World Cup and European leagues

[ScotsFan]

Another interesting handshake yesterday with Harry Redknapp, only I think Harry kept the ''piss off" to himself.



So Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey for the first time since 1993, then drop it under the celebration bus.

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Sergio-Ramos-dropped-Copa-del-Rey-trophy-under-m?urn=sow-wp1029

I saw that this morning on ESPN's First Take and they were like, could you imagine the team that won Lord Stanley's Cup doing that???   

There's bound to be some soccer jokes out there about how soccer players can't even hold up 30 lb trophies or something along those lines... 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Any player dropping Lord Stanley's Cup under a bus would NEVER dare take the ice again!  Aside from the ridicule, he would likely not survive the game.

[Hoosier Titan]

There's bound to be some soccer jokes out there about how soccer players can't even hold up 30 lb trophies or something along those lines... 

I just said it's a good thing he doesn't play American football, basketball, or baseball.  He sure ain't a shortstop!

A friend who's lived in Chile for many years pointed out that, in Spanish, one can say "Se cayo'" which literally means "it fell itself". You can note the disaster without including yourself in the sentence even if it is your fault.  Sergio Ramos has probably already used that linguistic quirk as an excuse.

[Joe Wally]

The Stanley Cup is not a very good example.  The Stanley Cup has been abandoned in a cab, abandoned at roadsides, eaten out of, urinated in (hopefully not at the same time), dented on numerous occasions, sunk at the bottom of a pool, and Lord knows what else.

The Copa Del Rey made out light relative to Lord Stanley's Cup.

[Hoosier Titan]

The Stanley Cup is not a very good example.  The Stanley Cup has been abandoned in a cab, abandoned at roadsides, eaten out of, urinated in (hopefully not at the same time), dented on numerous occasions, sunk at the bottom of a pool, and Lord knows what else.

With hockey players, one never knows! 

Imagine if Iker Casillas had been the one to drop it!  He'd never get another game in goal.

[sac]

Of course, one never truly knows if you have the "real" Stanley Cup or the facsimile.  Only the man with the white gloves really knows.

[Joe Wally]

2-1 loss to Bolton.  Forget what I said earlier.  He's done at the end of the season.

[Hoosier Titan]

2-1 loss to Bolton.  Forget what I said earlier.  He's done at the end of the season.

It's become too predictable, hasn't it?  Like others, I'm concerned about the man's mental health.

Don't look now, but the race for positions 3-6 is becoming very interesting.  Arsenal are now third but appear to be in free fall.  Man City have played 32 games and lead Spurs by a single point; Spurs have played 33 and lead Liverpool by three points; Liverpool have played 34 games and now lead Spurs in goal differential.  On paper LFC would seem to have the easiest run-in, with Newcastle and Spurs at Anfield and away to Fulham and Aston Villa.  Man City have to play Spurs on 10 May, then the FA Cup final v. Stoke on the 14th, then Stoke again at Stoke on the 17th.  They should have a deep enough bench to pull it off, but it's a tight schedule.  Spurs have to go to Stamford Bridge, City, and Anfield...a tough row to hoe at any time of year.

Liverpool fans are thinking about what could have been if only Kenny Dalglish had been brought in a month earlier, but there's still plenty to play for in the season we have.

[Hoosier Titan]

From Twitter: "A stat for #arsenal fans. Before Wenger, you finished top four in 23 out of 92 seasons. Under him, it is 14 out of 14."

In case anyone wants to hear what a Scouse accent sounds like, here's a quick "Who is More Scouse?" quiz of Pepe Reina and Dirk Kuyt.  So you can hear proper Scouse (the interviewer), Spanish Scouse, and Dutch Scouse.  And you'll know why we always have communication problems in Liverpool!

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/video-who-s-more-scouse?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[Joe Wally]

Great story in the Times about Ryan Giggs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/sports/soccer/26vecsey.html?ref=sports

[Joe Wally]

From Twitter: "A stat for #arsenal fans. Before Wenger, you finished top four in 23 out of 92 seasons. Under him, it is 14 out of 14."

Yeah, I am trying to come to grips with that.   He's been extraordinary.  But is he still able to reach the summit?

[Joe Wally]

Arsenal 1 - Man United 0

Good to see Arsenal finally win a match of some consequence.  It was a tremendous result for the boys.  Somewhat suprised that Man United did not respond with greater ferocity affter the Gunners scored their goal in the second half.

In spite of the victory, Arshavin's play left me scratching my head.  He looked to be very easy to knock off the ball during his time on the pitch.

Even if the result might improve the chances of Chelsea to win the league.  It was a win against a top flight club, and it helped to secure the Gunners CL bid for next fall.

[Joe Wally]

Man U. dispatched Schalke to set up a great contest between United and Barca in the CL final at Wembley.  Should be a great match!

I hope Jose enjoys the show.   

[sac]

Norwich won promotion to the EPL yesterday, a remarkable feat of being promoted 2 years in a row.  Hopefully their time in the EPL goes better this time.

QPR has their big meeting Friday, and could potentially be docked enough points to push them into the playoffs rather than automatic promotion.  Stay tuned.

Playoffs look like Cardiff, Swansea, Reading and Nottingham Forest  .......I suppose Cardiff moves into promotion if QPR are docked enough points.

Leeds  are going to miss out, they need to win and make up a 6 goal difference to sneak in, not going to happen.  They grabbed only 5 points from their last 6 matches, terrible time to have a bad run.

I'm rooting for Cardiff,

A) because it would be new blood in the EPL

B) the summer reading about how they want to move their games, or some games to the Millenium Stadium should be interesting.



...Chelsea v Man U Sunday, kind of important.

[Hoosier Titan]

...Chelsea v Man U Sunday, kind of important.

To be officiated by Howard Webb, MBE (Manchester's Best Employee).    Should be interesting.

At least the CL final should be between two sides who play football.  Jose's Real Madrid side was utterly appalling.  For me, Carvalho, Diarra, and Adebayor were still totally out of control in the rematch.  And I'm forced to agree with Cristiano Ronaldo that Javier Mascherano was not such a blatant diver when he was at Liverpool.  Hard for me to see the final as anything but a Barca win, but then I also said there was no way the US would ever beat Spain!