Facts

This is a blog, and as such I am under no obligation to hide my opinion. But in this particular piece, a reality check is getting deposited into your brain banks. If you'd prefer to think of it as the cold hard cash of truth, that's your prerogative. Let's look at four NHL players, shall we?

Alex Ovechkin, LW Washington Capitals

GP	G	AST	PTS	SOG	+/-
28	23	18	41	150	17

Sidney Crosby, C Pittsburgh Penguins

GP	G	AST	PTS	SOG	+/-
35	22	21	43	132	14

Evgeni Malkin, C Pittsburgh Penguins

GP	G	AST	PTS	SOG	+/-
29	10	24	34	120	13

Eric Staal, C Carolina Hurricanes

GP	G	AST	PTS	SOG	+/-
25	6	13	19	108	-6

Just from looking at these stats, the casual observer could tell you that one of these things is not like the others. What the casual observer may not be able to tell you is that these four men have, as of the '09-'10 NHL season, the highest salary cap hits in the league. That number is not exactly indicative of actual salary for a particular year, but it is the average salary that the player will earn over the course of their contract. Respectively, Ovechkin's hit is $9.5 million, Crosby and Malkin both are at $8.7 mil, and Staal brings up the rear at $8.25 million. For comparison, the next highest cap hit is Brad Richards of the Stars at $7.8 million.

What the hell is wrong with this picture? Not only is Staal the only player of the 4 highest paid NHL'ers with a negative +/- rating, he has significantly less points than all three of his cash-earning peers. This may stem from the fact that he has played less games than the others, but again, who is paying him an average of $8.25 million to not play hockey games?

Points per game as of today, '09-'10:
Ovechkin: 41 pts in 28 games = 1.464 (holy toledo)
Crosby: 43 in 35 = 1.229
Malkin: 34 in 29 = 1.172
Staal: 19 in 25 = 0.76

Again: THESE ARE FACTS.






































Another fact: He loves Nintendo. Okay, I don't know if that's a fact or not.

How to beat the North Carolina Panthers

Shut down the running game and make them give it to this guy:





Would you want him on your team on third and fifteen?

Zlatan v. Eto'o: Who's better?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic switched from Inter Milan to Barcelona. This is an awesome pick up for Barcelona. But the catch was…..they gave up Samuel Eto’o. Eto’o will now call the San Siro his home for the foreseeable future. There have been people claiming various things from Barcelona have gotten the better end of the deal to both teams will benefit equally. I even read one article where the author called Eto’o (28) “old” and Zlatan (27) “young”. They are one year apart!!! Watching both these players play with their respective club teams over the past two years, I have noticed some things about these two world class players.

When watching Zlatan play with Inter Milan the past two years, I noticed that he disappears in big games. He just does not have that killer drive to finish off big teams most of the time. Eto’o, on the other hand, consistently shows up in big games with big goals for Barcelona. Let’s look at the stats from the past two years.

When talking about Zlatan, we will rate his play in big Serie A games. He will be judged against the four other big teams in Italy: AC Milan, Juventus, Roma, and Fiorentina. In two Serie A seasons (16 big games total), he scored 5 goals. 4 of those goals came in two games and another one was a penalty. So he did not score in 13 of the 16 biggest league games for Inter. Even worse, he hasn’t scored league goals against AC Milan OR Juventus in this time frame (8 games).
Now let’s look at Eto’o. We will compare him to the same standards in La Liga. The teams I used were Real Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, and Atletico Madrid. Eto’o has scored 9 goals in the 16 biggest La Liga games for Barcelona, with one being a penalty. Plus, he has scored at least one goal against all of the big teams. He did, however, fail to score in 7 of those games. But he was injured two seasons ago (07/08) and missed 3 of these big games. So he, technically, went 4 games without scoring.

Still don’t think Eto’o is a big game player? Let’s look at the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona have 3 titles in their history and Eto’o has been on two of those teams. Not only that, but he has scored in the two finals that he has played in. Zlatan has yet to play in a semi-final and is always criticized about his lack of goals and overall production in the Champions League.

Let’s now look at overall league goals. In 08/09, both players did not have injury problems and were available for all 38 league games if their coaches chose to play them. Zlatan scored 25, the most in Serie A. Eto’o scored 30 goals, but he only registered second place in La Liga goals scored! First went to Diego Forlan with 32.

In 07/08, both strikers had injury problems, with Eto’o’s keeping him out for the longer period of time. Eto’o scored 16 league goals in 18 games. Zlatan scored 17 goals in 26 games. If Eto’o played the same amount of games Zlatan did two years ago, he would be on pace to have scored 23 goals.

Individually these players are quite different. Zlatan is a target man and is used to being out of the play for as long as 10 minutes. He doesn’t do a whole lot of movement to get the ball either. He usually stands between the two center backs and throws his hands up in disgust sometimes if he doesn’t get the perfect pass. He is allowed to be very selfish with his decision making as well, being he is the focus of Inter's attack. Eto’o comes from a team where it is all about total team movement. He drifts out wide on both flanks and comes deep if it means it will help the team offensively. Need examples? His two Champions League final goals came from him making runs from the wide position. Matter of fact, he was positioned out wide right in the 08/09 final and he played that position well because he knew what was on the line. Could Zlatan do that? I can seriously see Zlatan pouting and not trying if Guardiola told him to start anywhere besides central striker. Barcelona plays with constant team movement, even if the ball is on the other side of the field. This is a concept that many people are fans of called “Total Football” (Speaking of Total Football, shout out to the ’74 Holland World Cup team, the best team to never win the World Cup). When watching Zlatan, he stands still if there is no chance of him getting the ball with little regard for cutting passing lanes between the center backs. This total football will not work for him because he does not have the industry, hustle, and drive that Eto’o does. Barcelona will have to change their style of play to better suit Zlatan.

Now many will ask “Why did this switch even happen?” I believe this is Guardiola trying to make this Barcelona team HIS team. They did win the Spanish treble last season, but it was all with Frank Rijkaard’s boys. This Zlatan acquisition is the first big step in the Guardiola-era. He wants the team to be built around Lionel Messi and sees Zlatan as the perfect strike partner for him. Good Luck having two selfish players as strike partners.

As for Inter’s new hit man, manager Jose Mourinho can get the best out of a lot of players. Example? Eidur Gudjohnsen. While at Chelsea, Mourinho got a lot out of Gudjohnsen, but not as a striker. It was as a midfielder with Drogba as a lone striker. That’s right. Eidur played in the midfield for Chelsea for two years and to great effect, despite the naysayers who said playing him in the center of midfield was a crazy idea. So I’m sure Mourinho can take Eto’o and get the most out of him, even if it sometimes means not being a central striker. But I’m almost certain that Eto’o, as long as he is helping the team, is ok with that.

So I believe that Eto’o/Inter got the much better end of the deal. They have a big game player who has won a lot and still looks hungry to win more. Now don’t get me wrong; Zlatan will get his fair share of goals with Barcelona. Double digits? More than likely. 20+? A good solid maybe. But how many will be big, important goals? Especially now that he is not the main focus of his team’s offense. You can watch all the YouTube clips of Zlatan you want, but over a 90 minute game, I’ll take Eto’o.

Marvell Wynne: Born in the Wrong Country

I just watched Toronto FC lose to the Puerto Rico Islanders in the CONCACAF Champions League (a joke of a tournament in the first place), which means they are eliminated. One player who was noticably disappointing was Marvell Wynne. The more I watch Marvell Wynne, the more I think about how much of a better soccer player he would be if he were born in Europe. Now, one can say that about every player not born in Europe but for Wynne I feel especially sorry for him.

I believe I can imagine fairly accurately how he was coached growing up. He was always faster than the other kids, so coaches encouraged him to "hustle" and "always go fast/hard". I think these coaches let actual tactics and defensive positioning slip through the learning process because Wynne can always sprint back. Which is absolutely wrong. The more I watch him, the more I notice he is out of position. When the USA played Costa Rica, his awful positioning forced Onyewu over to the right to cover for him being inexcusably too far up the field when three Costa Rica players were on his side of the field. But Wynne caught up with them so it was all good, right? No. Costa Rica tore the USA apart with the give-and-go (no matter how fast you are, you can't outrun the ball) and scored their 2nd goal.

A good friend of mine is a big fan of Marvell Wynne. She always talks about how fast and strong he is. And it's very true. The kid has speed to burn and is very strong. But that's where the compliments end. The same goes for soccer announcers as well. After they get done talking about his physical attributes, they move on to a different subject. No one ever talks about his skill on the ball, his tackling, his crossing, positioning, or other nessessary skills that are crucial for an outside back to have. Truth is he has very little of that. It just goes to show how soccer is treated in this country. He played for UCLA for two years, a prestigious soccer college. I still ask why? Is that all one needs to be good at soccer in this country? Just to be faster than everyone else?

Wynne is the same age as Johnathan Spector. In my opinion (and hopefully most people's), I would pick Spector over Wynne any day of the week. Spector is a lot slower than Wynne, but that is the only thing Wynne has over Spector. All those attributes I talked about in the previous paragraph, Spector has them. Not only does he have them, he has shown them (most recently in the Confederations Cup). Spector is in Europe as well. I doubt Wynne will ever go to Europe.

Now look at a player like Micah Richards, an English right back who is currently starting for Manchester City. He became a full starter at 18 years old in 2006. He is very similar to Wynne as far as phyiscal traits are concerned. But it did not matter to coaches in England as a youth trainee. They still made sure he had the basics drilled in him. Richards is two years younger than Wynne but is a much more accomplished right back and is a candidate for England's 2010 World Cup roster. Unless multiple injuries occur, Wynne isn't going to South Africa next summer.


If Wynne was born in any other country, he would be a better player. But in America coaches took his speed for granted. Now he is suffering for it. At 23 he can still improve. But from what I've seen so far I truly think he is playing to his full potential.

No information, no opinion, just funny

I saw this on a hockey message board yesterday. I guess really, the right thing to do would be to message this dude, ask his permission, blah blah blah; but since I doubt anyone's going to read this anyway I'll just put it up here for enjoyment. Anyway, the debate at hand was whether or not Cam Ward is the best goalie in the NHL (just for the record, I would say no... I think he has the potential to be but statistically that just can't be justified right now) and a poster using the handle 'elriz' who appears to be a Vancouver fan posted this nugget:


Hockey Fans don't love you right
That Conn Smythe is everything you need
Your regular season states inside the cage
.903 save per-cent-age
Don't matter because you are my hero!

Cam! I wish I was your lover
I'd start you till the playoffs come
Help you stretch your legs and keep that groin warm
I am everything
Tonight I'll be your trainer
Talk about that Stanley Cup to ease your pain
Free your mind and you won't feel ashamed

Elriz was also so kind as to embed this YouTube of two girls karaoke-ing the song in what I assume is a dorm or something.



Two things strike me about this video: One, these girls seem too dressed up to be drinking and doing karaoke at home alone. Two, there's an NC State picture/poster/something or other hanging on the wall, which would suggest that these are Raleigh girls; it's weird that a Vancouverian (Vancouverite? Vancouveran?) would evoke, from all the videos on YouTube, some Raleighans (I'm pretty sure that's right) while discussing Cam Ward.

Arshavin and Arsenal FC

This is hard for me to write because I hate Arsenal FC. They are the team that introduced diving to the Premier League and I hate them more than any other team. Now that I got that out of the way....

Here's the blog:
Most who pay attention to the transfer market know that Arsenal sold Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City to become their 30th striker (actually its around 8, but who's counting?). After the unveiling and pictures of Adebayor in Manchester, some comments were about who Arsenal might but to replace him. Maybe Eduardo, or how about Tomas Rosicky scoring goals from the midfield? Maybe this will be Nicklas Bendtner's break out season!


One player that people are not talking about is Andrei Arshavin, the Russian attacking player. I call him an attacking player because he can play just about anywhere, top forward, withdrawn forward, attacking central midfield, left wing, right wing, etc. This is not speculation, either. Not only have I seen him do it with Russia and Zenit St. Petersburg, he's scored goals as well. None other than Zinedine Zidane said after Euro 2008, Arshavin was destined for greatness. Even before Euro 2008 started, Arshavin led Zenit to lifting the 2008 UEFA Cup, beating Rangers 2-0. His assist on the first goal was one of the best passes I've ever seen. He also helped set up the 2nd goal as well.


I think its time that Arsene Wenger puts Arshavin up front with, well, it doesn't really matter. He makes players along side him better. In Euro 2008 he was banned for the first two games while Russia looked out of sorts, barely winning their 2nd game 1-0. Arshavin made his return for Russia's must win game against Sweden and registered a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory. Arshavin made Roman Pavlyuchenko look world class. Anyone who has seen Roman play in other games besides Euro 2008 knows that he is far from the world class standard. Two of his three goals came from gift-wrapped passes from Arshavin (the other goal was a very late one against Spain in a 4-1 loss). Put Bendtner or Eduardo along side him. Bottom line is that Arshavin will make a team better by his presence on the field. Any one remember his 4 goals against Liverpool in a 4-4 draw a few months back? The English media seems to not remember. When was the last time anyone scored 4 goals against Liverpool in 90 mins (at Anfield, no less)?? When I'm done writing this, I'll try to look for it on Google or something.


This could be a turning point for Arsenal as well. Wenger seems to be trapped into getting good deals on young talent, hoping that they soon develop into world class players. While he has had success in the past, he had veterans to help them along. He bought Kolo Toure for 150,000 pounds but Toure played along side Sol Campbell. He bought Thierry Henry, granted for a lot more than Toure, but Henry struggled his first season in England. But who was his striking partner? The legendary Dennis Bergkamp. The rest is goal scoring history.


Wenger doesn't have that veteran player leadership to bring young players along anymore. Evidence is how badly Fabregas' play has fallen in the past year. When he has a bad game, who will tell him to hold his head up high and forget about it? Eboue? Doubt it. How long are Arsenal FC going to be called the "Young Gunners"? Its been their nickname for close to 3 or 4 years now.


Wenger needs to invest in ready made players who will show up and be effective immediately, not wait a few years for them to develop like Denilson and Diaby. Sure it will cost more money but these players won't require extreme patience that I'm sure the Arsenal FC supporters are running out of. Word of advice to Wenger, make sure you buy around Arshavin. That would be your smartest move if you want to get your hands on a trophy next season, which will end a near 5 year drought.

As a Manchester United fan, I was very happy that Arshavin was ineligible to play with Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final. The Russian playmaker might have just torn Man Utd to pieces.

P.S. Wenger needs to give Arshavin the #10 shirt. William Gallas, a central defender, currently has the #10 shirt. That has got to be the biggest joke I've ever seen.

Storm brewing? More Hurricanes ranting, lots of fight videos

Sorry, I couldn't resist the awful pun, or the chance to talk some more about the Hurricanes. My prediction from the other day only half came true, and I admit that I was incorrect. Though Babchuk was not part of the deal, the Hurricanes did trade Patrick Eaves (and a fourth round pick in 2010) for a veteran defenseman. Here's the official statement! I did not imagine that it would be former Hurricane Aaron Ward, although maybe I should have. GM Jim Rutherford has a history of returning players to the fold that he's familiar with; Ron Francis for example, or more recently Erik Cole.

All that was fact, but since this is a blog it's totally cool for me to spout an opinion like I'm an informed source. So here I go, take it or leave it. I'm pretty psyched about this trade. Like I wrote before, Patrick Eaves is a good player who just wasn't working out in Carolina, it was best for him and for the team to part ways. Ward is exactly the type of player that Rutherford was coveting: big, physical, defensive-minded D-man who can play top-pairing minutes. Most recently he was paired with Boston's marquee defenseman, the gargantuan Zdeno Chara. Even brand new Carolina fans should be pretty familiar with those two guys from the second-round playoff matchup a few months ago, a series that the Canes won in seven games. Ward, and Huricane Scott Walker, made headlines all over the NHL world for an altercation in the dwindling minutes of Game 5 in which Walker's ungloved fist made some pretty solid contact with Ward's face. Some serious controversy ensued, one which I will attempt to shy away from. Peep these two videos of the incident, and decide for yourself:





Ah well, since I can say whatever I want, I'll just say that while Walker probably should have been suspended for it by the letter of the law, Ward was obviously roughing up Matt Cullen and Walker was just stepping in to put a stop to that. (I will also say that the vitriol being spewed by Boston fans in the comments section of YouTube is pretty hilarious.) What I wonder now is, what's the mood in the locker room going to be like now? Walker and Ward are just the most noteworthy examples, but with a few new faces wearing the Hurricane logo next year (Tom Kostopoulos, Andrew Alberts, now Ward) will the vibe be distorted or can they let bygones be bygones? My gut says that they probably will, being professionals and all, but check out some more fight videos, the combatants therein all being under contract with Carolina for 09-10:







Jeez Louise, pepper cheese. I'm loving the grit that these players bring to the team, but hopefully they won't also bring drama and dischord to the chemistry. Speaking of chemistry, here's how the lines are projected, according to hurricanes.nhl.com:

Whitney-Staal-Cole
Samsonov-Cullen-Ruutu
LaRose-Jokinen-Walker
Conboy-Brind'Amour-Kostopoulos

Gleason-Corvo
Pitkanen-Ward
Wallin-Alberts

I'm not sure why Gleason-Corvo is given ahead of Pitkanen-Ward, but other than that I have to say this looks like a pretty sick lineup. This is all subject to change over the course of the year or even during the course of a game, but as that stands I like it. Nice mix of physicality and finesse, all the way down.

I'm getting more and more pumped for this hockey season.

Hurricanes ranting

You know what the worst feeling in the world is? When you get out of the shower, and you're all clean and ready to start your day and everything, and all of a sudden, an overwhelming need to poop overtakes you. Your shower will be essentially voided.

Anyway. I had hoped not to turn my contributions to this blog into solely Carolina Hurricanes opinions, but there's not much else going on that I feel qualified to talk about. So, here goes.

GM Jim Rutherford has told the media that strengthening the defense would be among his chief goals over the offseason; with free agents Anton Babchuk and Dennis Seidenberg both having career years, it's likely that they will seek some sort of pay raise and Carolina is probably not the organization that's going to give it to them. Both are good, young defensemen that I, as a Carolina fan, am sorry to see go. However, neither really has shown at this point that they are true standout top-pairing D-men, and that is the type of player that Rutherford has gone on record as being in the hunt for. If he were to accomplish the task of bringing in a serious stud defender to play top minutes with Joni Pitkanen, Carolina probably would not miss Babchuk's 16 goals from last season. A legitimate one-two punch on defense has been something that Carolina has never really had since relocating from Hartford, and even before that the "Forever .500" Whalers rare flashes of success were usually carried by their offense.

In order to make this happen, Rutherford has expressed interest in trading a forward along with, most fans assume, Anton Babchuk. Babchuk is a restricted free agent, so his rights still belong to Carolina, though both he and Rutherford seem to agree that Raleigh is not the best place for him next year. Babchuk's tenure with the Hurricanes has been stressed ever since he was sent down to the minors in 2007 and failed to report to the team. He was then suspended and played for a year in Russia before returning to Carolina where he won over some fans this past year by leading the team defensemen in goals with 16 (a number that was fourth highest in the NHL among defensemen) and holding a +/- of +13, second only to Pitkanen. However, he straight up disappeared in the playoffs, with only one assist and -5 in 13 games, plus being a contributing factor to the goal in game 4 of the Pittsburgh series that put the Pens in control for good. Check out 2:05 of this video:



The only thing more painful than watching that happen was hearing Pierre McGuire say 'OMG' during a broadcast. What a tool.

Anyway, since Babchuk will probably be packaged with a forward to bring another defender to Raleigh, the question is, which one? My money is on Patrick Eaves, a winger who once scored 20 goals in a season with the Ottawa Senators, but has been relegated to playing mostly fourth-line duty in Carolina. Eaves is a good hockey player, fast, smart defensively, and with a really quick wrist shot; I just don't see him really working out in Raleigh being so far down the depth chart. Would Babchuk and Eaves together be enough to seal a deal for a big-time defender? A team that's in danger of running over the salary cap might have to give one up, and neither Babchuk and Eaves are making superstar money. Babchuk and his agent would of course need to work out a deal with his new team and they've shown that big money is what they are interested in. I worry that those two players alone won't be enough, and that Rutherford will be tempted to deal another restricted free agent in Tuomo Ruutu.

Ruutu set career highs last year in goals, assists, points, and ice time per game, playing most of the season on the top line with Eric Staal, but has yet to re-sign and has filed for salary arbitration. While this doesn't necessarily mean that he is on his way out (Chad LaRose filed for arbitration last year and reached a new agreement before the arbitration hearing even happened), the uncertainty there may open the door for other teams looking to sweeten that Babchuk deal. Trading him would be a big mistake in my opinion, as he, along with Erik Cole, add a physical dimension that many of Carolina's other forwards are lacking. After his first game in a Carolina sweater, Ruutu looked like this:

That's the face of someone who lays it all on the line, and Carolina fans have recognized that and salute him for it with loud 'RUUUUU's at the RBC Center. Unless Rutherford could get someone like Scott Neidermayer in return, I doubt that getting rid of Ruutu would go over too well with the fanbase, not to mention the hole in would leave in the forward corps.

In short, well, there wasn't really a point to all of this, other than to voice my opinions. Rutherford has shown that he's pretty good at this general manager thing, keeping the Hurricanes competitive even under a budget that never spends all the way to the salary cap ceiling. The race for the Southeast Division title will probably have two horses in it, the Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals, and I predict it will be a tight one.

"Fat" Ronaldo is still Ronaldo. Period.

Brazil's top league just ended their season. It's WAY too hard for me to figure out how this season actually works (not to sound cocky, but that's saying something). But I do know that Ronaldo finished the season with 14 goals in only 15 games for Corinthians. They also won the Campeonato Paulista and the Copa do Brasil. Is this a coincidence? Surely it must be because Ronaldo is "fat", right? He can't possibly be good if he is "overweight".

Truth be told he still performs, even to this day, despite all the negative things the world has said about him for about 3 years now. True, he doesn't fit the mold of the traditional Brazilian soccer player. So when everyone sees him being a little chubbier than in 2002, everyone assumes that he is no longer good, which is not true.

I believe this whole "fat" thing started to happen in early 2006. He tore some leg muscle or something (can't quite remember the specific injury) for Real Madrid and was injured for a large chunk of the 2nd half of the season. This was not his first leg injury. He had major knee issues in '98 and '00. In '00, one doctor told him he may never play again. When the '06 injury happened, I believe he got a little depressed that he keeps getting injured at crucial times in his career. This led to him failing to rehab properly, which is no excuse on a professional level. But he is also a human who still cannot get away from serious injuries. Bottom line is depression happens, even to great athletes.

When Brazil met to train for the 2006 World Cup pictures of Ronaldo training showed up and people started to call him fat. True he weighed more than he did in 2002, 20 pounds more to be exact, but he had been injured and assured people with a few weeks of training he would be back to his normal weight. He was slowly losing the weight in the summer, but his production on the field was not slow by any means. He scored 3 goals in 5 games, thus breaking the all time record for goals scored in the World Cup tournament. Pretty good for a fat guy.

The shocking upset loss to the French ended his '06 tournament. He went back to Madrid but was still hovering at 6 ft. and 180 pounds and Fabio Capello, the coach at the time, thought he was not training hard enough. So Ronaldo fell completely out of favor to make way for Ruud van Nistelrooy. He went to a doctor to look at why he wasn't losing the extra weight he gained from that early '06 injury. Ronaldo came back saying he had a developed a problem called hypothyroidism. While the explanation for that term is for another time, place, and blog, this somewhat explains the depression and weight gain from the recent injury. Some believe this and some don't, but I take his word for it because his career, better yet his goal-scoring livelihood, was at stake.

But Capello was having none of it. In the 06/07 season, Ronaldo played in 7 Real Madrid games scoring 3 goals; he started 4 of those games.

In January 2007, Ronaldo needed to go. He wasn't playing and Real Madrid were unsympathetic to his gland problem. AC Milan showed interest but Real wouldn't let him leave. After much protesting from the player, Madrid would agree to a move if Ronaldo paid them for the rest of his contract. What a bunch of A-holes! He gave them some of the best years of his life, scored 83 goals for the club, worked hard trying to lose his excess weight, and they won't let him leave when he isn't in the coach's plans. Fanastic.

AC Milan was a new hope, a fresh start. But a hamstring injury followed shortly by his third ruptured knee cap ligament (talk about unlucky) led to his dismissal after one year at the San Siro. But when he did play, he played well scoring 9 goals in 20 games, along with 4 assists.

If he didn't face serious injuries at multiple points in his career, there is no doubt in my mind he would be considered by everyone to be the greatest goal scorer to ever walk the planet. By the time he played for both Barcelona and Inter Milan, he was only 21 years old. You have your Cristiano Ronaldo's, your Wayne Rooney's and your Lionel Messi's. But the real Ronaldo led the way for clubs in the modern game to even take a chance on young players. He was doing things in the late 90's that the best players in the world at that time could only imagine doing. He gave these players a blueprint for how to succeed so early in your career.

I feel a little sad when someone brings up Ronaldo and they mean Cristiano. It's not right. What does the real Ronaldo have to do? He has won 2 World Cups and just about every imaginable individual award a striker can earn. I mean every award. As in 45 awards. It also saddens me that people who started paying attention to soccer around 2005 have no idea what they are saying when they say "The Brazilian Ronaldo sucks nowadays."

To those that say the Brazilian league isn't good, think about this: where do the world class Brazilians come from? Where do they get their start? European clubs don't buy players that are total crap from Brazil and turn them into huge talents. Sure they tweak a few things about their game, but they are already amazing players. This is the best league in South America for a reason. Top to bottom, every team is extremely competitive and upsets always happen (but are they really upsets, then?). Ronaldo is playing against the future of world class defenders, amazing midfielders, and unbelievable goalies....and he is making them look silly. I don't mean to infer that Europe isn't the best place to go, because it undoubtedly is, but Brazil has a great league that doesn't get the recognition I think it deserves.

Don't be suprised if he is on Brazil's WC roster next summer.

Is he still "fat"?

P.S. To prove his goal scoring credentials, he has scored 312 goals in 591 games for club and country with only 26 goals coming from 29 Brazilian league games. Seeing how Pele never played in Europe.....I'll let you finish that thought.

The Ridiculous Soccer Transfer Market

Real Madrid is causing a huge problem for other clubs around the world: they are inflating the transfer market. As a Manchester United supporter, I can say that we have made our big summer purchases in the past as well, but it is nothing like the spending that is going on this summer. Let’s have a look at who Real Madrid bought so far this summer.

Raul Albiol from Valencia to Madrid for 15 million Euros

Kaka from AC Milan to Madrid for 68 million Euros

Karim Benzema from Lyon to Madrid for 41 million Euros

Cristiano Ronaldo from Man Utd to Madrid for 80 million Euros

This is crazy money they are spending, and they are not done!! Reports show that they are interested in Italian playmaker Gaetano D’Agostino and holding midfielder Xabi Alonso. Rumors are that Real Madrid could spend upwards of 25 million and 35 million Euros on these two players, respectively. This is just insane. If these deals go through, they will have spent 264.5 million Euros (or 368.6 million dollars!!!) in two months.

How in the world will they ever go about recovering this money? Granted if it was one big name player, the unveiling and jersey sales would eventually cover that. But these are six big names that are possibly going to be teammates next year. Unless they win every competition they are in for the next 3 years, I seriously doubt that they will come close to recovering this huge amount of money they are spending.

What about the other players, you ask? Why can’t they sell them? Because other teams now know that Real Madrid are banking on everyone else to buy from them. Who goes? Van Nistelrooy, Higuain, Sneijder, and van der Vaart? Perhaps. What if Alonso shows up? What happens to Fernando Gago? Madrid is shooting itself in the foot because other clubs know that Real need to get rid of players. So they will wait until the last week of August and then tell Real what they will pay for a certain player and Madrid will have no choice but to accept it. These other clubs are going to get world class talent at a discount. I would call the last week of August “Discount Week at the Bernabeu!!!”

Let’s now get to the issue of how the actual team will work. Their three attacking players, Benzema, Kaka, and C. Ronaldo, are also their most expensive. Some would say build the team around Kaka, others around C. Ronaldo, then there is the small French contingent that say build it around Benzema. What Madrid will do is try to build the team around all three, which is impossible. These three players are coming from teams that are built around them, especially C. Ronaldo and Man Utd. All three were penalty takers at their clubs, as well as free kick takers (but Kaka, not so much. He shared with Pirlo). Real legend Raul is the current Madrid penalty taker. All three players are also used to always getting touches in the attack. But with this star-studded team, sometimes C. Ronaldo or Benzema could go 15-20 minutes without even a single touch! These players are not used to being out of plays for long, but might have to get used to it. Just ask Thierry Henry. At Arsenal, he was always involved. When he went to Barcelona, he might get a touch or two every now and again. While Henry had 25 goals last season, I’m sure he doesn’t like being stuck as a left midfielder while Samuel Eto’o is a central forward and scored 9 more goals than him.

But Real Madrid is not the only team responsible for this. Manchester City has a rich owner with all the money in the world. Only thing is, they aren’t as world class as Madrid. They paid 42.5 million Euros for Robinho last season and offered AC Milan 72 million in January for Kaka! This summer sees them going after Eto’o. They offered Barcelona 30 million Euros and claimed Eto’o will be the highest paid player in the world. If that isn’t enough, there are rumors of a half a million pounds per goal scored. HALF A MILLION!!! In dollars that is roughly 800,000 per goal. He scored 34 goals for Barcelona last season. If he repeats those numbers, that means he will get 17 million pounds or 27.5 million dollars. Wow. Just wow.

But money can’t bring everything. While Eto’o is being tempted with the huge amount of money thrown at him, Manchester City aren’t in the Champions League. They aren’t even in Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup). They finished 10th last season. What I believe is that Eto’o is waiting for a world class defender to be bought and then he will really consider this offer. The fact that Man City have recently gone after John Terry is no coincidence. Man City wants Eto’o.
While Real Madrid will have a tough time recovering the money they are spending, Man City has NO chance to recover this money. They are not in any European competition and have never finished higher than 8th this decade.

This is having a trickledown effect on many other clubs. Liverpool recently paid 17 million pounds for Glen Johnson. That’s a huge amount for an outside fullback. He’s good, not great, but good. As far as other outside backs go, let’s look at the best in the world. Gianluca Zambrotta was bought by Barcelona for 14 million Euros. Dani Alves was bought from Sevilla for 25 million. Maicon’s deal was undisclosed when he went to Inter, but it was believed to be in the neighborhood of 20 million. Patrice Evra was bought by Man Utd for 5.5 million. For 17 million, Liverpool should have bid for Maicon, the best right back in the world right now. Better yet, they should have taken a time machine back to 2001 and purchased Cafu for 17 million! 17 million is an unnecessary amount for an outside defender who is not considered world class. Liverpool also missed out on 18 month target Gareth Barry, being outbid by Man City. But with the ways of the inflated transfer market, a player worth 5 million Euros will be sold for probably nothing less than 20. It’s turning into being just another part of the game, which is sad.

Ronaldo and Tevez leaving: A look at the stats

Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez will be playing in different shirts next season. While C. Ronaldo has already found a home at the Santiago Bernabeu, Tevez has yet to find a stadium he will call his home next season. However, he will no doubt be able to pick from a few teams.

On a side note, people are saying that Real Madrid are stupid for paying 80 million Euros for Cristiano Ronaldo. But 80,000 people were at his unveiling. I know for a fact that they didn't get in for free. If Madrid charged 20 Euros per person, not to mention the 3,000 C. Ronaldo #9 shirt that flew off the shelves the first day at 45 Euros a pop, they are on their way to recovering that fee. On a big plus for the seller, Manchester United is getting all 80 million up front.

What does this mean to Manchester United's defense of their Premier League crown? They are coming off a three-peat in the Barclays Premier League and they have never had a four-peat. In their first of the most recent three, 06/07, C. Ronaldo had 17 BPL goals out of 83 for the team. That is 20%. In 07/08, C. Ronaldo could do nothing wrong in England. He scored 31 goals out of 80 Premier League goals, or 38%! Following that incredible season in 08/09, he scored 18 goals out of 68 team goals. That is 26%. These are astounding numbers.

Let us factor in Carlos Tevez now. While he was not at Old Trafford in 06/07, he still contributed quite a bit in his two year stay. He scored 14 goals in 07/08. Unfortunately, Sir Alex Ferguson bought Dimitar Berbatov that in the summer of '08 and Tevez fell out of favor in the 08/09 season, scoring 5 Premiership goals.

Combining their goal scoring efforts, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo scored 85 Premiership goals over three seasons. That's 37% of their Premier League goals they will have to replace. I know Tevez was there for two seasons, but this is looking at the bigger Manchester United three-peat picture.

We have yet to factor in assists. In the three championship seasons, C. Ronaldo and Tevez combined for 37 assists (27 for Cristiano). Along with the aforementioned 85 goals, we will call this having a hand in 122 goals over three seasons. While the total goal output for Manchester United was 231 over three seasons, this means C. Ronaldo and Tevez had a hand in over 50% (52.9) of Manchester United's goal output!!! It will be difficult to replace such important numbers.

Sir Alex is trying to replace these numbers. He signed Michael Owen on a free transfer, and got good deals on wingers Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan. While I'm not sure about either of these 3 players, I am sure that Sir Alex can find a way to get the best out of them. If not, he still has Wayne Rooney, Berbatov, and about 60 million Euros he can possibly get a big name with.

P.S. If I can mention something completely unrelated, the Brazilian Ronaldo finished his season for Corinthians in the Brazilian League with 14 goals in 15 games. Some of you guys might say "It's just the Brazilian league blah blah blah" but whatever. Its the highest level of competition available to him and he is doing well in it. Its the best league in South America as well.

You stay classy, Colorado: Joe Sakic to retire

Joe Sakic, currently the longest-tenured captain in the NHL, is announcing his retirement today. The word most frequently used to describe Sakic was 'classy', and for good reason. Combing over his 21-year career (the entirety he spent with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, a dying breed in pro sports) you'd be hard pressed to find incidents of boisterousness or self-aggrandazing from Sakic, who preferred to let his game speak for itself. And speak it did; it spoke so loudly that I can't imagine what the man's trophy case must look like: it would have to fit two Stanley Cup rings, an Olympic gold medal, along with a Conn Smythe trophy, a Hart trophy, a Lady Byng trophy and a Pearson award (those are the playoff MVP, regular season MVP, a trophy given to the player who 'exhibits the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high level of play', and league MVP, respectively).

Probably my personal favorite memory of Sakic is from the 2001 Stanley Cup championship, when the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils with the help of Ray Bourque, a man who, like Sakic, had spent his entire career with one franchise until that season. Bourque, the longtime Bruin, had never won a Championship and left town only in that pursuit, promising to take one run with Colorado and retire the next year, whatever happened. When the Avalanche eventually did win the Cup, the commisioner handed the trophy over to the captain for his ceremonial first skate around the rink. Traditionally, the captain is the first to touch the Cup, he gets his time to skate it around, show it off, celebrate, etc. before handing it off to an alternate captain who does the same, and so on down the line. In this case, however, Sakic had no sooner touched the trophy than he handed it straight to Bourque. What a guy.

For those who remain unconvinced, check out this snappy video I found on YouTube:


Pretty boss stuff. Colorado hasn't been lighting the world on fire of late anyway, and losing Sakic is going to hurt; however, his absence frees up a lot of cap room for the team to really rebuild in earnest. A perfect ending to the career of a team-first player. The NHL will be a little less awesome without him.

Why AC Milan need Oguchi Onyewu

AC Milan signed US international central defender Oguchi Onyewu yesterday. This was in response to fans protesting that AC Milan are not using the money they got from selling Kaka to Real Madrid. These fans want a big name purchased. While "Gooch" is not a big purchase, this will help them get back to the contenders they once were.

Italy has a group of teams called the "Big Four". These are the four clubs that have the best chances of winning the Serie A title every season. AC Milan is considered one of those clubs. The other three are Inter Milan, AS Roma, and Juventus. In the 08/09 season, AC Milan's record against the other members of the Big Four was 1 win, 3 losses, and 2 draws while scoring 9 goals and conceding 12 (1 shut out). That is 5 points out of a possible 18.

The Big Four have some big strikers, as well. Inter Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 6 ft. 3. as well as Juventus' Vicenzo Iaquinta. AS Roma's Mirko Vucinic and Juventus' Amauri stand at 6 ft. 1.
Looking at AC Milan's centerbacks, Nesta and Kaladze stand at 6 ft. 1 and Bonera stands at 6 even. Two of the Big Four strikers are taller than Milan's core of centerbacks. Gooch stands at 6 ft. 4. Taller than everyone. There is no doubt in my mind that he will show up and be obviously stronger than any other defender on the Milan roster. This is what Milan needs to deal with the likes of Iaquinta and Ibrahimovic.

Speaking of Milan's defenders, Gooch is a true centerback who has had very little injury problems. Nesta is unfortunately constantly injured. Kaladze was a left back who was moved to center back due to injuries. Plus he is coming off a season that was ravaged with injuries, playing in only 15 games. Bonera, a converted right back, plays in the center of defense to much criticism. He was not injured last season, but he only started 20 games last season. I think the Milan staff want a tall, strong true centerback so they will not be forced to convert any more outside backs, like Bonera.

With the retirement of Milan's legendary defender Paolo Maldini and defensive injuries, there will be competition for places along the backline. I believe and hope that Onyewu can earn and keep his starting spot. This would be an unbelievably huge lift for the US national team next summer if he constantly played for one of the world's top clubs week in, week out.

Best of luck Gooch!!!!!

I think its time that Italy benches Gattuso

Now don't get me wrong; for many years I loved Gennaro Gattuso. But I think it is time that Italy moved on from its 2006 World Cup winning squad and he is one of the players that in my mind needs to go.

Gattuso has a tremendous work ethic and is a good ball winner in the center of midfield. But so are Gaetano D'Agostino and Antonio Nocerino. These two players are considerably younger than Gattuso as well (27 and 24, respectively). Gattuso will be 32 when the 2010 World Cup starts. I doubt he will be able to put in his usual lung-bursting efforts throughout the tournament as he did as a 28 year old in 2006.

D'Agostino and Nocerino also offer something that Gattuso doesn't: actual offensive skill. D'Agostino is a slicer when it comes to passes out of the midfield. Now some would say this is Andrea Pirlo's job, but having two players in the center of midfield would be better for the overall Italian attack. D'Agostino has also been one of the leading assists man in Serie A for the last two years.

As for Nocerino, he has impressed at every Italian youth level with his leadership and nose for quick decision-making. While not as offensive-minded as D'Agostino, he still gets forward at the right times and is involved with dangerous chances.

Gattuso has only 1 goal for Italy, coming against England in a friendly in 2000. I tried to look for it on YouTube or similar websites but I could not find it. I can only imagine how the goal was scored. The ball probably crossed the line while the England goalie pushed the ball away and just happened to hit Gattuso in the face and went in or something of that nature.

I question Gattuso's intelligence; both footballing and overall. He never knows what to do when he gets in offensive positions. He is a terrible crosser and when he shoots, row Q gets a temporary souvenir. When Italy won the World Cup, this guy took off his shorts and was still running around the field hugging teammates. For those that don't know, these soccer shorts are not meant to be worn with underwear. So yes, Gattuso's private parts were out in the open for about 10 minutes before someone told him to put his shorts back on.

I bring this up because Italy's performance in the 2009 Confederations Cup was not good. They struggled to score goals. The only goals they scored were against 10-man United States who played with 10 men for 57 minutes. All goals came when the US was down a man. Not only that, the goals came from the space Ricardo Clark usually fills! They failed to equalize against 11-man Egypt and looked old and out of sorts against 11-man Brazil. They need more offensive options out of midfield since Totti retired. I think Nocerino and especially D'Agostino will bring this more so than Gattuso. I'm not saying he should retire from international football, but its time for Lippi to bench Gattuso and let the younger, more offensive minded defensive midfielders have a go in the team. Gattuso would be better used as a 60th-minute sub when Italy needs to go into lock-down mode.

While that won't fix everything, it probably the first move that needs to be made...and quickly I might add.

NHL 10 looks awesome

I may be the only one who's super excited about this, but NHL '10 may be even better than '09. Watch this video fool!



I can see the board play being either really awesome or kind of lame. But holy crap, first person fights! As the video loves to point out, NHL '09 won twelve awards, and '10 looks like it should be at least as good if not better. I'd better put 60 bucks in a safe as soon as I have it.

Manchester United signs Gabriel Obertan

This young French winger from Bordeaux is the second wide player bought by Man Utd this summer. This obvious that Sir Alex Ferguson is trying to stay away from the "big name-big money" transfers and going for the best deals for players. I think this has something to do with Real Madrid spending as much money as possible. I believe Sir Alex does not want to compete with Madrid, as seen by the Man Utd target Karim Benzema going to Real Madrid because of the huge amount of money Madrid threw at him.

I think Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan are good young players. I don't think that they will make an immediate impact at Old Trafford, however. I want to say that it will take them a few months to get used to their new teammates and then around November these players will begin to contribute on a weekly basis.

Having become aware of Antonio Valencia during the World Cup 2006, being one of Ecuador's most important players, I have seen him play a few times for Wigan in England's Premier League. I have not seen Obertan play, ever. A few days ago was the first time I have ever heard of him. I looked up clips of him on YouTube to see what this 20 year old is all about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT4KomzcwvM

He needs to work on his shooting, but it looks like to me he knows how to find wide spaces, beat players one-on-one, and get into positions to deliver dangerous crosses. I'm excited to see how he will develop under the coaching wings of Manchester United.

I still don't think either of these two players are the heirs to the vacancy left by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Steve McNair dead at 36; Damn NFL, you scary

I don't get it, NFL. Is there something that playing football at the pro level does to people that causes stuff like this to happen? Steve "Air" McNair, 36 years young, was found dead yesterday from two gunshots to the head and two more to the chest. Police are ruling it a homicide (which I guess is what they get paid for, but talk about stating the obvious) and apparently feel that they can neither confirm nor deny that McNair's death was a murder-suicide, despite finding the corpse of McNair's mistress, Saleh Kazemi, dead from one gunshot to the head, laying on top of a semiautomatic right next to McNair. I guess it's possible to fake something like this, but why? More importantly, what the hell, Steve McNair?

Testimonials about what a great guy he was are all over ESPN.com today; people like Peyton Manning, Warren Moon, teammates from all levels of his career describe his charity work and dedication to his teams and his community throughout his life in football. I'll personally never forget the Super Bowl in which he and the Titans were literally a yard short of tying the game.

And yet, here we are now, a few days after the man's death, unsure if he was murdered by a psycho mistress, or perhaps something even more salacious. I'll eat crow if it turns out not to be Option A, but this Kazemi girl (who was only 20 years old! 20!) seems to fit the profile of the Fatal Attraction-style crazy ho. The only comment the press received from her family came from her sister, who said that Kazemi believed McNair was going to divorce his wife so that they could be together. Just to be clear, here's a photo of McNair and Kazemi (best viewed while imagining a Flapjack-ian "AUGGGGHHHH!")


What the hell bro? This girl was 20 and looked like that? Did he think maybe she would become hotter down the road? I don't envy McNair's wife, who is definitely more attractive and, you know, his wife. Mother of their four kids, and all that. According to multiple news websites, she didn't know anything about this woman until after she and McNair were already dead, although I find that a little hard to believe, as gossip sites like TMZ and Bossip.com have pictures of the two on vacation together. Just two days before their deaths, Kazemi was pulled over while driving drunk (she claimed "I'm not drunk, I'm high!" according to ESPN's article, what a classy dame) in an Escalade that was registered to both her and McNair, with McNair sitting shotgun. McNair was allowed to leave, and bailed Kazemi out of jail shortly thereafter. Either she's in denial, which I guess is understandable, or she isn't very good at putting clues together.

This isn't the first time that McNair got himself in trouble for gun possession either, though obviously it's the most serious. What is it about playing in the NFL that makes otherwise normal, friendly-seeming individuals feel the need to carry weapons? McNair isn't the only NFL player to be involved in sundry activities, but the contrast with who the public seemed to think Steve McNair was and the Steve McNair who got himself killed dealing with crazy bitches is pretty stark. I don't have an answer to this question, obviously, and I don't think there's anything the NFL could really do about it even if the brass at the League really wanted to. Young men who make more money for playing a game than a lot of people make in a year, no matter how talented they may be, are still mortal. The saddest thing about this is not that it will be a black mark on McNair's legacy, but that if it wasn't for the persona that he had cultivated, this would be just another headline about just another thugged out NFL-er.

Steven Gerrard

“Steven Gerrard is a great midfielder.” I hear this line more than probably any other when it comes to discussing soccer. But is Gerrard truly a midfielder? He seems to be flourishing in the role he plays at Liverpool, but what role is it? When I watch Liverpool play it seems to me Gerrard has the freedom to go do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. His current defensive responsibilities are kept to a minimum with the exception of corner kicks. This is for the best, though, as far as Liverpool are concerned.

Under Houllier, Gerrard was criticized because, while was good, he didn’t score enough goals for a player of his talents. I believe this goes under not being able to handle all of the defensive responsibilities that came with playing under the Frenchman.

When Liverpool changed managers in the summer of 2004, Rafael Benitez brought a host of La Liga talent with him: Luis Garcia, Mauricio Pellegrino, Fernando Morientes (came the following January), Antonio Nunez (quite possibly the biggest bust in Liverpool's history), and Xabi Alonso. Liverpool then switched to a five man midfield and played with either Milan Baros or Djbril Cisse as a lone striker.

In that last paragraph I named 7 players and only one player is still with Liverpool: Xabi Alonso. He is the definition of a defensive midfielder. He sits in front of the back line and protects them and attacking is secondary as far as he is concerned. Having said all that, I think that Xabi Alonso is the best thing to ever happen to Steven Gerrard.

If we look at the stats, Gerrard became a full starter for Liverpool in 2001. At the end of the 01/02 season he had 4 goals in 33 games. In the 02/03 season he had 7 goals in 57 games. In the 03/04 season he had 6 goals in 46 games. Those three seasons were under Gerard Houllier.

Enter Xabi Alonso and Rafa Benitez in 2004. His goal production goes to 13 in 2004/2005 leading Liverpool to the Champions League. That was his total for the last two seasons combined! The following season, he had his first 20+ goal season with 22 in 53 games on the way to the FA Cup. In 06/07 Gerrard scored 11 goals in 51 games, some considered this a dip in form for the Liverpool captain, so Benitez already sensed he needed another player like Alonso; enter Javier Mascherano in January 2007.

With the addition of Fernando Torres, Liverpool became a strict 4-5-1 team, with Steven Gerrard having the freedom of the pitch to go wherever he pleases. Mascherano and Alonso are making sure nothing easy slips through the midfield so Gerrard does not have to worry about defensive responsibilities. In this set-up, Gerrard’s talents are at their fullest potential. In 07/08 he had 20 goals in 46 games and in 08/09 he had 24 goals in 40 games! Anytime a midfield player had back to back 20+ goal seasons, it’s pretty amazing.

But is Gerrard a typical English midfielder? He certainly is not the box-to-box type player that a Frank Lampard or a Paul Scholes is. One would rarely see him head clear an opposition’s free kick and then be the driving force for a counter attack. That’s what Alonso is there for: so he can get Gerrard the ball at the halfway line after he heads out the danger. Gerrard also has found theatrics appealing from time to time, something the English media quickly forgets. Yet Gerrard has spoke out against diving time and again. While he certainly is not the only player that does it, I don't see an English midfielder do it more than Steven Gerrard.

His performances for England have been alright at best. 14 goals in 58 games is nothing to be ashamed of, but he has not improved his performances for England like he has at Liverpool over the years. This is because England plays a 4-4-2, the formation Gerrard struggled with under Houllier at Liverpool. Now if England played a 4-5-1 with, say, Michael Carrick and Gareth Barry as the two defensive midfielders, I believe Gerrard with a free role would have double his current tally for England.

Xabi Alonso and Rafa Benitez have helped Gerrard get to his full potential by limiting the amount of defense he has to play. He is developing a role in Liverpool that is solely his to play. While he is a bit player for England who pops up with the occasional goal, Liverpool rely on his talents and offensive leadership if they are to mount a challenge for any trophy. So Liverpool fans should really thank Alonso for being one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. For this helped Gerrard realize his full range of offensive qualities.

Robbie Rogers

Watching the USA's B-Team play Granada yesterday, it didn't tell me all that much. But one player was a constant threat, Robbie Rogers.

In the 2007 U-20 World Cup, Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore were the darlings of the particular USA squad, but Robbie Rogers and Sal Zizzo truly impressed me as wingers. Rogers had everything that this team needed: a fast, creative winger with a good left foot who tracks back and helps defend. He always picked his head up and assessed each situation in half a second and seemed to always make the right decision.

While playing his club in MLS for the Columbus Crew, he has played along Schelotto, quite possibly one of the most underrated players of this decade. This creative player with big game experience has rubbed off on Rogers, I believe, as he was the catalyst for the 4-0 win over Granada. Two assists and one goal proves that he deserves a shot with the likes of Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, etc. I think the USA needs a true left footed winger for our WC squad and while Adu is left footed he is much more effective as a withdrawn striker (or as I like to call it, the "Totti role").

Seems like 4 years ago, we had TOO many left footed players like DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Lewis, and Bobby Convey. But Lewis is too old and Beasley and Convey need to get good again before Bradley calls them up.

Lets hope Bob Bradley can get the right footed Sal Zizzo in a team soon because I am real curious to see how he has progressed since moving to Germany.

Is winning Euro 2008 bad for Spain in 2010?

Every soccer columnist and announcer have been all over Spain since they won Euro 2008, but it is a good thing for them in 2010?

Let's break down the actual tournament for them: They played Russia twice, a team that played right into their game plan both times unfortunately. They had to come from behind 1-0 at halftime to beat Greece 2-1 on an 88th minute goal. They beat Sweden 2-1 on some really slack defending in stoppage time. I'm not taking anything away from David Villa's goal in the Sweden game, but those two defenders could have done a LOT better.

In the quarterfinals they went 0-0 with Italy and won on penalties. People who watch tournaments like this know that matches decided on penalties are whoever is luckier on the day. But fair play to Spain, sometimes its better to be lucky than to be good and luck was on their side.

Then there was Germany in the final. Giving credit where its due, Spain played well in this game. I think had Klinsmann been the Germany coach, Spain would have been forced to score more than one goal but at the end of the day they got the job done.

But why do I even bother to bring this up? The winner of the Euro tournament has almost never done well in the next World Cup in recent memory.

1. Greece won Euro 2004 with a really good defense, but failed to even qualify for World Cup 2006.

2. France were on the heels of its biggest success ever as a nation. With arguably its biggest talent pool ever, they won World Cup '98, Euro 2000, and the '01 Confederations Cup. But did winning Euro 2000 curse them for World Cup 2002? Yes. In a group with Senegal, Uruguay, and Denmark they did not make it to the knock-out stage. They didn't even score a single goal! And this was with the likes of Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, and Zidane.

3. Germany won Euro '96. When they had to go to France for World Cup '98, they started out well as they topped their group. But in the round of 16 they had to come from behind to beat Mexico 2-1 with two goals in the last fifteen minutes. Next was Croatia in the quarterfinals. They lost 3-0.

4. Denmark won Euro '92. Failed to qualify for World Cup '94.

5. The Netherlands won Euro '88. In World Cup '90 they advanced out of their group as one of the best third place teams (24 teams were in the WC back then) by drawing all three group games. An interesting fact is the Netherlands were never losing at any point in their group. They just had a knack for giving up game tying goals late on. The Round of 16 brought West Germany and they were beaten 2-1.

6. France won Euro '84. Finally a team with success in the World Cup after winning the Euro tournament. France made it to the 1986 World Cup semi-finals and they earned it, too. The round of 16 had Italy (2-0) and and the quarterfinals had Brazil (albeit they won on penalties). They couldn't beat West Germany in the semis but won the third place game.I kind of want to know the last team to win the Euro tournament and make it to the following World Cup final.

7. West Germany won Euro '80. This was the last team to win the Euro tournament and make it to the following World Cup final by defeating France on penalties in the semi-finals. But they lost the final to Italy 3-1.

Can the team that won the World Cup after winning the previous Euro tournament step forward?!?

8. Czechoslovakia won Euro '76 and in the 1978 World Cup they.....didn't even go. Failed to qualify...

9. We have a winner. Thank you West Germany!!! They won Euro 1972 and as the host nation won the 1974 World Cup (a 16-team tournament at the time).

Spain has 34 years of history working against them. Can they overcome it and win the World Cup in 2010? Or will they fade away in the first knockout game? Another interesting fact is that Spain has never even made it to the semi-finals before. They finished 4th in the 1950 World Cup, but it was a jacked up tournament and the format for that was absolutely nothing like it is today. But we shall see what they do come next summer.

The USA and the Confederations Cup

Since I have no job and due to the fact that I spend an ungodly amount of time on facebook, I'm going to be inclined to write a note every now and again. This one is going to mostly be about the US national soccer team and my overall impressions of the Confederations Cup.

1. Landon Donovan. Any one who has watched a USA game with me knows that I do not like him. I would always say that he is the biggest waste of world class talent I've seen in my life. Not anymore. Whoever reads this, you will not hear me say anything bad about him for a long time. He showed up big in all five games the US played. His passing in the first half against Italy was amazing. If Altidore and Bradley scored on those through balls he put in, we would have been up 3-0 at the half against Italy! He was leading by example in every match. Can't ask for more than that.

2. Speaking of Italy, what's going on? They can't be successful with the same team over and over again. After 2006 they should have regrouped and broke in younger players instead of worrying about Euro 2008. But Donadoni and a tough qualifying group prevented that from happening. After losing to Spain on penalties in Euro 2008 with the same team from '06, they re-hired Lippi, the 2006 coach. What does he do? Calls up his boys from 3 years ago minus a few who retired. They looked extremely old against Brazil. D'Agostino(!!!) ,Quagliarella, Giovinco, Nocerino, Palombo, Cassano, Pazzini...all players in their prime or up and coming that should get as many games in for Italy as possible before 2010 or I doubt they will make it past the round of 16. Lippi tries to break in Montolivo, but he's garbage. Does anyone know if Totti has a son yet?

3. Michael Bradley. In less than a year he has turned into our most important midfielder. Period. If we get him and Jermaine Jones on the same field, our central midfield MIGHT be the best its ever been (apologies to Claudio Reyna and John Harkes lol).

4. Spain. We showed the world how to beat them. Shut down Xavi, clog the middle and force them wide. If your defense is taller than their attack (and to be honest they more than likely are), the defense will head their crosses out every time. Let Sergio Ramos have as much space as he wants. He won't track back quickly, he hardly ever does. And have your best player where Ramos is suppose to be, get that player the ball, and launch a counter attack from that. Kind of TOO simple of a strategy. Until they win a knockout game in 2010, I don't consider them a contender to win the World Cup.

5. Jay Demerit and Johnathan Spector. If they are healthy, they start. Spector has made that right back spot his. Demerit does not make that one killer bone head play per game that Bocanegra brings to the table.

6. Bob Bradley. I questioned his knack for coaching in the "big game" and after yesterday I still do. I'm not sure he knew what to do when the USA went into halftime leading 2-0 against Brazil(!!!). He probably told them that Brazil would come at them and be prepared for an onslaught, so just play defensive. Way to encourage your team, Bob. After that quick Fabiano goal, their heads were down. At 2-2, Bradley made the most unreasonable substitutions: Bornstein and Klestjan. To me, they are not international players, just good MLS players. Bornstein is a 4th choice left back and Klestjan is probably an 8th or 9th choice midfielder. But under Bradley they get chance after chance because he coached them at Chivas USA. The team needed a creative spark. Someone who could hold the ball and make plays and drive our team on. And yet, Freddy Adu and Jose Torres stayed on the bench (players who are known for being creative).

7. Tim Howard. He received the FIFA Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper of the tournament. With keepers such as Casillas, Buffon, and Cesar playing in the same tournament, that's pretty AWESOME!

8. DaMarcus Beasley. He is DONE. As much as Landon Donovan has progressed, he has regressed the same amount, if not more.

9. Red Cards. Are you kidding me? The US is getting players sent off for ridiculous calls. Are they yellow card offenses? Definitely. But straight reds? I seriously think referees have something against US soccer because I saw many similar tackles from players on other teams, and nothing happened. Ever.

10. South Africa. Their forwards who played in this tournament are not good (except for that unholy free kick against Spain), but the overall team is extremely athletic and seem to not get tired. Matthew Booth (the one white guy on the team haha) has been a revelation at center back. If Steven Pienaar is playing well for them in 2010, they are going to be a lot better than the world thinks they are.

11. Brazil. This is not the free flowing Brazil of 2002. They usually play with two holding midfielders for crying out loud. Teams need to stop being scared of the name and have a go at them. Their outside backs aren't even really defenders. Maicon is always up the field and Andre Santos is a joke. Lucio is old and will probably retire after 2010. But Kaka, Fabiano, and Julio Cesar have bailed this team out recently more than the world thinks or wants to acknowledge.

12. Conor Casey. Sorry but you had your chance. You are just not cut out for international soccer. The down side of this is that Brian Ching will probably be called to the US team again.

13. Jozy Altidore. I understand at 19 he's still a work in progress, but his first touch is horrendous. He needs to go somewhere, anywhere that he is sure to play regularly. If that means coming back to MLS for a while so be it. It would be a joke if we went to the 2010 World Cup relying on a 20 year old striker that doesn't play club at all and as a result gives the ball away constantly.

Last one...

14. Those plastic trumpets (vuvuzelas?) that the fans blow have got to go. I'm sorry. It sounds like Moses and his locusts are in the stadium. If they are allowed in the stadiums next summer, I'll be forced to watch the World Cup on mute. It's just not enjoyable. Every team except South Africa has lodged a complaint to FIFA about those things.

Might the Kings not suck this year?

The L.A. Kings have made some big splashes in the past few days, signing free agent D Rob Scuderi and acquiring LW Ryan Smyth and his fantastic mullet via trade from Colorado. Kings fans are rejoicing, and with good cause. The Kings haven't made a playoff appearance since 2002, and has long been among the least desirable teams to result from pressing the random button during team select, but that may be about to change. The man they call 'Captain Canada' not only has the best mullet this side of Jaromir Jagr, he's won five gold medals for his home country and has averaged .72 points per game for his NHL career. Smyth may be getting a bit older, and his rough-and-tumble, crease-crashing style of play is taking its toll, but the man still managed a 59-point season last year on a terrible Avalanche team. Even more appealing is the contract that Smyth brings with him; his deal with Colorado was heavily front-loaded, so Captain Canada may come at a high salary right now ($6.25 million against the cap), but by the '10-'11 season he'll only be making $4.5 million. This gives them a potential top line of Smyth-Anze Kopitar (who has never scored less than 60 points in an NHL season)-Justin Williams (the one-time All-Star whose last full season resulted in 67 points) for at least two years, a line that could easily kick in over 100 points, even if Williams doesn't quite return to his All-Star calibre play. Alexander Frolov, Jarrett Stoll, and Dustin Brown are good young players who should all be good for around 40 points apiece for secondary scoring.

The offense shows promise, as does the defense. The Kings dealt Tom Preissing, a pretty sturdy defesenseman, to get Smyth, but signing Scuderi makes up for his absence. Scuderi, possibly the most coveted free-agent defenseman on the market due to his late-game heroics in the playoffs, signed for the next four years. In addition to how hilarious his name sounds if you say it with an accent, he's an overall +13 for his career and has averaged around 19 minutes of ice time in five NHL seasons. If he can become a mentor of sorts to younger Kings defensemen Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson (whose names aren't as funny, but at least they're alliterative) they should have a solid D corps.

Lingering questions remain: What if Doughty, #2 overall pick in '08, and Johnson, who has yet to really live up to his own high draft position, don't develop fast enough for this unit to gel, or at all? What if Smyth or Williams continue to have nagging injury problems as they have the past few years? What about the Kings goaltending situation (projected starter Jonathan Quick has an NHL record of 22-20-2)? I have no answers to those questions, but can point out that, according to nhlnumbers.com, the Kings have $13.585 million dollars of cap space remaining, which is nothing to sneeze at. Aside from an iffy prospect in goal (who very well may start and be awesome, who knows) this definitely wouldn't be the worst roster in the league to hit the ice if the season started today. I'm not saying that they're on the verge of making a run for the Stanley Cup, but at the very least, it may not suck so bad to be a Kings fan for a while.

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