Dave’s Football Blog

I got back from Las Vegas on Sunday night just before midnight, unpacked my bags, collapsed on my sofa around 1:00 AM, and didn’t wake up until about 10:30 or so.

Yes, it was that awesome a weekend — hanging out with the fun folks at the New Media Expo, watching the water show at the Bellagio, lounging out to Richard Cheese, getting propositioned by the hookers at the Hilton, sampling everything at the buffets, winning a poker tournament at the Mirage, losing a Premier League parlay (bloody Tottenham), partying on Fremont Street, watching from the Stratosphere Tower as the city lit up at sundown…

It was a grand adventure — until the jet lag hit me like a Martin Taylor tackle on Monday. I would lie down for a few minutes, lose an entire half-hour of my day, then get dizzy just by shifting to sit upright. Even two days later, I’m still shaking off the last vestiges of this. I wonder if this is how Merrill Hoge feels sometimes on the set of NFL Matchup…

Anyway, in a half-assed attempt to catch up, I’m going to throw some stories out there that I figure are worth mentioning here. I’m sure I’ve missed more than this. I’ll worry about that later.

• Jeremy Wilson of the Telegraph serves up this interesting piece on how the credit crunch is about to impact English football. As if Leeds United wasn’t enough of a warning to clubs borrowing on future success.
• Meanwhile, Deuce of Davenport shows us some non-league football supporters in England telling their goalie what they really think of him. Quality.
• Here’s one I missed completely — Chelsea chief exec Peter Kenyon told non-Big Four clubs to get their houses in order. From now on, he will be referred to here as “Marie Antoinette.”
• Dude, how ’bout that Hull City? How can you not cheer for that club?
• A musical about David Beckham’s career. That should cement his status as a gay icon. Hell, he might yet dethrone Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Maurice Edu is headed to Rangers. He’ll have to wade through a season of Scottish football to play in Europe, but it would have taken him just as long to make the CONCACAF Champions League with Toronto FC, anyway. Still, the timing of this move puzzles me. Is Scotland really that much better than MLS? And why Rangers, a club that doesn’t play anything close to attractive football? Of course, maybe that’s why they got Edu in the first place.
• Speaking of Yanks abroad, Cardiff City was unable to pull Kenny Cooper out of Dallas and now wants to lure Eddie Johnson away from Fulham, which shouldn’t be too hard. Plus, if you want to watch Jozy Altidore in La Liga this season, you’ll have to get DirecTV. I think it’s time for me to make the switch…
• It was always going to be just the U.S. women to win a medal in Olympic soccer, wasn’t it? The gold medal match between the USA and Brazil kicks off at 9:00 AM tomorrow. The Argentina v. Nigeria men’s soccer final, should be fun to watch. That starts at 12:00 A.M. ET on Saturday morning, so you’ll have to stay up late to see it live.
• Meanwhile, south of China, the A-League season started with a brawl between Sydney FC supporters and Melbourne Victory supporters. It looked slightly worse than the handbags between West Ham and Columbus Crew fans. Maybe.
• Speaking of Australia, Geelong has once again clinched the top seed in the AFL Finals Series, while Collingwood appears to be one drink away from falling out of the Top 8, and the credit crunch is pimpslapping the Pies, too.
• Two years removed from their Grand Final victory, the West Coast Eagles are getting a priority draft pick, and everyone’s all upset about it.
• Here’s your roster for the US Revolution footy team, which will be playing in the AFL International Cup, which begins in a week in Melbourne.
• Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark played the race card when a local writer described Anthony Smith’s behavior as “thuggery.” Uh, no, we use that word on anyone who beats up teammates in practice for no apparent reason. Joey Barton is also a thug. (Steve Smith is, too, but at least he’s our thug…)
• Speaking of the Panthers, those offseason acquisitions aren’t looking so hot for them right now, save for Jeff Otah.
• Whatever you do, NFL coaches, keep Kenny Chesney away from your locker rooms.
• Remember that upstart league that Mark Cuban a bunch of other guys planned to launch? Apparently, they’re waiting for Senor Mexico to get out of jail first. Classy.
• Brett Favre is not God, and this is why.
• Whatever you do, don’t try to take Warren Sapp’s picture without his permission. Seriously.

Okay, that’s enough for now. I’ll be more focused in another 24 hours, when I’ve fully gotten over walking out of the Mirage with a chain wallet full of Benjamins and blending into the blissfully unaware crowd as I nonchalantly sauntered back to my hotel room. And I’m not even sure that was my favorite moment of the weekend.

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