Aug 13 2008
Quick Hits
Olympics: USA 1-2 Nigeria I’m still debating whether Michael Orozco or Peter Nowak was the bigger moron today. Orozco got a straight red for elbowing a player in the chest right in front of a German ref who wasn’t taking any crap. Brilliant. So down 1-0 and down to 10 men at the start of the second half, with Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley on yellow card suspensions, the USA needs a goal — and Nowak pulls Jozy Altidore out in favor of Benny Feilhaber? Are you freaking kidding me!?
Between those two things and Stuart Holden’s dumb foul at the end of the Netherlands game, the USA earned its trip home here. I hope Nowak earned a pinkslip.
US Open Cup: No quadruple for the New England Revolution. D.C. United topped New England, 3-1, in a game seen by less than 7,000 people. (Thanks for nothing, MLS.) Meanwhile, on a rainy night in Charleston, SC, the Seattle Sounders took the Charleston Battery to penalty kicks, and the Battery came out on top. The Open Cup Final between D.C.U. and the Battery takes place on Wednesday, September 3, at RFK Stadium. It will probably be D.C.U.’s only chance to win a trophy and make the 2009 CONCACAF Champions League.
Premier League: Dimitar Berbatov is headed to Manchester United. (Was that deal ever not going to happen?) Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur has not yet secured Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St. Petersburg. Expect even more “SPURS GET BENT” headlines from British Tabloids.
AFL: The Sydney Swans just signed 24-year-old Canadian rugby fullback Mike Pyke to their rookie list. Their next target: Chris Chambers…
Dude can mark. Ha ha.
Programming Note: Blogging will be light for the rest of the week, as I’m off to Las Vegas for a few days. I’ll have something resembling a Premier League preview up on Friday, but that will probably be about it until next week. On a side note, I made a grand total of $3.06 yesterday from my banner ad network, thanks to this Stuart Scott karaoke post. I’d promise not to spend it all in one place, but really, I’ve got a lot of postcards to buy…
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Just once I want to see a legitimately world-class player stay at a non-Big Four club for more than three seasons. Just once. Seriously, you know something’s screwed up when Tottenham can’t even hold on to a guy like Berbatov…
Oh, and of course DCU killed New England. Look at the lineups… DCU recognizes that they’re going to have to win the US Open Cup to go anywhere next year, so they started Emilio, Moreno, and all their regulars. New England trotted out a bunch of random dudes from the B-team or something.
At least with DCU vs. Charleston, you’ll get a pair of teams who actually care, even if no one cares enough to show it on TV…
Oh, well, I guess Shalrie Joseph played. Still, check out the differences between the Revs lineup for the USOC semis and this regular-season match against Chicago…
Just for the record, the Open Cup Final will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel, so someone cares that much, I guess.
I’m glad Manchester United’s deal for Berbatov finally appears set to be finalized. United have a lot of depth, but they still need more firepower up front when Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are both out. I originally thought a move for a younger striker might have been a better option (maybe Benzema), but I must admit that Berbatov is a proven goalscorer. He’ll have a better supporting cast around him at United than he did at Tottenham, and I think his play will benefit as a result. I also think that he, Rooney and Tevez can all play at the same time given the way Rooney and Tevez enjoy dropping back to cover more of the pitch.
All that said, I agree with Jeff’s comment about the inability of non-big four teams to hold onto talent. I see nothing that makes me believe there will be a shake-up at the top of the Premier League anytime soon.
Daniel Levy wants 32million now… according to some papers… Apparently Barca is about to put a bid in…
I don’t think Berbatov is worth $28 or $32 mil. Maybe half of that…