Posted by Creaven on May 31, 2010 under Media, Miscellaneous | 
I knew ESPN was going to hype the United States-England match as much as humanly possible, but I didn’t think they were going to go to the mattresses. I was wrong.
For a company that usually shies away from any kind of political controversy whatsoever, ESPN is taking a considerable risk with it’s new World Cup ad, “Glory.”
If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is…
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Posted by Creaven on May 29, 2010 under United States, USMNT |
I got a busy Saturday so we’re going to have to do this alphabet style:
A.Landon Donovan could play on any team in the world. He was fantastic, making both U.S. goals. His awareness and composure on the ball is on a different level compared to his teammates. He has to carry the team this next month and he just might.
B. Turkey is a good team. Much better than Algeria and more talented than Slovenia. It’s a good win and after a dominating second half it’s was deserved.
C. Clint Dempsey is the Chris Carter of soccer. All he does is score goals. When his team needs one he gets one. There’s never been an American player like him.
D. I’m still worried about Oguchi Oneywu. When I saw worried, I mean I can’t sleep at night.
E. What that chip pass the greatest pass in Robbie Findley’s life? Real Salt Lake fans please answer.
F. The U.S. plays best when they play a 4-4-2. I still think it will work best if Donovan plays upfront with Altidore and Holden plays in the midfield. Bob Bradley will eventually figure this out, but it might not be until the Algeria match.
G. Jose Torres is a better player than Benny Feilhaber. It’s not even close.
H. John Harkes and Alexi Lalas weren’t bad. Looks like they’re raising their game for the World Cup. We’ll see…
I. Turkey’s uniform’s are sick.
J. Ricardo Clark isn’t very good. His defense in the first half was terrible. He is the worst American player playing in a first division in Europe.
K. Steve Cherundolo is your starting right back against England. The safest prediction I have ever made in my life.
L. New Rule: Jonathan Spector isn’t allowed to go more the 15 yards past the center half line.
M. I’m out of time…More later….maybe
Posted by Creaven on May 27, 2010 under Media, Miscellaneous |
Sometimes you just know when something is special.
Maybe you’re not into classical music, but you know you’re listening to something extraordinary when you hear Bach’s Goldberg Variations. You might not be a movie buff, but it doesn’t take a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to know The Godfather is cinema at its finest. Some people could care less about art, but it doesn’t mean they’re still not enthralled by the painting Las Meninas.
Even if you press the mute button during commercial breaks and even if you have never seen a soccer match in your life, Nike’s 2010 World Cup commercial can still give you goosebumps.
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Tags: Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribery, Kobe Bryant, Landon Donovan, Roger Federer, Ronaldinho, Theo Walcott, Thiago Silva, Tim Howard, Wayne Rooney
Posted by Creaven on May 26, 2010 under United States, USMNT |
Well, well, well. Bob Bradley decides to give bloggers something to write about.
Seeing Robbie Findley standing with his teammates this afternoon was head-scratching. Bradley is taking three forwards that essentially have the same resume: Herculez Gomez, Edson Buddle and Findley. All are relatively fast, athletic, are playing well right now (except for Findley) and none of them, compared to other World Cup forwards, are good soccer players.
So, is it really worth taking all three of them instead of two, or maybe even one? Well, here is my argument for and against the Findley decision.
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Tags: Alejandro Bedoya, Brian Ching, Clint Dempsey, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Robbie Findley, Roobie Rodgers, Stuart Holden, United States
Posted by Creaven on under Uncategorized |
Even before the United States 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic there were already plenty of reasons for U.S. fans can worry.
Jozy Altidore only scored two goals during the entire English Premier League season; Onyewu, Bocanegra and DeMerit are all not 100 percent and maybe a lot less; there isn’t an average left back on the squad; Ching is a lock to go to South Africa.
Then came the Czech game, and not only did all these problems remain but new one’s are popping up.
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Posted by Creaven on May 22, 2010 under Champions League, Europe |
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The Champions League final was a decent kickoff to what should be two months of fantastic soccer. No, Saturday’s final in Madrid wasn’t an instant classic, and other than it being Mourinho’s final match at Inter it probably won’t be memorable 10 years from now. But it was a solid match, and until Milito’s second goal one could convince oneself Bayern still had a chance. In the end, though, the best team and coach won the trophy.
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Posted by Creaven on under Europe |
I wrote this about two weeks ago, but I thought I would repost it with Inter winning the Champions League this afternoon.
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He’s so good at languages he created Rosetta Stone; his attention to detail is so meticulous, Stephen Hawking asks him check his work; he loves the press, even when he hates them; he’s arrogant, but he’s so successful he’s relatively humble; his tactics are so good, he consults Barack Obama on Afghanistan military strategy; straight male Chelsea supporters become homosexuals when they make eye contact with him; he won the European Champions League — with a team from Portugal!; he’s won league titles in three different countries; he’s the best coach, in any sport, this millennium; he is The Special One.
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Posted by Creaven on May 11, 2010 under United States, USMNT, World Cup |
I set a low bar for Bob Bradley and he easily cleared it today when he named his 30-man preliminary roster.
Like I wrote yesterday, all I wanted him to do was:
1. Name only three goalies.
2. Don’t name less than 30 players.
3. Leave Frankie Hejduk in Columbus.
Pass, pass and pass. Plus, he surprised me and left Conor Casey out of the squad. There’s nearly a zero percent chance I’m going to have to watch Casey rumble around a grass field in South Africa this summer and that makes me very happy.
The big news from the roster is Davies’ comeback falling short, so let’s start there…
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Tags: Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson, Alejandro Bedoya, Ashley Young, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Brad Guzan, Brian Ching, Carlos Bocanegra, Chad Marshall, Charlie Davies, Clarence Goodson, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson, Edson Buddle, England, Fabio Capello, Frankie Hejduk, Heath Pearce, Herculez Gomez, James Milner, Jay DeMerit, Joe Cole, Jonathan Bornstein, Jonathan Spector, Jose Torres, Jozy Altidore, Kyle Beckerman, Landon Donovan, Marcus Hahnemann, Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Robbie Findley, Robbie Rogers, Sacha Kljestan, Shuan Wright-Phillips, Steve Cherundolo, Stuart Holden, Theo Walcott, Tim Howard, United States, World Cup
Posted by Creaven on May 10, 2010 under United States, USMNT, World Cup |
Let the Bob Bradley scrutiny begin!
In the next eight weeks or so, with an increasingly “intelligent” American soccer public, Bob Bradley will be under the microscope unlike any American soccer coach in history. Of course, it won’t compare to the pressure in England, Brazil, Germany, Argentina or most anywhere else for that matter. But thanks to a unbelievably favorable draw, Bradley is expected to get his team out of the group and if he doesn’t he won’t have a job come July.
The first of many dissected Bradley decisions comes tomorrow, when the preliminary 30-man roster is announced on ESPN News at 11 a.m. PST. The goal for Bradley when naming this roster should be a simple one: Don’t do anything stupid. That’s all I ask. If you name some player I’ve never heard of, fine, I’m cool with that. It’s your job to know something the rest of us don’t. But what’s not cool is if you do one of the following:
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Tags: Alejandro Bedoya, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Brad Guzan, Brian Ching, Carlos Bocanegra, Chad Marshall, Charlie Davies, Clarence Goodson, Clint Dempsey, Conor Casey, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson, Edson Buddle, Frankie Hejduk, Freddy Adu, Heath Pearce, Herculez Gomez, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Bornstein, Jonathon Spector, Jose Torres, Jozy Altidore, Kyle Beckerman, Landon Donovan, Marcus Hahnemann, Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Steve Cherundolo, Stuart Holden, Tim Howard
I knew ESPN was going to hype the United States-England match as much as humanly possible, but I didn’t think they were going to go to the mattresses. I was wrong.