I know no one will read this (readership sucks on the weekends), but I have to write about my feelings. I am really nervous about tomorrow. I don't want tomorrow to be the last day of the Sounders season. I know we are a great team. I know we are capable of winning tomorrow. We just need to get the job done.
So far, all three MLS series have been won by the lower seed. Deep down I know that this means nothing, but I can't shake this feeling that it does mean something. The probability is low that all four series will be won the lower seeds. Fate is against us. But then again, probability can mean nothing when it comes to sports. Maybe this is the year when chaos ensues. SJ went to NY with a defecit and won. Why not the Sounders too? Fate is with us.
I'm working myself into a lather - I love this team and don't want to season to end. Come on Sounders, let's get it done tomorrow.
We love you Sounders, We Do..
We love you Sounders, We Do..
We love you Sounders, We Do..
Oh Sounders, We love you!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Just Beat the Damn Rangers
The Devils are reeling. They are in last place and have a ton of injuries. Their definitely is a negative aura around them right now. I know one win won't be enough to get them out of their duldrums, but it definitely would be a great start. Winning cures all. And winning against your hated rivals would go a long way in getting the team on the right track. A win tonight against the stupid Rangers would not only give the team a two game winning streak, but it would make us fans a lot happier. Don't get me wrong- it wouldn't mask a 5-9-1 start, but it sure would raise spirits a little bit. We all HATE the Rangers. Beating them is always fun. So let's get it done tonight.
I am calling out three players - Marty Brodeur, Ilya Kovalchuk and Anton Volchenkov. All three of you need to step up and show your worth. These are bad times right now and we need leaders to help us get out of it.
I am calling out three players - Marty Brodeur, Ilya Kovalchuk and Anton Volchenkov. All three of you need to step up and show your worth. These are bad times right now and we need leaders to help us get out of it.
Sounders Have Uphill Battle
Part of me wanted to reflect on the 2010 Sounders in a positive light this morning. I wanted to remember opening night when we once again had Qwest Field rocking. I wanted to remember when we sat in last place with a 4-8-2 record and the subsequent run we went on to end the season. I also wanted to remember our terrible showing in Champions League and of course of US Open Cup victory. But then I realized that by thinking about the season as a whole, I was conceding our game this weekend. That is not something I want to do. Sure, we have an uphill battle if we want to advance to the Western Conference Finals, but if there is a team in the league capable of winning on the road when hope looks lost, its the Sounders.
We have had a terrible time against the Galaxy this year. In all competitions, we are 1-3-0 against LA with our only win coming at Starfire in US Open Cup action. In MLS, we have been outscored 8-1 in three games. In order to advance, we need to reverse the trend. There is no such thing as a moral victory for this team anymore. The bar has been set high - we want trophies. Failing to get out of the first round would be a failure. I know some might think that is a little over the top, but I believe it. US Open Cups aside, MLS teams have one thing to shoot for -the MLS title. Not only have we never won a playoff game, we have never even scored. Not one goal in three games.
That of course is what makes this seem like an impossible task. We need to beat the Galaxy in regulation. If we lead by 1 goal, we go to OT and then a shootout. If we lead by 2 goals at the end of regulation then we win the series. It's that simple. Unfortunately, winning by 2 goals seems highly unlikely giving that we have only one goal against LA in 3 games this year and 0 goals in 3 career playoffs games...surely that won't happen.
But then again, it might just happen. That is the beautiful thing about sports, and especially soccer. Nothing is ever guaranteed. We saw Kasey Keller horribly mishandle a ball against LA in May, so who is to say that Donovan Ricketts won't do the same. Or that Eddie Lewis won't score an own goal. Or simply that Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero and Blaise Nkufo show up in the biggest game of the year and run the Galaxy off the field.
LA has Donovan, Beckham and Buddle -they are a good team, but I truly believe in my heart that if we show up to play and get one break to go our way, we won't be contained. Call it lack of confidence in LA's defense or call it total confidence in our offense, but I think we can get it done. And we have to get it done or there will be no competitive soccer for the rave and green until March.
[UPDATE - I am just got word that SJ went to NY and erased a 1-0 aggregate deficit to win 3-2. Frustration with MLS playoff seeding aside, this has to be promising for the Sounders in their attempt to move on]
We have had a terrible time against the Galaxy this year. In all competitions, we are 1-3-0 against LA with our only win coming at Starfire in US Open Cup action. In MLS, we have been outscored 8-1 in three games. In order to advance, we need to reverse the trend. There is no such thing as a moral victory for this team anymore. The bar has been set high - we want trophies. Failing to get out of the first round would be a failure. I know some might think that is a little over the top, but I believe it. US Open Cups aside, MLS teams have one thing to shoot for -the MLS title. Not only have we never won a playoff game, we have never even scored. Not one goal in three games.
That of course is what makes this seem like an impossible task. We need to beat the Galaxy in regulation. If we lead by 1 goal, we go to OT and then a shootout. If we lead by 2 goals at the end of regulation then we win the series. It's that simple. Unfortunately, winning by 2 goals seems highly unlikely giving that we have only one goal against LA in 3 games this year and 0 goals in 3 career playoffs games...surely that won't happen.
But then again, it might just happen. That is the beautiful thing about sports, and especially soccer. Nothing is ever guaranteed. We saw Kasey Keller horribly mishandle a ball against LA in May, so who is to say that Donovan Ricketts won't do the same. Or that Eddie Lewis won't score an own goal. Or simply that Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero and Blaise Nkufo show up in the biggest game of the year and run the Galaxy off the field.
LA has Donovan, Beckham and Buddle -they are a good team, but I truly believe in my heart that if we show up to play and get one break to go our way, we won't be contained. Call it lack of confidence in LA's defense or call it total confidence in our offense, but I think we can get it done. And we have to get it done or there will be no competitive soccer for the rave and green until March.
[UPDATE - I am just got word that SJ went to NY and erased a 1-0 aggregate deficit to win 3-2. Frustration with MLS playoff seeding aside, this has to be promising for the Sounders in their attempt to move on]
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Saturday is Going to be Brutal
This was supposed to be the year that glory was restored to the UW football program. We had an exciting second coach, a potent offense and a Heisman Trophy candidate QB who passed up millions of dollars to return for his senior year. This was the year.
When we beat USC, to put us at 2-2 on the season, I wrote that the next two games were of highest importance. Beating the Trojans was a great feeling, but if we could not beat both the Sun Devils and the Beavs, there was a good chance we would stay home for the holidays again. It wasn't a huge shock that they laid an egg against ASU before beating OSU in OT the following week. At 3-3, the Huskies were staring at the conference's top 3 teams: @ AZ, Stanford, @UO. Losing to Arizona sucked, but we were on the road. Surely we had a chance at home against the Cardinal. Wow, were we all wrong. The defense was terrible. the offense even worse. We lost 41-0.
Now this weekend we have to go to Autzen Stadium to play the top-ranked Ducks. It is not going to go well. Let me give you the facts:
The only thing worse than a rout by UO is that the game will be nationally televised on ABC, which means the rest of the country can learn what we in Seattle already know - this team is not any closer to relevance than they were last year. At least we have basketball.
When we beat USC, to put us at 2-2 on the season, I wrote that the next two games were of highest importance. Beating the Trojans was a great feeling, but if we could not beat both the Sun Devils and the Beavs, there was a good chance we would stay home for the holidays again. It wasn't a huge shock that they laid an egg against ASU before beating OSU in OT the following week. At 3-3, the Huskies were staring at the conference's top 3 teams: @ AZ, Stanford, @UO. Losing to Arizona sucked, but we were on the road. Surely we had a chance at home against the Cardinal. Wow, were we all wrong. The defense was terrible. the offense even worse. We lost 41-0.
Now this weekend we have to go to Autzen Stadium to play the top-ranked Ducks. It is not going to go well. Let me give you the facts:
- The Ducks average 51.0 points a game (1st nationally); the Huskies give up 34.1 (106th)
- The Ducks average 308.8 rushing yards a game (3rd); the Huskies give up 144.3 (74th)
- The Huskies average 21.8 (93rd) points a game; the Ducks give up 17.9 and Jake Locker is not playing
- Oh, did I mention that the Huskies haven't won at Autzen since 2002 and have been outscored on average by UO 42-17 during their 6 game series losing streak
The only thing worse than a rout by UO is that the game will be nationally televised on ABC, which means the rest of the country can learn what we in Seattle already know - this team is not any closer to relevance than they were last year. At least we have basketball.
Monday, November 1, 2010
JerseySounder's Most Hated Sports Town
Prior to the Sounders playoff game against the Gals (which I will not be covering for JS because I did not watch a single minute of it), Sigi Schmid uttered the famous phrase that Boston made famous in the 80's - Beat LA! The phrase has certainly made a resurgence thanks to the Suns and Celtics battles against the Lakers in the past few years. I have also now heard it at 'fringe' sporting events like MLS and WNBA. So it got me thinking...do people really hate LA sports or are people simply too lazy to think of something else to say? To shed some light on the mystery, I emailed 30 of my closest friends to see what Sports Town they hated the most.
Before reveling the results, let me break down the voters: I received 17 ballots of which we had 7 Bucknellians, 3 Seattlites, 3 high school friends, 2 Califorians and Irishman and myself. Here are the votes followed by select commentary
So here is what others had to say...
The Crappy One: "of course there is hatred for the yankees and rangers. but on the flipside, I have enough friends who like the mets that I'll support them in spirit (that means no homophobic slurs). plus, yankees fans hate the mets. the enemy of my enemy is my friend....the thing that actually changed my mind on it were the giants and jets... the fact that they play in new jersey but refuse to take the name pisses me off to no end. ny jets my sack. they play in effing east rutherford. NJ. not new york. same for the giants. and the fact that they call the new stadium "NEW MEADOWLANDS" is retarded, so they lose points for that, too. seriously, get the fuck out of my state if you can't bother calling yourself the new jersey giants."
D-Lib: "Philly - I've never understood why classlessness is something to be proud of."
E-Huge: "I would root for the Taliban if they played Notre Dame."
Buns: "The icing on the cake though is really the fans in Philly. I'm not sure if it's the general underperformance of their teams in the last 25 years or their inferiority complex with New York, but it's really easy not to like them. I've been to Philly several times in my life (all for business, never for pleasure obviously), and I can sort of see why there would be an inherent bitterness in the people. The place is a shithole that tries to market itself as lovable and as an underdog. So when the teams lose, the fans have nothing else to turn to. If the Miami Heat are getting blown out in a game, the fans are actually happy because that means they can leave the game early and hit up the beach. In Philly? Not so much."
J-Will: "This is Seattle. We don't hate anybody...Personally, since I lived on Colorado, I hate all teams from there."
The Wife: "Hatred is a strong word. I guess since my favorite team to support is the Sounders, I would say I would like to see Portland lose the most"
Duchene: "Oooo, that’s a toughy. There are three contenders. New York fans are definitely in the discussion. As everyone knows, they think that the universe revolves around them and that nothing exists outside of their world. I’m pretty sure they think the World Series was cancelled this year because the Yankees aren’t playing...Philly fans are almost exclusively loudmouths...I could go through the usual litany of why they are so obnoxious (vomiting on children, etc.), but those are all well known. But the winners, in an extremely tight race, are Boston fans. 10 years ago they were insufferable whiners like Cubs fans, but with the sudden run of success they’ve managed to maintain that whining edge while adding a layer of condescension. It really is an amazing combination. Add to the fact that all the people who can still afford to go to games in Boston’s are there because daddy or granddaddy did all the work and then passed along the cash and you have a truly unbearable fan base."
Major thanks to all those who contributed. I look forward to more email polls like this in the future.
Before reveling the results, let me break down the voters: I received 17 ballots of which we had 7 Bucknellians, 3 Seattlites, 3 high school friends, 2 Califorians and Irishman and myself. Here are the votes followed by select commentary
- Philadelphia - 6
- New York - 4
- Dallas - 2
- Boston, LA, South Bend, Portland, Denver - 1
So here is what others had to say...
The Crappy One: "of course there is hatred for the yankees and rangers. but on the flipside, I have enough friends who like the mets that I'll support them in spirit (that means no homophobic slurs). plus, yankees fans hate the mets. the enemy of my enemy is my friend....the thing that actually changed my mind on it were the giants and jets... the fact that they play in new jersey but refuse to take the name pisses me off to no end. ny jets my sack. they play in effing east rutherford. NJ. not new york. same for the giants. and the fact that they call the new stadium "NEW MEADOWLANDS" is retarded, so they lose points for that, too. seriously, get the fuck out of my state if you can't bother calling yourself the new jersey giants."
D-Lib: "Philly - I've never understood why classlessness is something to be proud of."
E-Huge: "I would root for the Taliban if they played Notre Dame."
Buns: "The icing on the cake though is really the fans in Philly. I'm not sure if it's the general underperformance of their teams in the last 25 years or their inferiority complex with New York, but it's really easy not to like them. I've been to Philly several times in my life (all for business, never for pleasure obviously), and I can sort of see why there would be an inherent bitterness in the people. The place is a shithole that tries to market itself as lovable and as an underdog. So when the teams lose, the fans have nothing else to turn to. If the Miami Heat are getting blown out in a game, the fans are actually happy because that means they can leave the game early and hit up the beach. In Philly? Not so much."
J-Will: "This is Seattle. We don't hate anybody...Personally, since I lived on Colorado, I hate all teams from there."
The Wife: "Hatred is a strong word. I guess since my favorite team to support is the Sounders, I would say I would like to see Portland lose the most"
Duchene: "Oooo, that’s a toughy. There are three contenders. New York fans are definitely in the discussion. As everyone knows, they think that the universe revolves around them and that nothing exists outside of their world. I’m pretty sure they think the World Series was cancelled this year because the Yankees aren’t playing...Philly fans are almost exclusively loudmouths...I could go through the usual litany of why they are so obnoxious (vomiting on children, etc.), but those are all well known. But the winners, in an extremely tight race, are Boston fans. 10 years ago they were insufferable whiners like Cubs fans, but with the sudden run of success they’ve managed to maintain that whining edge while adding a layer of condescension. It really is an amazing combination. Add to the fact that all the people who can still afford to go to games in Boston’s are there because daddy or granddaddy did all the work and then passed along the cash and you have a truly unbearable fan base."
Major thanks to all those who contributed. I look forward to more email polls like this in the future.
Giants Give This Mets Fan Hope
The San Francisco Giants just one the World Series and as I watched the celebration, I couldn't help but get a little choked up. This franchise had not won a title since moving west from NY in 1957. During the celebration, Joe Buck gave a list of longtime Giants players who never got to lift a title. It definitely hit something inside of me. The thing about the Giants (as well as the White Sox and Red Sox before them) going generations without winning a title is not that the franchise necessarily feels the agony; no, it's the fans that feel the agony. It's the 55 year old men who have never been able to say that their beloved Giants are World Series champions. The fans are the true winners.
I know my drought hasn't been that long - 24 years to be exact - but I am starting to feel like I might not see another World Series title in Queens. That is why the Giants winning the title was such a good moment. It gives me some hope heading into next year. I mean, here was a team picked by SI to finish 3rd in the NL West with 83 wins; a team with odds of making the World Series was +3000, of which only 12 teams were worse. This was a middle of the pack team that went on a crazy rollercoaster ride to win the title.
Surely, this means that Mets have a shot next year, right?
I know my drought hasn't been that long - 24 years to be exact - but I am starting to feel like I might not see another World Series title in Queens. That is why the Giants winning the title was such a good moment. It gives me some hope heading into next year. I mean, here was a team picked by SI to finish 3rd in the NL West with 83 wins; a team with odds of making the World Series was +3000, of which only 12 teams were worse. This was a middle of the pack team that went on a crazy rollercoaster ride to win the title.
Surely, this means that Mets have a shot next year, right?
For crying out loud...
Here's the Devils' injury tally so far:
Brian Rolston (10 gamesmissed), Bryce Salvador (12 games), Matt Corrente (6 games), Anton Volchenkov (10 games) , Mark Fraser (8 games), Anssi Salmela (12 games) and now rookie stud Jacob Josefson.
Oh yeah and by the way, Zach Parise is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
And yet Rod Pelley has managed to stay healthy the whole season.
Something tells me this will not be the year that Devils forfeit their first round pick.
Brian Rolston (10 gamesmissed), Bryce Salvador (12 games), Matt Corrente (6 games), Anton Volchenkov (10 games) , Mark Fraser (8 games), Anssi Salmela (12 games) and now rookie stud Jacob Josefson.
Oh yeah and by the way, Zach Parise is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
And yet Rod Pelley has managed to stay healthy the whole season.
Something tells me this will not be the year that Devils forfeit their first round pick.
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