a) Does anyone currently have a better college baseball tradition than LSU? Six national titles since ’92 or so, and their average attendance was almost 9,600 per game this season. And when they get to Omaha, the purple and gold are magic … they win it all about half the time. Geaux Tigers!!!
b) NBA draft … Is it just me, or does anyone else think Ty Lawson should have gone a lot earlier than the 6th point guard taken overall??? And does anyone else think Tricky Ricky Rubio is not gonna be the superstar the T-wolves think he’s gonna be??
c) Despite losing two of three to the WhiteSox (yea !!!), the LA Dodgers are simply running away with the NL’s best record … winning at a .644 clip. The next best record belongs to their Western Division rival, the Giants, who own a .549 winning %. Their run differential is +84, and MLB’s next best isTampa’s +79. And they’ve done this without Manny in the lineup for 2/3 of their games. Are the LADs really this good??? Should we pencil them in for a World Series showdown with … hmmm … the BoSox???
d) Was channel surfing late last night and AGAIN got hooked in the NFL Network’s series on The Greatest Super Bowl Teams. I watched 2 hours of the ’72 Dolphins and then the ’73 Dolphins. I’ve decided that one of my all-time favorite players is absolutely Larry Csonka. #39 was a modern day Bronco Nagurski and I believe he was a huge part of the glue that made those Dolphins one of the early NFL dynasties. Now that guy was a stud … still is … he’s “Mr. Outdoors” up here in Alaska.
Muelssays
I am curious as to the reactions of this group concerning the US Men’s Soccer team and their recent efforts, including today’s 3-2 loss to Brazil. As a nearly life-long soccer player/coach/fan, I watched the first half with pleasant shock and joy only to yell at my non-plasma TV in frustration throughout the second half. I am not hear to seek out the answer to why this country can’t (or won’t) gravitate towards soccer- at this point I don’t need gratification for my favorite sport. Steak is my favorite food but I will not get into a screaming match with you if lobster floats your boat. We like what we like, and that is about as American as you can get. Did any non-soccer fanatic watch the game today? Did you find it entertaining? That’s all I am wondering.
I thought it was an interesting and watchable game. The fact that I ended the game as a frustrated fan tells me something about what this team has managed to do over the last week or so- raise my expectations. Not that I think soccer is ready to finally “make it” in the US… That will only happen when the quality of the MLS rises to include the highest level of international players. This country loves a major event involving the world’s best of ANYTHING. Soccer will have only a moderate audience here until the best players in the world perform here on a weekly basis. And that is OK with me. Now the joy comes when we step up and perform at such a high level against the best in the world. We didn’t end with the winner’s medal, but being on the top portion of msnbc.com even in a losing effort feels pretty good. Now we aim for the World Cup- less than a year to go!
The reaction of the US players after the game told the story. Yesterday’s loss carried no moral victory. The US wanted the win. That speaks volumes about where US soccer is right now.
I was effectually prevented from watching the game. Rey provided me with updates …and candid commentary. Rey would probably love to comment on this thread, but he and the family are on the road. He probably won’t catch up with this thread.
I am still not sold on Landon Donovan.
Wallysays
Muels —
I was flipping back and forth between US vs Brazil and the Windy City Classic (Cubs vs White Sox). As a baseball nut from Chicago, it doesn’t get any better for me than having that game on WGN. But still, I was very curious to see if we were gonna see another “Miracle on Ice” type of moment for the U.S. if they could somehow pull off the championship win. I’m not a big soccer fan from a spectator point of view … some of my daughters played, which helped me learn about the game a bit … didn’t play as a kid. It is frustrating for me to watch on TV … I find it mostly boring because there a very few scoring chances in a game and there’s all the flopping going on and the time you see left in the game is not really the time left and the maddening offsides rules and … THAT INCESSANT BUZZING DURING THE WHOLE TELECAST IN THE BACKGROUND … TALK ABOUT ANNOYING … WHAT WAS THAT????
Anyway, I guess I’m like alot of Americans … sorry. Soccer is just not my cup of tea. But I do appreciate the athleticism/fitness required to play the game. I’m also not surprised the US lost the 2-0 lead and ultimately the game yesterday. Looked like we went into soccer’s equivalent of the “prevent defense” and never got the offensive game back.
Someone pick a topic and get us started.
Wally’s smorgasboard of random thoughts:
a) Does anyone currently have a better college baseball tradition than LSU? Six national titles since ’92 or so, and their average attendance was almost 9,600 per game this season. And when they get to Omaha, the purple and gold are magic … they win it all about half the time. Geaux Tigers!!!
b) NBA draft … Is it just me, or does anyone else think Ty Lawson should have gone a lot earlier than the 6th point guard taken overall??? And does anyone else think Tricky Ricky Rubio is not gonna be the superstar the T-wolves think he’s gonna be??
c) Despite losing two of three to the WhiteSox (yea !!!), the LA Dodgers are simply running away with the NL’s best record … winning at a .644 clip. The next best record belongs to their Western Division rival, the Giants, who own a .549 winning %. Their run differential is +84, and MLB’s next best isTampa’s +79. And they’ve done this without Manny in the lineup for 2/3 of their games. Are the LADs really this good??? Should we pencil them in for a World Series showdown with … hmmm … the BoSox???
d) Was channel surfing late last night and AGAIN got hooked in the NFL Network’s series on The Greatest Super Bowl Teams. I watched 2 hours of the ’72 Dolphins and then the ’73 Dolphins. I’ve decided that one of my all-time favorite players is absolutely Larry Csonka. #39 was a modern day Bronco Nagurski and I believe he was a huge part of the glue that made those Dolphins one of the early NFL dynasties. Now that guy was a stud … still is … he’s “Mr. Outdoors” up here in Alaska.
I am curious as to the reactions of this group concerning the US Men’s Soccer team and their recent efforts, including today’s 3-2 loss to Brazil. As a nearly life-long soccer player/coach/fan, I watched the first half with pleasant shock and joy only to yell at my non-plasma TV in frustration throughout the second half. I am not hear to seek out the answer to why this country can’t (or won’t) gravitate towards soccer- at this point I don’t need gratification for my favorite sport. Steak is my favorite food but I will not get into a screaming match with you if lobster floats your boat. We like what we like, and that is about as American as you can get. Did any non-soccer fanatic watch the game today? Did you find it entertaining? That’s all I am wondering.
I thought it was an interesting and watchable game. The fact that I ended the game as a frustrated fan tells me something about what this team has managed to do over the last week or so- raise my expectations. Not that I think soccer is ready to finally “make it” in the US… That will only happen when the quality of the MLS rises to include the highest level of international players. This country loves a major event involving the world’s best of ANYTHING. Soccer will have only a moderate audience here until the best players in the world perform here on a weekly basis. And that is OK with me. Now the joy comes when we step up and perform at such a high level against the best in the world. We didn’t end with the winner’s medal, but being on the top portion of msnbc.com even in a losing effort feels pretty good. Now we aim for the World Cup- less than a year to go!
Muels
The reaction of the US players after the game told the story. Yesterday’s loss carried no moral victory. The US wanted the win. That speaks volumes about where US soccer is right now.
I was effectually prevented from watching the game. Rey provided me with updates …and candid commentary. Rey would probably love to comment on this thread, but he and the family are on the road. He probably won’t catch up with this thread.
I am still not sold on Landon Donovan.
Muels —
I was flipping back and forth between US vs Brazil and the Windy City Classic (Cubs vs White Sox). As a baseball nut from Chicago, it doesn’t get any better for me than having that game on WGN. But still, I was very curious to see if we were gonna see another “Miracle on Ice” type of moment for the U.S. if they could somehow pull off the championship win. I’m not a big soccer fan from a spectator point of view … some of my daughters played, which helped me learn about the game a bit … didn’t play as a kid. It is frustrating for me to watch on TV … I find it mostly boring because there a very few scoring chances in a game and there’s all the flopping going on and the time you see left in the game is not really the time left and the maddening offsides rules and … THAT INCESSANT BUZZING DURING THE WHOLE TELECAST IN THE BACKGROUND … TALK ABOUT ANNOYING … WHAT WAS THAT????
Anyway, I guess I’m like alot of Americans … sorry. Soccer is just not my cup of tea. But I do appreciate the athleticism/fitness required to play the game. I’m also not surprised the US lost the 2-0 lead and ultimately the game yesterday. Looked like we went into soccer’s equivalent of the “prevent defense” and never got the offensive game back.