So you may have noticed the distinct lack of posts here on the Review lately. This is because the RR is serving a suspension for too many yellow cards. Or it may be because our computre (typo, but why don't Brits/Canucks spell this word this way?) crapped out on us and so I have a distinct lack of decent internet access. :) Anyway, until we get a new computer (or I get the internet situation reliably figured out on an old fossil computer we have laying around), there will be a shocking lack of RR content. Sorry, but I'll do my best to get something new on here soon! Thanks for coming by! Peaceness
ps-Congrats RSL on the big win over KC!!!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
8/18/07 Chicago @ RSL
So I recorded the game (after having slept through it after a hellish 2 days at work), watched it on Sunday, took extensive notes, and was all ready to blow your minds with an insightful, well-reasoned and thoughtful post. Well, as close as I can get anyway... But then life got in the way. I have had a busy week, capped by this winning development on Tuesday:
Everyone is fine, but needless to say I haven't been thinking much about reviewing the latest RSL debacle. So instead of a great post, I will just skim the notes and try and give a decent mini-review. But never fear, I am hoping to get back on track with the ol' RR, and have many things in the works (like the long-promised pics from the Houston game). And off we go!
Ah yes, after RSL played a good game in defeating Houston I began to wonder what had happened to the real players on the team (that obviously wasn't them against Houston, but talented soccer-playing dopplegangers). No worries, they were back last Saturday to play Chicago. RSL came out looking ok (I guess), but never dominated in the first half. Fortunately for RSL fans, Chicago played a pretty awful half and allowed RSL to play even. The best scoring chance of the half came in the 17th minute when Findley somehow stretched his toe and poked a shot on goal, only to be denied by the post. True RSL luck. Of course, sometimes you need to make your own luck and Findley certainly didn't. Instead of following the play after he shot, he assumed it was in and gave up on the play. Had he followed up on the shot he had a gimme goal as he had the defender beaten and the goalie out of the play. Nevertheless, this kept the game scoreless for now. The rest of the half was mediocre at best from both sides with lots of turnovers and not much offense. The kind of game that soccer haters would use to point out how "boring" soccer is (a 3 second play followed by a minute of standing around....now THAT'S excitement, but I digress). Then in the 43rd minute, out of absolutely nowhere, Cuauhtemoc Blanco showed why he makes the big bucks by hitting an absolute scorcher of a goal from distance and off a bounce. GREAT goal. I do have one question about it, though. The TV coverage was awful so I'm not sure how the Fire had the ball. We had an RSL throw (as far as they showed), they went to a short replay, and suddenly Chicago has a throw-in that leads directly to the goal. How did Chicago get a throw-in call that fast??? Anyone? Anyway, RSL goes into the half down 1-0 in a game that, honestly, neither team deserved to have a lead in. But, that is RSL's luck for you.
Half grade: D
The second half was much like the first, drab and ugly. Chicago played slightly better in this half and RSL never looked all that dangerous until the 76th minute when new signing Espindola was denied on not one but two straight shots in the penalty area. He's fitting in already!!! Seriously, my fat ass could have scored there. Just putrid. Soon after, Paulo Wanchope headed home a Blanco corner (after running over Pope and pushing Talley away, but, you know, that's not a foul) to put the game away at 2-0. RSL's Atiba Harris had a good chance to pull one back in the 89th where he basically had a one on one with the goalie, but he stumbled and the ball rolled harmlessly to the keeper. Game. Set. Match. Chicago.
Half grade: D-
Pros:
-Atiba at least looked dangerous once in a while.
-Esky got back on the field.
-We got to see one of the "Argentine 3"
Cons:
-The long ball game plan. It rarely works (see RSL's record for proof).
-The refereeing was terrible as usual.
-The general ineptitude of RSL.
-This was Beckerman's worst game in an RSL uni by far.
-The TV coverage. Don't show replays and bench closeups when plays are developing!!! AGH!!!
Game grade: D-
Chicago played a pretty uneven, pretty bad game and still beat RSL 2-0. Shouldn't, at some point, we have a pretty good homefield advantage, what with the altitude and the fact that we regularly play on the turf while others see it once a year here? Guess not.
Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Up and down night, some great plays; terribly out of position on the 2nd goal
Jean-Martial Kipre-5 OK, but most runs and plays went nowhere
sub(Chris Brown 78)-4 Did he play in this one? Didn't hear his name called once.
Ritchie Kotschau-7 Possibly his best game for RSL. A surprise bright spot.
Eddie Pope-6 A pretty mediocre game for him.
Chris Wingert-5 See Kipre
Kyle Beckerman-4 Seemed absent from the game, played a bit dirty
Nathan Sturgis-5 OK game, injured early
sub(Atiba Harris 33)-5 Had some moments, but HAS to finish that play in the 89th
Carey Talley-4 Pretty invisible as well, beaten physically on 2nd goal
Andy Williams-4 Little effort, can't seem to handle 90 minutes
Robbie Findley-6 Up and down game
Alecko Eskandarian-4 I like Esky, but he needs to give us more that THAT
(Fabian Espindola 58)-5 Made some nice runs, but the inability to finish brought him down
RSL Man of the Match: I can't believe I'm going to say this but it's Ritchie "Red Card" Kotschau!
Assclown of the match: (tie) the refs, just as uneven and unpredictable as usual AND Dasan Robinson, he seemed to be doing a lot of dirty play off (and on) the ball. Something about him just grated on me in this game...
Everyone is fine, but needless to say I haven't been thinking much about reviewing the latest RSL debacle. So instead of a great post, I will just skim the notes and try and give a decent mini-review. But never fear, I am hoping to get back on track with the ol' RR, and have many things in the works (like the long-promised pics from the Houston game). And off we go!Ah yes, after RSL played a good game in defeating Houston I began to wonder what had happened to the real players on the team (that obviously wasn't them against Houston, but talented soccer-playing dopplegangers). No worries, they were back last Saturday to play Chicago. RSL came out looking ok (I guess), but never dominated in the first half. Fortunately for RSL fans, Chicago played a pretty awful half and allowed RSL to play even. The best scoring chance of the half came in the 17th minute when Findley somehow stretched his toe and poked a shot on goal, only to be denied by the post. True RSL luck. Of course, sometimes you need to make your own luck and Findley certainly didn't. Instead of following the play after he shot, he assumed it was in and gave up on the play. Had he followed up on the shot he had a gimme goal as he had the defender beaten and the goalie out of the play. Nevertheless, this kept the game scoreless for now. The rest of the half was mediocre at best from both sides with lots of turnovers and not much offense. The kind of game that soccer haters would use to point out how "boring" soccer is (a 3 second play followed by a minute of standing around....now THAT'S excitement, but I digress). Then in the 43rd minute, out of absolutely nowhere, Cuauhtemoc Blanco showed why he makes the big bucks by hitting an absolute scorcher of a goal from distance and off a bounce. GREAT goal. I do have one question about it, though. The TV coverage was awful so I'm not sure how the Fire had the ball. We had an RSL throw (as far as they showed), they went to a short replay, and suddenly Chicago has a throw-in that leads directly to the goal. How did Chicago get a throw-in call that fast??? Anyone? Anyway, RSL goes into the half down 1-0 in a game that, honestly, neither team deserved to have a lead in. But, that is RSL's luck for you.
Half grade: D
The second half was much like the first, drab and ugly. Chicago played slightly better in this half and RSL never looked all that dangerous until the 76th minute when new signing Espindola was denied on not one but two straight shots in the penalty area. He's fitting in already!!! Seriously, my fat ass could have scored there. Just putrid. Soon after, Paulo Wanchope headed home a Blanco corner (after running over Pope and pushing Talley away, but, you know, that's not a foul) to put the game away at 2-0. RSL's Atiba Harris had a good chance to pull one back in the 89th where he basically had a one on one with the goalie, but he stumbled and the ball rolled harmlessly to the keeper. Game. Set. Match. Chicago.
Half grade: D-
Pros:
-Atiba at least looked dangerous once in a while.
-Esky got back on the field.
-We got to see one of the "Argentine 3"
Cons:
-The long ball game plan. It rarely works (see RSL's record for proof).
-The refereeing was terrible as usual.
-The general ineptitude of RSL.
-This was Beckerman's worst game in an RSL uni by far.
-The TV coverage. Don't show replays and bench closeups when plays are developing!!! AGH!!!
Game grade: D-
Chicago played a pretty uneven, pretty bad game and still beat RSL 2-0. Shouldn't, at some point, we have a pretty good homefield advantage, what with the altitude and the fact that we regularly play on the turf while others see it once a year here? Guess not.
Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Up and down night, some great plays; terribly out of position on the 2nd goal
Jean-Martial Kipre-5 OK, but most runs and plays went nowhere
sub(Chris Brown 78)-4 Did he play in this one? Didn't hear his name called once.
Ritchie Kotschau-7 Possibly his best game for RSL. A surprise bright spot.
Eddie Pope-6 A pretty mediocre game for him.
Chris Wingert-5 See Kipre
Kyle Beckerman-4 Seemed absent from the game, played a bit dirty
Nathan Sturgis-5 OK game, injured early
sub(Atiba Harris 33)-5 Had some moments, but HAS to finish that play in the 89th
Carey Talley-4 Pretty invisible as well, beaten physically on 2nd goal
Andy Williams-4 Little effort, can't seem to handle 90 minutes
Robbie Findley-6 Up and down game
Alecko Eskandarian-4 I like Esky, but he needs to give us more that THAT
(Fabian Espindola 58)-5 Made some nice runs, but the inability to finish brought him down
RSL Man of the Match: I can't believe I'm going to say this but it's Ritchie "Red Card" Kotschau!
Assclown of the match: (tie) the refs, just as uneven and unpredictable as usual AND Dasan Robinson, he seemed to be doing a lot of dirty play off (and on) the ball. Something about him just grated on me in this game...
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
8/4/07 Houston @ RSL
2 games. That's how many games I have been able to attend this year (of course I watch all the others on TV, but I digress). Which games have I been to, you may ask. That would be June 23rd vs. DC (in the big Ben Cup game) and August 4th vs. the Dynablow. Now look back on RSL's season...go ahead, I'll wait... What 2 games have they won? Oh, that would be 6/23 vs. DC and 8/4 vs. Houston. Coincidence? I think not. I am obviously a good luck charm of the highest caliber. So what I'm saying is RSL needs to pay me to go to the games. And they need to do it now. :) Anyway, on to the review.
I went to this game with my Ben Cup rival DCU Ben (and his DCU-loving wife), their first at the RES. Ben was immediately taken by the size and niceness of the stadium, mainly by virtue of forgetting that it was THE Olympic stadium in 2002. We got in and found our seats which they thought were great, especially with the proximity of the field to the seats. RFK, apparently, sets the field out a couple miles from the stands. This was about all the good news we were expecting on the day, to be honest, what with RSL's dismal season and Houston's 11 game unbeaten streak. The completely terrible (I was actually laughing halfway through it was so bad) National Anthem performance and the 10 minute wait between the kids making the "human tunnel" and the players actually coming out didn't help any positive mojo that may have been in the building. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, we were ready for kickoff.
RSL came out looking surprisingly strong right from the start. Also, I decided right from the start that I was to harass Stuart Holden for the evening. No real reason why, he was just there. But if you heard someone yelling "Stuuuuart" in a high-pitched, semi-nerdy voice in E37, that was me. hahaha Anyway, RSL came out with an attacking mentality that you don't normally see from them. The problem was that the finishing was as awful as ever. If you have a clear shot on the goal anywhere inside the penalty area you need to put it on frame, boys. Make the goalie work. Pattycakes Onstad saw plenty of shots in the first half but really didn't have to save any of them. The other problem in RSL's attack is that there is way too much hesitation before critical plays are made. Instead of sending in an early dangerous cross, RSL feels the need to perform 2, 3, 4, or more step-over moves and the like before crossing. It may make the cross a little easier, but it also allows the defense to get into position and negate any advantages you may have gained on the wing. Just attack already. However, this is not to say RSL had a bad half. Far from it. They controlled the game and possession throughout the half and with some decent finishing, could have had at least 2 goals. Despite a lack of finishing from both, Beckerman and Findley looked very dangerous, with Beckerman juking past defenders and Findley just burning past them. I hope to see more games like this out of these 2 in the future. Halftime: 0-0
Half grade: A- (higher with a goal or two)
The second half started much like the first, but with one exception, Holden was subbed at halftime (I'm sure he was too upset from my constant heckling to come back out) for Nate Jaqua. I never noticed it before, but Jaqua is HUGE. He looked like a mack truck out there on the field. Too bad for him he (apparently) doesn't know how to put that size to his advantage, he must've had a foot on Kipre. With this minor setback I decided to shift my attention to Craig Waibel and his sweet receding hairline. Lookin' good buddy! Anyway, for a while the game continued to go RSL's way, with solid midfield and defensive play and some (gasp!) decent runs by the attackers. Kipre and, even more so, Wingert were both in on the attack throughout the game and provided some much needed support on the wings for the attack. RSL was jobbed in the 49th minute when Kyle Brown was breaking to a loose ball near the Houston goal only to be fouled by Houston (Robinson I believe) who then flopped and negated a sterling RSL chance. Did I mention the officiating was terrible, cuz yeah, it was. RSL held this momentum until shortly after the sub of Jamie Watson for Chris Brown in the 66th minute. For some reason, Houston's intensity went way up at this point. They created some chances and controlled the game for about 10-15 minutes. They even drew a dangerous foul call just outside the box (nearly identical to the one last week vs. the NERds) on a pretty dive from Ngwenya. Side note: Houston likes to dive. A lot. Watching Ngwenya and Ching and how often they are "cut down" it's amazing they don't need wheelchairs...losers... Anyway, unlike Larentowicz, Mulrooney stepped up and just chunked the free kick to keep the game even. About 80 minutes in the game started to even back out a bit, with neither team looking dangerous. Then, it happened. RSL and it's 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of games against Houston and their 0. Guess who scored? Robbie Findley, on his 22nd birthday no less, took advantage of a late defensive mistake (how many times have we heard that on our side), grabbed an errant pass from the Houston back, and calmly, but surely, buried it past Pattycakes for the 1-0 lead. The place went N U T S. Absolutely 100% John "Ape" Schmidt. At this point, Houston threw everything including the kitchen sink at RSL but were unable to beat the defense and Rimando, despite a couple dangerous miscues that left the door open. Then after what seemed like an eternity of extra time, the ref finally blew his whistle and RSL had won. It was a beautiful thing. Well done boys. And well done the fans that were there for still coming out and being loud. Good times, good times.
Half grade: B+
Pros:
-I was actually at the game
-My friends from out of town were able to enjoy a game with nice weather, a grass field, an excitable crowd, and a RSL win!
-They won!
-Possession was much better in this game than many others recently.
-RSL actually looked dangerous in attack.
-Ballouchy for Beckerman
-Freddy and his 10% effort were not there to bring us down
-Robbie scored on his birthday!
-Sturgis is mean and not afraid of a hit. Him and Atiba make for 2 crazy mofos who are fun to watch.
-RSL won!
Cons:
-The ref was putrid. Even by MLS standards.
-Houston's flopping.
-There were too many kids there, which prevented me from making any Ryan Cochrane jokes. It was disappointing. I'm just glad my last name doesn't sound like a sexual aid.
-Another bye week after a win. Frustrating.
Game grade: A-
Good effort, just need to finish better
Player grades:
Nick Rimando-8 Made BIG saves when needed
Jean-Martial Kipre-6 Played well, but Houston picked on him in the 2nd half to some effect
sub(Chris Lancos 79)-6 Didn't get a lot of action but played well
Ritchie Kotschau-8 Perhaps the game of his life, very steady in central defense
Eddie Pope-8 Did his usual "clean up everyone's messes" routine
Chris Wingert-8 Defended admirably, added to the attack often, nice job on corners
Chris Brown-6 Quiet, but team seemed to drop off without him
sub(Jamie Watson 66)-6 Played OK, but team's drop after his sub was odd
Kyle Beckerman-8 Got into everything, showed nice moves, pushed forward well
Nathan Sturgis-8 Bonus point for his awesome mean, reckless takedowns! Sweet!
Carey Talley-6 Solid game, but unspectacular
Robbie Findley-9 Bonus point for the goal, ran defense absolutely ragged. Best game since DC
Kyle Brown-7 Played surprisingly well, pressured defense
(Atiba Harris 79)-7 Good hustle, actually played smart (his late run to the corner flag)
RSL Man of the Match: Robbie Findley-HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Assclown of the week: The ref. From imagining RSL players knocking balls out of bounds to falling for some of the worst dives on Earth, you earned this one buddy!
ps-pictures (hopefully) coming soon
I went to this game with my Ben Cup rival DCU Ben (and his DCU-loving wife), their first at the RES. Ben was immediately taken by the size and niceness of the stadium, mainly by virtue of forgetting that it was THE Olympic stadium in 2002. We got in and found our seats which they thought were great, especially with the proximity of the field to the seats. RFK, apparently, sets the field out a couple miles from the stands. This was about all the good news we were expecting on the day, to be honest, what with RSL's dismal season and Houston's 11 game unbeaten streak. The completely terrible (I was actually laughing halfway through it was so bad) National Anthem performance and the 10 minute wait between the kids making the "human tunnel" and the players actually coming out didn't help any positive mojo that may have been in the building. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, we were ready for kickoff.
RSL came out looking surprisingly strong right from the start. Also, I decided right from the start that I was to harass Stuart Holden for the evening. No real reason why, he was just there. But if you heard someone yelling "Stuuuuart" in a high-pitched, semi-nerdy voice in E37, that was me. hahaha Anyway, RSL came out with an attacking mentality that you don't normally see from them. The problem was that the finishing was as awful as ever. If you have a clear shot on the goal anywhere inside the penalty area you need to put it on frame, boys. Make the goalie work. Pattycakes Onstad saw plenty of shots in the first half but really didn't have to save any of them. The other problem in RSL's attack is that there is way too much hesitation before critical plays are made. Instead of sending in an early dangerous cross, RSL feels the need to perform 2, 3, 4, or more step-over moves and the like before crossing. It may make the cross a little easier, but it also allows the defense to get into position and negate any advantages you may have gained on the wing. Just attack already. However, this is not to say RSL had a bad half. Far from it. They controlled the game and possession throughout the half and with some decent finishing, could have had at least 2 goals. Despite a lack of finishing from both, Beckerman and Findley looked very dangerous, with Beckerman juking past defenders and Findley just burning past them. I hope to see more games like this out of these 2 in the future. Halftime: 0-0
Half grade: A- (higher with a goal or two)
The second half started much like the first, but with one exception, Holden was subbed at halftime (I'm sure he was too upset from my constant heckling to come back out) for Nate Jaqua. I never noticed it before, but Jaqua is HUGE. He looked like a mack truck out there on the field. Too bad for him he (apparently) doesn't know how to put that size to his advantage, he must've had a foot on Kipre. With this minor setback I decided to shift my attention to Craig Waibel and his sweet receding hairline. Lookin' good buddy! Anyway, for a while the game continued to go RSL's way, with solid midfield and defensive play and some (gasp!) decent runs by the attackers. Kipre and, even more so, Wingert were both in on the attack throughout the game and provided some much needed support on the wings for the attack. RSL was jobbed in the 49th minute when Kyle Brown was breaking to a loose ball near the Houston goal only to be fouled by Houston (Robinson I believe) who then flopped and negated a sterling RSL chance. Did I mention the officiating was terrible, cuz yeah, it was. RSL held this momentum until shortly after the sub of Jamie Watson for Chris Brown in the 66th minute. For some reason, Houston's intensity went way up at this point. They created some chances and controlled the game for about 10-15 minutes. They even drew a dangerous foul call just outside the box (nearly identical to the one last week vs. the NERds) on a pretty dive from Ngwenya. Side note: Houston likes to dive. A lot. Watching Ngwenya and Ching and how often they are "cut down" it's amazing they don't need wheelchairs...losers... Anyway, unlike Larentowicz, Mulrooney stepped up and just chunked the free kick to keep the game even. About 80 minutes in the game started to even back out a bit, with neither team looking dangerous. Then, it happened. RSL and it's 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of games against Houston and their 0. Guess who scored? Robbie Findley, on his 22nd birthday no less, took advantage of a late defensive mistake (how many times have we heard that on our side), grabbed an errant pass from the Houston back, and calmly, but surely, buried it past Pattycakes for the 1-0 lead. The place went N U T S. Absolutely 100% John "Ape" Schmidt. At this point, Houston threw everything including the kitchen sink at RSL but were unable to beat the defense and Rimando, despite a couple dangerous miscues that left the door open. Then after what seemed like an eternity of extra time, the ref finally blew his whistle and RSL had won. It was a beautiful thing. Well done boys. And well done the fans that were there for still coming out and being loud. Good times, good times.
Half grade: B+
Pros:
-I was actually at the game
-My friends from out of town were able to enjoy a game with nice weather, a grass field, an excitable crowd, and a RSL win!
-They won!
-Possession was much better in this game than many others recently.
-RSL actually looked dangerous in attack.
-Ballouchy for Beckerman
-Freddy and his 10% effort were not there to bring us down
-Robbie scored on his birthday!
-Sturgis is mean and not afraid of a hit. Him and Atiba make for 2 crazy mofos who are fun to watch.
-RSL won!
Cons:
-The ref was putrid. Even by MLS standards.
-Houston's flopping.
-There were too many kids there, which prevented me from making any Ryan Cochrane jokes. It was disappointing. I'm just glad my last name doesn't sound like a sexual aid.
-Another bye week after a win. Frustrating.
Game grade: A-
Good effort, just need to finish better
Player grades:
Nick Rimando-8 Made BIG saves when needed
Jean-Martial Kipre-6 Played well, but Houston picked on him in the 2nd half to some effect
sub(Chris Lancos 79)-6 Didn't get a lot of action but played well
Ritchie Kotschau-8 Perhaps the game of his life, very steady in central defense
Eddie Pope-8 Did his usual "clean up everyone's messes" routine
Chris Wingert-8 Defended admirably, added to the attack often, nice job on corners
Chris Brown-6 Quiet, but team seemed to drop off without him
sub(Jamie Watson 66)-6 Played OK, but team's drop after his sub was odd
Kyle Beckerman-8 Got into everything, showed nice moves, pushed forward well
Nathan Sturgis-8 Bonus point for his awesome mean, reckless takedowns! Sweet!
Carey Talley-6 Solid game, but unspectacular
Robbie Findley-9 Bonus point for the goal, ran defense absolutely ragged. Best game since DC
Kyle Brown-7 Played surprisingly well, pressured defense
(Atiba Harris 79)-7 Good hustle, actually played smart (his late run to the corner flag)
RSL Man of the Match: Robbie Findley-HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Assclown of the week: The ref. From imagining RSL players knocking balls out of bounds to falling for some of the worst dives on Earth, you earned this one buddy!
ps-pictures (hopefully) coming soon
Saturday, August 4, 2007
'Tis a Miracle!
Holy crap! We won! That's right, won! Yay!
(Full review coming soon, I'm just excited! ha ha)
(Full review coming soon, I'm just excited! ha ha)
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Catch-all update
So it didn't take long for Colorado to bring out Mehdi's "thug side." (thanks Steve Goff/Soccer Insider for the link) Fernando "Straight Thuggin' G" Clavijo must be proud. I think he may be a gang leader, but that's not confirmed. That trade was the steal of the century, I'm telling you... By the way, check out Mr. Victorine shortly after, that's quite an ice pack!
In other recent news, RSL has released backup to the backup to the backup keeper Matt Wideman, who saw a total of no action with RSL and has probably now had his development stunted for good. :) Also released was long-time Royal Danny Torres, in order to free up a senior international roster slot. Let's hope RSL's new SI's are actually good and not just guys they signed solely because they are Argentinian and because other Argentinians are currently playing quite well in MLS. Although, knowing RSL, it wouldn't surprise me... Anyway Danny, thanks for the memories...
Also, Freddy "Road Redwood" Adu has finally made his much lusted after move to Europe. I have two words for that: good riddance. If he won't play with passion or effort or even skill for our team we don't need him. He's definitely been part of the problem. Don't let the door hit you on the way out...actually, do. It may knock some sense into you. Either way, best of luck in Europe to Freddy, as I do hope his potential comes to fruition, the US team could use as many skilled technical attackers as it can get.
And now, we come to this weeks mfls.com Fantasy News (cue fanfare). Here's what the week 18 lineup looks like:
---------------------------Hesmer (CLB)---------------------------
------Wynne (TOR)-----Barrett (HOU)-----Larentowicz (NERds)------
----Joseph (NERds)--Ralston (NERds)--Holden (HOU)--Toja (DALass)----
--------Johnson (KC)------Esky (RSL)------Cristman (NERds)---------
A lot of NERds this week as they are the only team with 2 games: today vs. the "Pull over I gotta" Wiz and Sunday against the Black and Red of DC "Can't Win the Ben Cup" United. Esky is an iffy pick as he may still be out with whatever injury he has that he picked up whenever he did. Funny we didn't hear more about it...did he get called up to the Liberian National Team too??? But my other forwards (Galindo and Angel) both have the week off so I'm taking a shot with him (plus I like him so it works out on all fronts). Here's my spur of the moment (as always) mfls predictions for the week's games:
KC 2 - NERds 2
CLB 2 - CHI(cago) 1
Crapids 0 - Dallass 2
HOU 3 - RSL 1
DC 1 - NERds 1
LA 0 - TOR 2
I hope I'm wrong on RSL, I'll be at the match with some friends from out of town (the proprietors of "The Edgell Supporters" and Ben Cup losers). Perhaps they're here for a scouting trip? hahaha Anyway, I'm hoping to see a good performance from the Reds but I'm not holding my breath...
Finally, with DCU Ben coming to town the trophy for the Ben Cup will (hopefully) soon be finalized. I'll get pictures as soon as possible. Don't forget, Leg 2 is coming soon (Sept. 12) to RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. RSL is holding a 1-0-0 record and a +1 goal differential this year after winning it last year. Let's go RSL!!!
(Also, congrats to DCU on advancing to the semifinals of Superliga (that seems like that needs superhero fanfare before you say it)-smack aroundHouston the Galaxy! (duh, they JUST played Houston...I'm stupid... ha ha))
PS-Thanks to MLSnet for the videos and myself for the sweet, sweet Clavijo picture.
In other recent news, RSL has released backup to the backup to the backup keeper Matt Wideman, who saw a total of no action with RSL and has probably now had his development stunted for good. :) Also released was long-time Royal Danny Torres, in order to free up a senior international roster slot. Let's hope RSL's new SI's are actually good and not just guys they signed solely because they are Argentinian and because other Argentinians are currently playing quite well in MLS. Although, knowing RSL, it wouldn't surprise me... Anyway Danny, thanks for the memories...
Also, Freddy "Road Redwood" Adu has finally made his much lusted after move to Europe. I have two words for that: good riddance. If he won't play with passion or effort or even skill for our team we don't need him. He's definitely been part of the problem. Don't let the door hit you on the way out...actually, do. It may knock some sense into you. Either way, best of luck in Europe to Freddy, as I do hope his potential comes to fruition, the US team could use as many skilled technical attackers as it can get.
And now, we come to this weeks mfls.com Fantasy News (cue fanfare). Here's what the week 18 lineup looks like:
---------------------------Hesmer (CLB)---------------------------
------Wynne (TOR)-----Barrett (HOU)-----Larentowicz (NERds)------
----Joseph (NERds)--Ralston (NERds)--Holden (HOU)--Toja (DALass)----
--------Johnson (KC)------Esky (RSL)------Cristman (NERds)---------
A lot of NERds this week as they are the only team with 2 games: today vs. the "Pull over I gotta" Wiz and Sunday against the Black and Red of DC "Can't Win the Ben Cup" United. Esky is an iffy pick as he may still be out with whatever injury he has that he picked up whenever he did. Funny we didn't hear more about it...did he get called up to the Liberian National Team too??? But my other forwards (Galindo and Angel) both have the week off so I'm taking a shot with him (plus I like him so it works out on all fronts). Here's my spur of the moment (as always) mfls predictions for the week's games:
KC 2 - NERds 2
CLB 2 - CHI(cago) 1
Crapids 0 - Dallass 2
HOU 3 - RSL 1
DC 1 - NERds 1
LA 0 - TOR 2
I hope I'm wrong on RSL, I'll be at the match with some friends from out of town (the proprietors of "The Edgell Supporters" and Ben Cup losers). Perhaps they're here for a scouting trip? hahaha Anyway, I'm hoping to see a good performance from the Reds but I'm not holding my breath...
Finally, with DCU Ben coming to town the trophy for the Ben Cup will (hopefully) soon be finalized. I'll get pictures as soon as possible. Don't forget, Leg 2 is coming soon (Sept. 12) to RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. RSL is holding a 1-0-0 record and a +1 goal differential this year after winning it last year. Let's go RSL!!!
(Also, congrats to DCU on advancing to the semifinals of Superliga (that seems like that needs superhero fanfare before you say it)-smack around
PS-Thanks to MLSnet for the videos and myself for the sweet, sweet Clavijo picture.
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