 2010 under World Cup |
This has happened to everyone. You have a fantastic idea, but it’s so obvious you assume someone else has already thought of it. So you dismiss it, thinking there must be some fatal flaw in your idea that doesn’t make it possible.
I’m 75 percent sure this idea (which I will get to, I promise) won’t work because of some rule I’m not familiar with. But, if there isn’t a rule, and you can do this, then all 32 World Cup head coaches should take advantage of it.
It’s really simple. In a couple months, teams that qualified for the World Cup will name their 23-man rosters. Of those 23 players, three have to be goalies*(read note at the bottom). So here’s the idea: For the three mandatory goalie spots, coaches should name two “real” goalies and one field player, but just call the field player a goalie.
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Posted by Creaven on December 11, 2009 under England, Premier League, United States |
One of my favorite Web site’s is Sports Illustrated’s SI Vault. If you’re not familiar with it, the SI Vault has every article ever published by Sports Illustrated; it’s a heavenly digital oasis for avid sports fans.
A few weeks ago, on one of my endless surfing sessions of The Vault, I came across an intriguing feature story on an emerging young American soccer player in Germany named Landon Donovan. Published April 17, 2000, the article looks at a homesick teenage boy trying to find his way on the soccer field and in life. One of the most telling quotes in the story was Donovan saying, “What happens if I drink a beer and become an alcoholic? What if I try something else and I like it? I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to play soccer.” Shockingly, Donovan didn’t last much longer in Germany.
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Posted by Creaven on December 4, 2009 under England, USMNT, United States, World Cup |
This is how lucky the United States got Friday.
After the U.S. was drawn in Group C with England, if I could have handpicked a country from Pot 3 and Pot 4 I would have selected Algeria and Slovenia (if you don’t believe me, I worte it yesterday). For the U.S. to actually draw both those teams there was a 1/64 (1.5 percent) chance. It was the exact same odds a poker player has of hitting a runner-runner straight in Texas Holdem. In other words, the U.S. (and England too for that matter) hit the jackpot.
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Tags: Alexi Lalas, Algeria, Bob Levy, Brazil, Efan Ekoku, England, Fabio Capello, Ivory Coast, John Harkes, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Martin Tyler, North Korea, Portugal, Slovenia, teve McManaman, United States, Wayne Rooney, World Cup
Posted by Creaven on December 3, 2009 under USMNT, United States, World Cup |
At about 12:o3 p.m. EST on Friday, someone on ESPN (probably Alexi Lalas or John Harkes) will give the following monologue:
“This is the day we’ve been waiting for. Trying to make predictions before the draw is foolish because no one knows who’s playing who. It’s all about matchups! Depending on the group, the U.S. could be a strong quarterfinal candidate or it might be a candidate to leave South Africa without a point. This is so exciting! Finally we’re going to know what the U.S. chances are at the 2010 World Cup.”
This, ladies and gentleman, is bullshit.
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Tags: Alexi Lalas, Algeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Carlos Bocanegra, Charlie Davies, Chile, Denmark, Didier Drogba, France, Ghana, Greece, Ivory Coast, John Harkes, Maurice Edu, Oguchi Onyewu, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, United States, World Cup
Posted by Creaven on December 2, 2009 under USMNT, United States |
I’m baaaack!!!
Bill Simmons interviewed Landon Donovan on his podcast about two weeks ago and an interesting question was raised in the final minute.
If U.S. soccer wanted to play all or most of its matches in one city, like most countries around the world, what city should be America’s “home” city?
It’s a good “that would be cool but it will never happen” question. But who cares, let’s answer it anyway.
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Posted by Creaven on September 11, 2009 under Premier League, USMNT, United States |
It’s always encouraging when you field a bad team and win on the road. It took some luck — Cornell Glenn hitting the crossbar, Ricardo Clark turning into Steven Gerrard for a split second — but the United States beating Trinidad and Tobago 1-0, is a result the Americans probably had to get.
But let me reiterate, this team Bob Bradley selected was bad. If this exact lineup plays against Hondurus Oct. 10 the U.S. loses by at least two goals (I think U.S. is the underdog against Honduras no matter what the lineup is). That said, the Americans left the Port-of-Spain with three points and that’s what’s important.
To the grades…
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Tags: Argentina, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Carl Edwards, Carlos Bocanegra, Charlie Davies, Clayton Ince, Clint Dempsey, Cornell Glen, EPL Betting Challenge, ESPN, Honduras, John Harkes, Jonathan Bornstien, Jonathan Spector, Jose Mourinho, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Tim Howard, Trinidad & Tobago, United States
Posted by Creaven on August 28, 2009 under England, Premier League |
Going to make this quick this week.
Week 3 picks (remember all bets are $10):
Liverpool to beat host Bolton (-200)
Wolves to draw visiting Hull (+220)
Aston Villa to beat visiting Fulham (-142)
Last week review:
Manchester United to beat host Wigan (-200) — ManU 5, WIG 0 (WIN, $5.00)
Arsenal to beat visiting Portsmouth (-625) — ARS 4, POR 1 (WIN, $1.60)
Sunderland to draw visiting Blackburn (+225) — SUN 2, BLA 1 (LOSS, $10)
Season Review:
Record: 4-2
Money: $39.60 (started with $50)
Tags: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton, EPL Betting Challenge, Fulham, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester United, Porstmouth, Sunderland, Wigan, Wolves
