Sunday, May 8, 2011
Freeze Pops-A Man Alone, A Movie by Brian J Sell
Created By, Directed By and Starring Brian J Sell:
Here's the YouTube link if you are a fan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrHhL7A1kV8&feature=youtu.be&a
A Rain Drenched Draw, Columbus Crew 1, Seattle Sounders FC 1, 5/8/11
When are the Columbus Crew and it's fans going to get a break from the weather? I walked into the match at about 7pm last night, went to the Upper 90 Club to have a beer, and then the torrential downpour began.
So my wife Tammy and I started the match on the Upper 90 Club porch, then move to the Southeast corner of the stadium and huddled under an umbrella for the balance of the first half.
We saw Fredy Montero of Sounders FC split Chad Marshall and Julius James with a very good run, and flick a header into the net from off a very good service from Erik Friberg. 1-0 Sounders.
And we left at halftime...stopping for pizza at one of our favorite spots, Rubino's in Bexley, before heading back to Cincinnati.
The Crew have had bad weather for 4 out of their 5 home matches this year. Both the Crew and it's fans deserve better.
The Crew earned a draw last night after Chad Marshall was pulled down in the box in the second half, earning a PK that was converted by Emilio Renteria. This match was the Crew's 7th straight without a defeat.
But back to the weather. The Crew are a good team. They deserve our support. After yesterday's MLS fixtures they now stand in second place in the Eastern conference. It's admittedly tough to stand in a downpour to watch them play, but their style is very attractive, with a rock solid defense. They need to score more goals out of the run of play, (4 of their 8 goals this year have come from the spot) but they will come.
The Crew's next home match is Saturday, May 28th versus Chivas USA. The weather will be great! (I hope) And I will never again leave a match at halftime.
Note: My man of the match for last night's game is Rich Balchan. His offensive runs out of the back and crosses into the box were very threatening and kept the Sounders FC on their toes all night.
So my wife Tammy and I started the match on the Upper 90 Club porch, then move to the Southeast corner of the stadium and huddled under an umbrella for the balance of the first half.
We saw Fredy Montero of Sounders FC split Chad Marshall and Julius James with a very good run, and flick a header into the net from off a very good service from Erik Friberg. 1-0 Sounders.
And we left at halftime...stopping for pizza at one of our favorite spots, Rubino's in Bexley, before heading back to Cincinnati.
The Crew have had bad weather for 4 out of their 5 home matches this year. Both the Crew and it's fans deserve better.
The Crew earned a draw last night after Chad Marshall was pulled down in the box in the second half, earning a PK that was converted by Emilio Renteria. This match was the Crew's 7th straight without a defeat.
 |
| Emilio Renteria Scores the Equalizer! (Jamie Sabau-Getty Images) |
But back to the weather. The Crew are a good team. They deserve our support. After yesterday's MLS fixtures they now stand in second place in the Eastern conference. It's admittedly tough to stand in a downpour to watch them play, but their style is very attractive, with a rock solid defense. They need to score more goals out of the run of play, (4 of their 8 goals this year have come from the spot) but they will come.
The Crew's next home match is Saturday, May 28th versus Chivas USA. The weather will be great! (I hope) And I will never again leave a match at halftime.
Note: My man of the match for last night's game is Rich Balchan. His offensive runs out of the back and crosses into the box were very threatening and kept the Sounders FC on their toes all night.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Stay Classy Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter is one of the greatest shortstops to ever play the game. He is also one of the greatest New York Yankees ever. He is the Yankees' Captain, and has won 5 World Series'.
Derek Jeter has also been known to be one of the class acts in all of baseball.
Derek Jeter is 36 year's old. Last year he had the worst season of his career at the plate, and even though he won the fifth Gold Glove of his career, he certainly showed signs of aging.
This year he is off to a horrible start, judged not only by the standards he has set for himself, but also by baseball in general. After 28 games he is batting just .250, with 0 home runs and 6 RBI. His OPS is only .580 and his WAR (Win Above Replacement Player) is -.1, both numbers by far the lowest of his career.
It is tough to watch a great player's skills decline. But it's inevitable. Some handle is with grace and class, others, well, not so much...
I would like to think that Derek Jeter would fall in to the former category. But it sure feels like he could slip into the latter. When the Yankees rewarded him this past off season with a 3-year, $51 million dollar contract (which by all accounts he would not be worth based on his statistics and age, but was more than worth based on intangibles such as leadership and as a fan favorite) Jeter reacted impetuously. He was accused of being money hungry and selfish during the negotiation, and reacted in the press conference announcing his signing by saying:
"I was pretty angry about it, but I let that be known," Jeter said. "I was angry about it because I was the one that said I didn't want to do it, that I wasn't going to (test the market). To hear the organization tell me to go shop it when I just told you I wasn't going to, if I'm going to be honest, I was angry about it."
"It all started with my (reported) salary demands, which still cracks me up," he said. "What position am I in to demand a salary? Give me this, or what? Where am I going?"
This Thursday, Yankee's Manager Joe Girardi decided to give Derek Jeter the day off. The Yankees were 12 games into a 16 game stretch and Girardi, as is his job, is certainly looking to make sure his star shortstop is healthy throughout the whole 162 game season. In addition, Jeter was 0-9 in his career hitting against Tiger's starter Rick Porcello.
Again Jeter did not react well. When asked for his reaction he said:
"It's always difficult not to play, but yeah, anytime you feel like you're having good at-bats and you're swinging the bat well, you want to continue," he said. "But today, that's not the case."
Derek Jeter has also been known to be one of the class acts in all of baseball.Derek Jeter is 36 year's old. Last year he had the worst season of his career at the plate, and even though he won the fifth Gold Glove of his career, he certainly showed signs of aging.
This year he is off to a horrible start, judged not only by the standards he has set for himself, but also by baseball in general. After 28 games he is batting just .250, with 0 home runs and 6 RBI. His OPS is only .580 and his WAR (Win Above Replacement Player) is -.1, both numbers by far the lowest of his career.
It is tough to watch a great player's skills decline. But it's inevitable. Some handle is with grace and class, others, well, not so much...
I would like to think that Derek Jeter would fall in to the former category. But it sure feels like he could slip into the latter. When the Yankees rewarded him this past off season with a 3-year, $51 million dollar contract (which by all accounts he would not be worth based on his statistics and age, but was more than worth based on intangibles such as leadership and as a fan favorite) Jeter reacted impetuously. He was accused of being money hungry and selfish during the negotiation, and reacted in the press conference announcing his signing by saying:
"I was pretty angry about it, but I let that be known," Jeter said. "I was angry about it because I was the one that said I didn't want to do it, that I wasn't going to (test the market). To hear the organization tell me to go shop it when I just told you I wasn't going to, if I'm going to be honest, I was angry about it."
"It all started with my (reported) salary demands, which still cracks me up," he said. "What position am I in to demand a salary? Give me this, or what? Where am I going?"
This Thursday, Yankee's Manager Joe Girardi decided to give Derek Jeter the day off. The Yankees were 12 games into a 16 game stretch and Girardi, as is his job, is certainly looking to make sure his star shortstop is healthy throughout the whole 162 game season. In addition, Jeter was 0-9 in his career hitting against Tiger's starter Rick Porcello.
Again Jeter did not react well. When asked for his reaction he said:
"It's always difficult not to play, but yeah, anytime you feel like you're having good at-bats and you're swinging the bat well, you want to continue," he said. "But today, that's not the case."
Asked if he was "upset" about not playing, Jeter said: "Upset? You mean like I want to fight somebody? No. I'm not happy, but I'm not upset about it."
Derek Jeter is going to reach 3000 hits for his career this summer. He is a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame. His reputation as a player and a person is impeccable. He needs to come to terms with where he is in his career and maintain the decorum we have come to expect from him.
Stay classy Derek Jeter!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 7, 5/2/11
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| Real Salt Lake, #1 for the Third Straight Week! |
My Week 7 Major League Soccer Power Rankings (wins-losses-draws) UP or DOWN from last week:
1) Real Salt Lake, Western Conference (4-1-0) 12 points
Portland is no slouch at home, so even with their loss this week Real Salt Lake maintains the top spot.
2) Seattle Sounders FC, Western Conference (3-2-3) 12 points UP
Hottest team in the MLS. Sounders fans' tribute to Steve Zakuani in the 11th minute of their match this week was outstanding!
3) New York Red Bulls, Eastern Conference (4-1-2) 14 points UP
And now the Red Bulls have a defense!
4) Houston Dynamo, Eastern Conference (3-1-3) 12 points UP
A dominant performance against D.C. United.
5) Columbus Crew, Eastern Conference (3-1-3) 12 points UP
Sixth Straight game without a loss this weekend. And their offense showed some punch!
6) Philadelphia Union, Eastern Conference (4-1-1) 13 points DOWN
Won on a late PK, and were a man down for the entire second half. Where to place the Union and the Galaxy were the toughest decisions of the week for me. I decided that the hottest teams would rule the rankings this week.
7) LA Galaxy, Western Conference (4-2-3) 15 points DOWN
8) FC Dallas, Western Conference (3-3-1) 10 points UP
Big win versus the Galaxy at home. They seem to be finding their form and continue to creep up the rankings.
9) Portland Timbers, Western Conference (3-3-1) 10 points DOWN
Jeld-Wen Field has become a fortress. Portland stays steady at the 8-9 range in the rankings for the third straight week. Beating Real Salt Lake was a signature win.
10) Chivas USA, Western Conference (2-2-3) 9 points UP
Two victories in a row for Chivas.
After Chivas at Number 10, the quality of the teams in the rankings drop significantly. The teams ranked 11-18 have all played very poorly over their last 5 matches:
11) Colorado Rapids, Western Conference (3-3-1) 10 points DOWN
12) D.C. United, Eastern Conference (2-4-1) 7 points UP
D.C. had a horrible showing in Houston.
13) New England Revolution, Eastern Conference (2-3-3) 9 points DOWN
I thought they had their act together after last week's victory, but they followed it up with a poor showing against Chivas.
10) Chivas USA, Western Conference (2-2-3) 9 points UP
Two victories in a row for Chivas.
After Chivas at Number 10, the quality of the teams in the rankings drop significantly. The teams ranked 11-18 have all played very poorly over their last 5 matches:
11) Colorado Rapids, Western Conference (3-3-1) 10 points DOWN
12) D.C. United, Eastern Conference (2-4-1) 7 points UP
D.C. had a horrible showing in Houston.
13) New England Revolution, Eastern Conference (2-3-3) 9 points DOWN
I thought they had their act together after last week's victory, but they followed it up with a poor showing against Chivas.
14) Toronto FC, Eastern Conference (1-3-4) 7 points UP
15) Chicago Fire, Eastern Conference (1-3-3) 6 points UP
Not winning, but at least have had draws in their last two matches.
16) Vancouver Whitecaps, Western Conference (1-4-3) 6 points UP
17) San Jose Earthquakes, Western Conference (1-4-2) 5 points DOWN
San Jose hasn't had a positive result in 4 matches. They earned the largest drop in this week's rankings.
18) Sporting Kansas City, Eastern Conference (1-4-1) 4 points DOWN
Sporting needs a home match!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
5/1/11 Osama Bin Laden is Dead
News reports have confirmed Osama Bin Laden is dead and the U.S. government has the body.
President Obama is due to speak at any time now.
CNN's Anderson Cooper put's it best for me. His tweet, posted moments ago:
@andersoncooper: My thoughts right now are with all those lost on 9-11, and all those killed by his followers in the years since.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
President Obama is due to speak at any time now.
CNN's Anderson Cooper put's it best for me. His tweet, posted moments ago:
@andersoncooper: My thoughts right now are with all those lost on 9-11, and all those killed by his followers in the years since.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
65 Minutes of Domination! Columbus Crew 2, Vancouver Whitecaps 1, 4/30/2011
If the Columbus Crew match last night had ended in the 65th minute, I would have been writing about the Crew's best performance of the season. The Crew dominated possession, scored two goals (both by man of the match Emilio Renteria) and didn't allow Vancouver their first corner until the 71st minute.
The game seemed to be in hand for the Crew until Emmanuel Ekpo turned the ball over in the Crew's defensive third in the 69th minute. This resulted in a Vancouver counter that ended with Vancouver's Omar Salgado heading a cross into the Crew's net. For the last 31 minutes the Crew had to work hard to hang on to the win, as the pressure that Vancouver put on to get the equalizer was relentless.
But the Crew persevered and took 3 points from the match. This was the Crew's sixth straight match without a defeat, and allowed them to keep pace with the the New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union and the Houston Dynamo, who all won home matches this week.
Emmanuel Ekpo had just been substituted in for Kevin Burns at a defensive midfield position when he turned the ball over that resulted in the Whitecaps goal. Strange decision by Coach Robert Warzycha, as Ekpo, who can be very dangerous offensively, is known to make poor decisions when the ball is at his feet. Kevin Burns had worked very hard during the match, and probably needed a substitute, but the choice of Ekpo turned out to be very poor. Coach Warzycha may have been boxed into a corner, as his only other midfield choice on the bench was the little used Leandre Griffit who ended up entering match in the 88th. But it's hard to be too critical of Coach Warzycha's decisions with the Crew getting 12 out of a possible 18 points out of their last 6 matches.
One other note. Last night was Omar Salgado's first start for the Whitecaps. He was the first pick in the 2011 MLS Soccer SuperDraft and is only 17 years old. He was a beast last night, and gave the Crew's defense fits, especially in the last 35 minutes. He's going to be a very good player for the Whitecaps!
The Crew's next match is against one of the hottest team's in the MLS right now, the Seattle Sounders. The game is at Crew Stadium this Saturday, May 7th at 7:30pm EST. I'd certainly like to see a full house for this match, as it's going to be a good one!
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| Getty Images |
The game seemed to be in hand for the Crew until Emmanuel Ekpo turned the ball over in the Crew's defensive third in the 69th minute. This resulted in a Vancouver counter that ended with Vancouver's Omar Salgado heading a cross into the Crew's net. For the last 31 minutes the Crew had to work hard to hang on to the win, as the pressure that Vancouver put on to get the equalizer was relentless.
But the Crew persevered and took 3 points from the match. This was the Crew's sixth straight match without a defeat, and allowed them to keep pace with the the New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union and the Houston Dynamo, who all won home matches this week.
Emmanuel Ekpo had just been substituted in for Kevin Burns at a defensive midfield position when he turned the ball over that resulted in the Whitecaps goal. Strange decision by Coach Robert Warzycha, as Ekpo, who can be very dangerous offensively, is known to make poor decisions when the ball is at his feet. Kevin Burns had worked very hard during the match, and probably needed a substitute, but the choice of Ekpo turned out to be very poor. Coach Warzycha may have been boxed into a corner, as his only other midfield choice on the bench was the little used Leandre Griffit who ended up entering match in the 88th. But it's hard to be too critical of Coach Warzycha's decisions with the Crew getting 12 out of a possible 18 points out of their last 6 matches.
One other note. Last night was Omar Salgado's first start for the Whitecaps. He was the first pick in the 2011 MLS Soccer SuperDraft and is only 17 years old. He was a beast last night, and gave the Crew's defense fits, especially in the last 35 minutes. He's going to be a very good player for the Whitecaps!
The Crew's next match is against one of the hottest team's in the MLS right now, the Seattle Sounders. The game is at Crew Stadium this Saturday, May 7th at 7:30pm EST. I'd certainly like to see a full house for this match, as it's going to be a good one!
2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner
Saw this last night on C-SPAN and had to post it today. This is great stuff! Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live is brilliant, and President Obama is not too shabby either.
Check them out. President Obama first:
Seth Meyers:
Check them out. President Obama first:
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Royal Wedding-A Poem
The Kate and Wills Were Cute,
The Aston Martin Was Great!
God Bless the Queen,
The Beckham's Were Seen!
Pippa Was Hot!
Beatrice and Eugenie Were Not.
The Prince's Looked Regal,
Most of England Had the Hunch...
But the Shame of the Day Was,
No Invite for Cap'n Crunch?
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Why Women Like Big Guys!
I'm trying to lose some weight so I decided to enroll in Weight Watchers a few weeks ago. I used the program several years ago with good success. Thinking I will randomly toss in my progress on this blog, could help me hold myself more accountable.
But enough about that.
Here's the article:
Why Women Like Big Guys
Now for my take:
- You Make Her Feel Safe: Big guys scare off threats. Me? Last time I was in a fight was 5th grade and I sprained my wrist on the first punch.
- You're the "better man" she swore she'd date next time: Translation? Big guys are desperate, and will do anything to get a hot girl, or any girl for that matter.
- She'll assume you'll go the extra mile: Yeah, if we don't get too tired.
- She's not scrutinizing your looks as closely as you're scrutinizing hers: Studies show that physical attractiveness is not number 1 on women's priority list of what they want in a partner. Whew! Glad that's been cleared up.
- She may view you as a good provider: Love this one! Your extra pounds may subconsciously hint to a women, "I can't get to the gym because I'm too busy making money." YES!
- She can relax, without worrying that her scheming friend will nab you: This one is a real ego inflater! Bah, bah, bahhhhhhh....
- You may remind her of her Dad: Now I'm going to have this stuck in my head the next time I try to get lucky.
- She sees your potential: Yep, I've got a lot of upside. No one has a higher ceiling than me!
But enough about that.
I found this article on weightwatchers.com interesting/weird/helpful kind of. At the least it is pretty humorous for me. Wonder if my wife Tammy (married 24 years and counting) feels this way about me.
Here's the article:
Why Women Like Big Guys
Now for my take:
- You Make Her Feel Safe: Big guys scare off threats. Me? Last time I was in a fight was 5th grade and I sprained my wrist on the first punch.
- You're the "better man" she swore she'd date next time: Translation? Big guys are desperate, and will do anything to get a hot girl, or any girl for that matter.
- She'll assume you'll go the extra mile: Yeah, if we don't get too tired.
- She's not scrutinizing your looks as closely as you're scrutinizing hers: Studies show that physical attractiveness is not number 1 on women's priority list of what they want in a partner. Whew! Glad that's been cleared up.
- She may view you as a good provider: Love this one! Your extra pounds may subconsciously hint to a women, "I can't get to the gym because I'm too busy making money." YES!
- She can relax, without worrying that her scheming friend will nab you: This one is a real ego inflater! Bah, bah, bahhhhhhh....
- You may remind her of her Dad: Now I'm going to have this stuck in my head the next time I try to get lucky.
- She sees your potential: Yep, I've got a lot of upside. No one has a higher ceiling than me!
- You make her feel petite: Time to go shopping in the misses and teens section!
- You know how to live: Being overweight can connote a man is "enjoying fine food because he is enjoying life". That's right. Next time I'm watching TV with my Ruffles and HeluvaGood I will remind my wife of that.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Kirk Herbstreit-Harsh Words for Ohio State Football Fans
Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN College Football Analyst and former Ohio State Quarterback had some pretty harsh words for Ohio State and it's fan base in the wake of the "notice of allegations" sent to Ohio State from the NCAA today.
Here's the full report from ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6424573
A couple of quotes from Kirk:
Here's the full report from ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6424573
A couple of quotes from Kirk:
"The Ohio State fan base blindly is supporting Ohio State and Jim Tressel. It's almost gotten to the point that he beats Michigan, he wins 10 games, he goes to BCS bowl games, they'll support him no matter what he does as far as the fan base.
"If this would have happened to John Cooper [Herbstreit's coach], not only would they have fired him, they would have actually lined it up and had a firing squad and fired him."
“quit recruiting players like Maurice Clarett and Terrelle Pryor.”
Kirk Herbstreit and his family recently moved away from Columbus as he had decided that if he was going to be objective as a college football analyst, including being critical of his Alma mater, he wouldn't subject he and his family to the vocal minority of Ohio State fans who just couldn't understand that.
“Nobody loves Ohio State more than me,” said Herbstreit, a former Buckeyes quarterback. “I still have a picture of Woody Hayes and my dad (Jim, a former OSU player) in my office, and nobody will do more than I do for the university behind the scenes. But I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going to continue to be fair and objective. To continue to have to defend myself and my family in regards to my love and devotion to Ohio State is unfair.”
“From a sports perspective, this is rough,” he said. “I love Ohio State. Love the Blue Jackets. Love the Reds. Those are my hobbies. I don’t like moving. I love living here. I don’t want to leave. But I just can’t do this anymore. I really can’t keep going like this.
“Eighty to ninety percent of the Ohio State fans are great. It’s the vocal minority that make it rough. They probably represent only 5 to 10 percent of the fan base, but they are relentless.”
Kirk is right in his evaluation of the situation at Ohio State. Jim Tressel, believing he was protecting his players. But the players have also made bad choices. When you recruit players of questionable character, you will pay the price.
Kirk is right in his evaluation of the situation at Ohio State. Jim Tressel, believing he was protecting his players. But the players have also made bad choices. When you recruit players of questionable character, you will pay the price.
But, as I noted in my previous post on regarding this subject-who cares? It's big time college football, and winning is the goal. Ohio State and Jim Tressel are no better or worse than any other major college football coach or program.
GO BUCKS!
GO BUCKS!
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