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lovely

so if you havent heard, houston plays in cancun in the first week of march. ie spring break. ie prob one of the sickest mls roadtrips ever. if you are a fan or just have the $$$ this is a trip you gotta make. soooooo sick.

out of the loop

ive been out of the loop for a couple months, viruses plus school have minimized my blogging.

bbv

brag: us is in final round of world cup qualifying
beat: i'm still poor, and adsense hates my blog
varience: school is almost over for the quarter.
oops that last one is a brag :)

beatdown

In case you missed it



my main thoughts from the game:
DE MARK US BEEEEEEESS LEYY: oh my. two goals in the first half, looked extremely dangerous at all times, and even after a couple guys got stuck in bad against him, he still fought it out. well done lad, please let this be the beginning of you being back.
the future is bright: oh my. breakout much? a couple of the youngins showed up big.
-jozy looked super dangerous. his beastlyness is undoubted at this point, and his goal was one of those that you see forwards that are bosses score.
-jose francisco torres looked sharp in the midfield, passed well and uncorked a shot from like 30 out that was a scorcher. kid is 20. and lethal. and left footed. oy vey.
-freddy "what it adu?" did work. he took a guy one on one and then snapped in a beaut that gooch smashed home. i got love for freddy. in fact, i even snatched the us away with his name on it. do work fredu do work.
-sasha got robbed. by chingaling. another super game from sasha, he looks great at dcentermid with baby bradley. he would have scored if chingy hadn't poached it off the line. well done anyway.

so when i said the future was bright, well, let's just say we could be talking "cop car weird attachment lights that they shine on your car at night when you get pulled over" bright.

big ups to gooch too, classy header to get the last goal and get some love from his friends and fam, who were 100+ strong. gotta love a big goal for a big crowd. also much love to dc, the place was rockin, you could tell from tv when 20ish mins in the screaming eagles section was literally bouncing. magnificent.

a picture is worth a thousand words

but these two are worth a lot more then that.


chingy is gettin his inner thief on lately. he is poaching goals left and right, and suddenly you can't count him out of anything. get it boy. the goal he stole from sasha kljestan on saturday was dirtay. however, as well as he has been playing, you cant argue with his production and level of play. well done chingaling.

BEST.JERSEY.EVER.
hands down.

fresh blood

finally. this is very very good news. good old Bob Bradley has decided to bring in some of the young guns. its about time. here is the roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Tim Howard (Everton FC: 6/5 SO), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF: 0/0)

DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 16/2), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland: 2/0), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96: 17/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 1/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 13/1), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 11/0), Michael Orozco (San Luis: 0/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 5/0

MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco: 1/0), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 19/4), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach: 5/2), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers: 3/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 3/0), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio: 0/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 0/0)

FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.: 0/0), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 9/4), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF: 0/0) Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC: 11/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 24/8)

why hello jozy freddy charlie jose danny michael and jay. good to see you all again. lets see you smash some fools in the qualifiers and lock up some long term spots as the future team. except the future starts now.

missing: marvell wynne, kenny cooper and chad marshall. I'm optimistic we will see you lads soon too.

US plays saturday at RFK. oh how i wish i could be there. could this be the coming out party we have all been waiting for??

biggs

ride or die time

we go play at ucsb today. last year's national champs. nothing like jumping straight into the fire. it's go time.

9 things to love about MLS right now

9 clubs with jersey sponsors. The fact that there is enough interest in teams to sponsor them is a great step in the right direction, the more teams that get sponsored, the higher profile the league becomes in the public eye, teams generate more revenue both with jersey sales and with the sponsorships and the more i have to spend on buying jerseys to keep up with the new sponsors and the new looks for the jerseys. Which keeps me poor but lookin fly.

8 of the teams in the league play in 7 Soccer specific stadiums. For the first time permanently, more then 50% of the league plays in a soccer specific stadium now that Real Salt Lake moved into their new digs. The list includes Chicago, Chivas USA/LA Galaxy who share, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Real Salt Lake, and Toronto. The increased presence of soccer stadiums gives the teams better chances of profitability because they get more of the revenue generated by the games and events that go on at the stadium, which will help keep both teams and the league profitable.

6 more weeks until the MLS cup at the Home Depot Center

5 great goals from last week


4 guys to watch as they likely use MLS as a launching point for their careers. Sasha Kljestan (at the one minute mark), Robbie Rogers (4th goal above from goals of the week)
Marvell Wynne
and Kenny Cooper. congrats to each of these guys, they are all having great seasons and have very promising careers ahead, both for club and country, but rumor has it that club will likely not be part of the MLS next year, so enjoy them while you can.

3 teams from each conference get a spot in the playoffs guaranteed, which leaves two wild card spots. I'm not a huge fan of the playoff system, but wild card spots are golden in any sport. The NBA should consider this, considering the western conference is dominant and the stupid warriors always finish 6th in the east, but 9th in the west. This is even better in MLS because it makes the playoff race even more exciting, and before this weekend's games there were no teams mathematically eliminated. This also gives my san jo quake boooiiiiisss a better shot at sneaking in.

2 New Expansions – Not only is the league up to 14 teams currently, with Seattle coming next year and Philly the year after, but the league is looking to hit 18 teams by 2012. That is grand, but the fact that there are quite possibly 6 real contenders (St. Louis, NYC2, Vancouver, Portland, Montreal and Las Vegas). More competition means better ownership, bigger franchise fees, and more commitment to the league and to soccer, which is good all around.

1 Landon Donovan – the dude is scorching it this year. For all you Landon haters out there, the talks about Bayern Munich being interested when the winter transfer window comes around is because of his stellar play this year. Averaging just under a goal a game? Straight up ballin son.

what does this all mean? It might be the best time to be an MLS fan ever. I'm certainly loving it, that is for sure. things may not be all good in the hood yet but they get closer every day. Soccer is here to stay folks, best get used to that idea. oh and let's all hope that vegas gets an mls franchise, that would make for some absolutely glorious soccer trips.

biggy

so good

Thisisamericansoccer has done the best soccer piece i have ever seen. It is on clint dempsey. Peep it here, it is worth the read and gives you the inside scoop on a lot of the mystery that Demps is. plus, he is a baller.

weezy gettin his blog on

lil wayne blogs for ESPN. the biggest surprise? dude's a tennis and hockey fan. weezy is takin thuggin to a new level, on the ice. bummed he has no love for soccer but sh*t happens, you know. plus he got love for nadal. just imagine nadal and weezy in the club. watch out ladies watch out.

roadtripping

I have two major aspirations in terms of going to soccer games right now, the first is to attend the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa with a bunch of my friends. That plan is on track. The second is a more lofty and spread out goal. A quest that I have no knowledge of anyone popularizing or even publicizing. It is to take the MLS stadium tour, to hit each MLS stadium in both the US and Canadia.You always hear about the people who travel from MLB stadium to MLB stadium across the US, and what a grand old time they have doing it. I would prefer to see the magnificence of BMO Field and the Red Patch Boys and kick it in the Nordeke in Columbus

and scope out Real Salt Lake's new digs instead of spending time in the friendly confines or the BOB, watching a sport that has quickly lost my interest. sorry baseball, but even during the summers, there is plenty of good soccer that is more interesting then you are. So this is the beginning of the trip, the gran voyage across north america to support a league that I have grown up with and hope to grow old with. and maybe if all goes well, I can even do a little compare and contrast with the stadiums that I visit in South Africa and maybe even Europe too. However, this trip is dependent on things outside my control, like who gets the next expansion and when it occurs. and when slackers like San Jose actually nail down their stadium plans. For now, the tally is at one, my trip to the Home Depot Center doesn't count, cuz those have all been for US games. The one is the Oakland Coliseum for quakes galaxy august 08. might not be magnificent, but you gotta start somewhere

a look inside the club season: the first step

my alarm goes off at 6:45am saturday morning. the first thing I do is question my decision. do I really want to play? is getting up at least 3 days a week at times that routinely make me shudder worth it? is the fact that all my friends went to the bars last night and some have stumbled home only hours earlier going to compel me to get up, or ignore my alarm and sleep. too often the battle is that first step out of bed. today is a battle day.

it's day two of tryouts. yesterday was a day full of ups and downs. running my two mile in 12:59 was an up. the running i did the last couple weeks looks to be paying off. the turnout at tryouts was a downer. less guys then the year before, which sucks. as much as i like my spot on the team, and as much as i like the guys from last year, new blood is good. it encourages players to work harder, to play like they have to prove themselves everyday. we need that. our leading scorer, doo doo brown, isn't coming back this year. it's really too bad, as he is a guy who has the talent to play out of college for sure. easily the best player i have ever played with. still, at least 14 of the core guys from last year's roster are back. the chemistry on that team was great. if we can carry that to this year, we can battle santa barbara for a league title and a shot at nationals.

playing club is a strange beast. we have a college team at cal poly. most of us could probably play for that team, possibly as role players and the like. for one reason or another though, each one of us didn't get a shot at that team, didn't make that team, or didn't want to play for that team. everyone has their own reasons, many tried out and the coach just didn't see it. mine is different, i broke my arm senior year of high school and never even got that look i desired so greatly. being a late bloomer has its disadvantages. however club came along last year, and i jumped at the shot to play at a more competitive level again. playing with guys who had played for the poly team allowed me to realize i could hold my own, and at the end of the season the coach had honored 3 of us as "all league players", and my name was on the list. it reawoke that dream, the one that was always there as an overachieving youth, of playing for a bay area mls team and the national team. if only....

i get home saturday, after our second session of the day. two a day tryouts have crushed my body. it hurts all over. again. just like it did this morning, and nowhere near as bad as it will tomorrow morning. still not pleased with my play, but pleased with my effort. this year, its time for me to step up. for this could be my last shot at my first love, the beautiful game.

lp and busta

shinoda is so ill. love the piano. glad the video is as sick as the song by itself is.

compare and contrast

slight difference. one falls out of planes, the other acts like they have been shot down in a plane. floppers in general irritate me, but the azzurri has a special place in my heart for their ridiculousness. ain't got no love for you fellas.

Rep your hood son

fortunately the only thing that fell that day in a us jersey was me out of a plane. and not the team itself. oh and my headband. tragedy that was. fortunately, 2 out of the 3 made it out impressively. the headband, however, has not been seen since about 11,000 feet over Lodi. which is not somewhere i would want to get lost.

quick update

life has been nuts the past week

i made the illustrious cpsc a squad, or cal poly club soccer team. since then, all week we have had practice at least once a day and my body has been dead. practice has gone well, we head to san diego this weekend for a tournament there. i'm stoked to be back with the boys, the team is a bunch of really good guys and i def enjoy myself on and off the field with them. we are in the second bracket, and hopefully we can bring home a championship to get the year kicked off in smashing fashion. i anticipate i will be starting at either right or center back, and am stoked.

fifa09.is.unreal. the likelyhood of me going out and buying a xbox360 has increased dramatically since i played the demo two days ago. you can just tell they are really starting to get the fluid motion of soccer down. which is scary because well, soon i don't think you will be able to tell the difference between video games and real life. like the fact there is going to be an 8 on 8 mode where each guy controls one guy. the lines between real and unreal get more and more blurry every new release.

pics coming in a min.

biggy

goals of the week

holy crap. these goals are off the heezy. just some ridiculous strikes right here



some solid class i would have to say.

friday's relatively comical news

wow. guess it makes it easy to answer if you need mom's permission for anything.

either this charity is killin it or these guys are fools. i wonder if they realize that where someone gets the money is more their business then yours.

this brings up another question: does he usually just carry the metal pipe around?

my money is on Jin to get whacked next thanks to this lovely decision.

tryouts were mediocre today. i played well in the first session, and kinda was off my game the second one. i need to get stuck into tackles better. or at all. that would be a good start.

rep it

so i just copped the new us away. it is so clean. snagged the adu 11. got my brother the dempsey. I decided to mix it up, since I already have the dempsey home white. but I'm stoked. for the first time, i have both current us kits, with names and numbers. and they are sexyyyyyyyyyy. i love jerseys. too much. someday i will throw down a list or photo collection of my jersey stash. its gettin ridiculous.

Here's where i got them. dude hooked it up.
US away jerseys on the cheap.
check it.

tryouts in seven hours. time to do work.

nineoneone

a couple hours ago i was giddy over another US win, a chance for them to bring in some new blood and help shape the next generation of us soccer. good times were had with many friends as we watched the game and ate good food.

tonight i think of all that was lost. how irrelevant sports really are. how they bring great joy and what a blessing that is. but they are just a game. nothing more. something to be appreciated win or lose. many coaches told me growing up "It's not whether you win or lose, but it is how you play the game". No. It's not whether you win or lose, but that you can play the game. that you have the ability to step onto the field, use your body in ways that God created it to be used, and then shake hands with your opponent after the game. that this freedom wasn't taken from you 7 years ago today like it was for many. that you could step onto the pitch and play without thinking about how much your uncle loved the game or how well your sister played before that day.

in memory and in love. for all of those torn apart by nineoneone.


we will NEVER forget

the boys are back in town

the title rings true in more ways then one. first, the us is back home in chi-town, taking on T&T in a game that has a lot of importance. if the US can get a good result, like a 3 goal win, it will benefit them twofold. first, it will hopefully get some of these idiots who are calling for bob bradley's head off his back and make my reading of other soccer blogs much more enjoyable. second, it should allow some of the young guys to get a chance to play in the next qualifier, vs cuba in october, and it will also give guys like EJ, Baby Bradley, and Demps a chance to settle in at their clubs and hopefully not have to make the cross atlantic journey weekly. and maybe we will get some kcoop and the young guns love. that would be nice.

second, im back at college. which means im gearing up for tryouts. which also means i will get to watch the game downtown tonight with my boooyyyssss. which im stoked about. time to get the scarf and the so fresh and so clean new white demps jersey out of the car.

things to look for tonight.
1) landon stepping up. BIG.
2) a goal early for the US. if they snatch an early one, it will set the pace for the game
3) better possession. you heard it hear first, the us will look crisp on the passing and ball movement side. someone actually cutting the grass before the game certainly will contribute to the us' success passing wise.

look for a 3-0 us win, with a goal from beasley, one from donovan, and a late one from ej off of the bench.

what you know about the EARTTHHQUAAKKESSS??

hahahaha so sick. this is another reason why
a) gotta love them quakes
b) i love reppin the yay areeeaaaaa

E FOUR OH's earthquake anthem

almost as solid as this new e40 joint



bay area love baby. and even more love for e fo oh for reppin dem quake boys. id love to see huck and joe cannon breakin it down in a quakes anthem video. that would be legit.

peace.

hey, who's the new guy?

less then a week from club tryouts. i need to run/play this afternoon without a doubt. too much sad family stuff going on right now. just pretty much chillin watching the nfl today. played poker for a couple hours last night, was up a buyin but bricked out twice on major hands with top set for stacks, and then some guy paired against me to split a nice pot that i would have scooped. annoyingly frustrating session. it happens though.

assuming the us wins their next game vs T&T on Wednesday in chicago, who would you most like to see START in their next WC qualifier? that game will be Cuba again in early october at RFK in washington dc. obviously to play in this game, this player would have to get a call up. shockingly, my vote is likely marvell wynne. stevie c has worried me lately, and seeing wynne get a start and some experience would be great. what do you think?

poll by twiigs.com

if i missed your guy, vote for him via comments.

peace.

dempsizzle

skydiving was sick, pics later.



oh clint dempsey, how you play with my heart. you are inconsistent, maddening, and i love you. you may pain my heart, but your moments of brilliance are incredible. please, keep playing for bob b and the cottagers. because everytime you are on, you remind me that you could be the great white hope.

thoughts from the us game

- way to clutch up dempsey. you brought the sizzle, and your runs were dangerous again. i still dont think the right flank is your spot, but you were good anyway. the run midway through the first half showed the grit that you have been missing the last couple games. and that finish was clinical.
-after the goal, the us really looked like they were killing off the game, and as much as i didn't like it, i didn't hate it either. 1-0 is not the way to go but it is def better then a loss. the posession was good, especially for a sloppy field.
-having damarcys beasley in the line up makes the team so much more dangerous, especially going forward. you can tell he isnt completely fit, but he created some sick chances, and how there wasn't a pk awarded to the us on his cutback where the defender slid in the box and stopped his cross with his hand is beyond me
-chingaling (brian ching) played classy again. he might be better then i thought. i have always loved him, but he is playing some really impressive target forward right now. granted, its against cuba, but still.
-cuba 5 nothing but respect for these peeps right here. literally straight up, well earned, i may not like you but i respect you Anchorman status respect. and love. and jealousy that i am not one, but cuba cinco has a lot nicer ring then cuba seis.
-overall game - meh, us needs to start finishing chances. the field was poor as was the referee, as he missed at least 3 dangerous fouls that would have given the us great free kick/pks. a win is a win, and clint dempsey sacking up makes this game a B+. the formation was better, landon wasnt on the wing, but they need to try sasha wide, with landon as the withdrawn forward and demps as the attacking midfielder, or call freddy into camp. please.

Friday night in the bay area we had a minor earthquake. Tonight we had a major one.
HUCK STRIKES AGAIN!!!
who knew that Washington DC was so earthquake prone??

again, the quakes WILL make the playoffs. huck and artie are rampaging up top right now. well done frank yallop well done.

peace

taking the jersey to new heights

us plays cuba today on espn classic? at 5pm pacific. i go skydiving today at about 2ish pacific. let's hope that i'm the only one falling today. report later, optimistically

biggy

the key to bob bradley's heart

thanks to the help of TOR and USMNT blog, I have finally discovered the missing link in the kenny cooper not getting national team call-ups scandal. For those of you that don't know. Kcoop is destroying MLS, has multiple teams inquiring about his services overseas, looks to have fully recovered from his broken leg, and cannot get a USMNT call-up for the life of him. but today everything changes. Kenny, here is your problem.



dude, REI luggage is clearly not cuttin it on the international scene. see, a key part of a scene is being "scene" , or fitting in with the rest of the cool kids. for example, EJ.



does this look like REI or samsonite to you? no no kenny cooper, you must ball both on and off the field. so get on it in. find yourself some classy louie luggage, some nice stunnas and a grill. cuz Kenny, sometimes you gotta be scene to get seen. Cop a flashy cellphone while you are at it, for when your boy bob brad hits you up. you can thank me later

what's next

saturday is critical for two teams i love. first, the reincarnated quakes are making a run. a very unlikely, slow centerback recieves the ball at his own box dribbles 7 guys and deftly chips the keeper from ten yards out kinda run. I know they can keep it rolling, because they are rallying behind this man

he is quite a talisman for them to rally behind. and he is producing in a big way, especially when the refs don't notice he is offside. the quakes are only 3 points out of a playoff spot. i think they are gonna get there. i'm not biased at all.

up next is a math problem. you tell me the answer.



if you don't, the lovely lads of the USMNT certainly will help answer this question saturday at 5pm, in cuba. it will be on either espn2 or espn classic, or hopefully espnFutbol channel, which espn will not only introduce tomorrow but have the US game as its kickoff game. well, one can dream...

speaking of 2010, a very useful ticket info link

Biggy

michaelgladbradley

Saturday night after a rousing (okay not very rousing) evening at the bar, I returned home to the couch and some quality time with both FSC and GolTv. Between flipping back and forth and wondering why in the world I was home so early, I stumbled upon some bundesliga action, with Bremen playing M’bach. My very stable mind’s thoughts were WTF does M’bach stand for? Maybach? Munichbach? Maybeimhungrybach? I hadn’t the faintest. However after watching the first half, it was clear that M’bach was a beast, and they were taking champions league-bound Bremen, who I have enjoyed watching the last couple of years to town. As the game progressed, M’bach scored 3 goals, and while their 3-0 lead became 3-2 late, they still pulled off an impressive victory. However, after hearing their name at least 15 times from the announcer, I still had no idea what M’bach was, my best guess was Brussia Munichglabababach. Or something.

When I woke up the next morning for a fantasy football draft at 10am (seriously who does this? Oh those kids who are too young to go out and go to bed at normal times on Saturday nights…) I checked SBI and to my pleasure discovered that a) Michael Bradley had been transferred and b) that is was to Borussia Moenchengladbach, otherwise known to me as M’bach or Munichglabababach. I feel that this will be a very good transfer for him, as M’bach has quite an impressive young team, like Alexander Baumjohann, who made an impressive slaloming run from midfield to score the eventual game winner, and Marko Marin, who score in Germany’s last friendly a couple of weeks ago. Overall, the quality of play and player of both Bradley’s teammates and opponents should greatly benefit his game, and hopefully someone will teach him to stop getting dumb yellow cards, for the sake of all of us. I wish all the best to Borussia Michaelgladbradley, and hope they are a contender in the race for the bundesliga title. and that they rename the team to Borussia Michaelgladbradley. cuz it is a sweet name fo sho.

peace.

too cool for school.

That’s right. Nike was a trendster. So was I. It was mid spring 04, and I was in the city on a class “field trip”, which meant we rampaged around union square and then had a “business meal” at cheesecake factory. Nice life being a senior in high school. My friend and I cruised into Niketown, because Niketown is like a dream, especially the one in SF. Why? Jerseys. Tons of soccer jerseys. I love soccer jerseys. Especially the European ones that only niketown sells. In fact, my first jersey purchases were from niketown. On the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where I copped these three beauts. (all mine are shortsleeve though) Nothing like being a ballin sophmore in high school droppin $200 on jerseys that almost no one at home will think is cool, which made me cooler in my own mind, or maybe it was just the fact that I never cared as long as i thought i was cool. Even to this day, as long as I think i look fly, its all good in the hood. But back to Niketown SF….

When we were at niketown, I saw these piles of yellow bracelets. I went and looked at them. Saw they cost a dollar and supported cancer research and survivors. Decided that my dollar was def worth that, so a few of us bought one. We left SF later that day and didn’t really think about it too much, just that it was cool we could support cancer research via nike and lance armstrong, who I’ve always been quite impressed by. I wore mine on and off, it was cool but it wasn’t always super comfortable and sometimes I would take it off and forget about it for a couple days. I liked it cuz I was making a statement, that a) I supported cancer research and awareness and b) that I liked nike. Pretty simple.

By summertime, livestrong had turned into a monster. Anytime something is selling for 20 times face value on ebay while it is still in the market, you have pretty much hit gold. It had blown up all over the US, my work included. Everyone had one. Which was probably why I stopped rockin mine. Suddenly it was cool to support cancer research and the idea that a little yellow bracelet could not only raise so much awareness but generate so much money for research AND make nike cool on a front that it never could have expected was pretty interesting. When people talk about nike being cool, it usually has to do with their shoes/jerseys/commercials and the people that rep them. But for one summer, nike wristwear was not only the talk of the town, but the fashion of the town too…

funny, i still have the jerseys. maybe your first love is the truest of them all.

peace

YVONNE? thats a french ass name

prob the best skit ever



can i talk to you for a minute??

jagerbombs are delish.

thats amore

to my first love,

in the beginning, it was nothing but bliss. our relationship was beautiful, you amazed me to no end. but now things have changed. i have grown and developed, and you have stayed the same. i certainly have dreamed and even asked that you would follow my footsteps, but you are too stuck in your ways to understand. times are a changing, is it too much to ask for a little effort out of you? it certainly seems to be. i will always love you Sportscenter, but not the way i used to.

Love,
Biggs



sad but true. ever since that magical day at the end of elementary school when my fam finally got some basic cable!1! i was hooked. sportscenter was like my dream, the perfect hour for a skinny, overly interested and semi nerdy sports fanatic that i have been almost my entire life. even up until this past year, i would sometimes watch the same episode of sportscenter twice in a row, because the highlights and analysis were better then anything else on tv. nothing like playing poker with sc on in the background. but something's different. there are a number of possibilites, it could be the love affair with Brett Favre this summer, where i refused to turn it on, because i couldn't deal with any more brett. it could have been the fact that your soccer highlights are limited to a 2 minute espn deportes spot while nascar gets five minutes on a bad night (what could be more riveting then watching cars go around in a circle hundreds of times?) or even just my general frustration that there is baseball tonight in january, but no weekly soccer review while the mls and epl are in season. now i dutifully turn to fsc to see the highlights from the night before in the world of futbol. and i haven't looked back.

I don't feel it is too much to ask for one half hour a week minimum or even some good epl highlights on saturday and sunday night. there is almost always a top play from that day from the epl, and yet the lack of coverage is appalling. espn has done brilliantly with euro coverage, mls coverage, usmnt coverage, and have rights to 2010, and yet, sportscenter and general programming lag painfully behind. so i urge you espn, reconsider. find the time for me, and for all the other soccer starved fanatics out there. for you can either give me the love, or lose me forever.

biggy

fml

ugh. nothing like playing cash games, making more then i will at work tomorrow, and then still having to get up and go to work tomorrow. fml.

tomorrow, i write a love letter in the blogaments. get ready.

peace.

bleeding red white and blue

Random reflections from the U.S. game

-National team games get me fired up like none other. Seriously the blood flows when I turn them on. Especially when watching them with my boys. The only thing that is better is going to them with my boys. Its also amazing that I have at least ten friends who are real solid USMNT supporters, and at least 5 of them didn't come from a soccer background. word to you kmad, trev, petah, nuge, and clayt.

-After the game, my brother was ready to fight someone. He was so pissed at how cheap the Guatemalans were, it was amazing. He isn’t quite as big of a US fan ( you messi argentina bum) but seeing his rage was amazing. That and the fact that he is coming to South Africa for the world cup makes me joyous

-I saw this "Eddie Lewis, new to the Galaxy, talks to Nick Green of the Daily Breeze and reveals that he thinks the Guatemalans targeted him personally because he was just signed by the Galaxy and their teammate Carlos Ruiz was sent packing." today, and I seriously hope some of the guys who play in the MLS inflict some pain upon carlos ruiz. Dude is scum. That is the nicest way I can put what I really think about him.

-USsoccer.com has solid highlights and behind the scenes action from the game, which I am a big fan of. Even though they interview pretty much the same guys every time. I want to hear what Gooch has to say about the game, or maybe demps. That woulda been an interesting one, considering he was not so pleased when he got pulled midway through the second half. Check out the first vid, it is sweet.

-Please people in Chicago, Columbus, and Denver get out to the US qualifiers, sell the place out, pack the house with red white and blue, be obnoxious and make life suck for the opposing teams. PLEASE. For those of us who cannot (yet anyway). The crowd was solid in Guat, lets make playing the US in the states an away game, instead of a neutral site or even home away from home for these other teams

-Check the onetwo initiative, to hopefully help foster this idea. Join it on facebook if you have one, even if you don’t plan on seriously participating. Just getting the word out would be a huge boost to its rather pitiful current membership.

-Check out a couple other solid blogs, who I read rather obsessively.
theoriginalwinger
theoffsiderules

peace

facebook taunts me

no really. i keep getting the "22 and still single?" ad. really facebook, did you have to sell out my age and my relationship status? do you really think im gonna be like "wow you are so right. I did not realize i am 22 and still single, thanks for pointing that out AND giving me a website to help solve that major problem"

facebook. solving my relationship problems. nice life.

the city

so my boy trev calls me up friday, lets me know he's headed for the city, drivin up from socal to kick it with his boy garrett who lives there. im stoked cuz i havent seen either of them in days and we are def goin out and doin it up, which is sweet cuz everybody has left for school, and i have nobody to go out with. so sat night i jump on bart from ptown, and get into sf about 10pm. they pick me up at bart on 16th and mission with some more friends and we head for the marina. im stoked cuz i still hadn't gone out in the city yet, even though ive been old enough for days.

first place we head out to is Kelley's Tavern. We roll in and it seems like a pretty cool scene, its pretty crowded and they are bumpin some hip hop. We cruise to the bar get some drinks, and I'm looking around the place and see a signed Red Bull New York jersey on the wall. I was super stoked, cuz anyone who has anything related to the MLS up in their joint is cool with me. I wanted to take a picture, but some girls were in the way, and later as i had more to drink i fully forgot, because well, alcohol does not help you remember. we chilled there for a while, talked to some ladies (who unfortunately i remember 0 of their names and pretty much nothing about, trev confirmed that the one i chatted with for a while was cute) and then we peaced and headed for matrix philmore.

this place was a supposed to be a little more club like, as we were all lookin to get our dance on. the location and setup of the place was super sick, but the vibe was just off, the people on the dance floor were not dancing and it was a bummer. so little pop for so much possibility. trev and i hit some patron and we were both feelin real nice, but the fact that we couldn't really hit the dance floor was a bummer. we got some pizza, then went back to g's place and crashed.

woke up, wathced super sunday which was glorious cuz i finally got to see the fulham highlights, brilliant stuff fellas, then we snagged some costco pizza pre spanish cup thing that was on today, it was a real good game, until we all fell asleep in the second half. i hate when im too tired to focus on soccer, its a huge bummer. took bart back to the east bay, rockin my super fly chicago fire jersey from last year, the last one that says fire on it, which i like way better then the new ones. now im puttin in a sesh, plus about a bi at 100pl08, but played aa3q poorly pre when guy in front of me potted and i just called, but w/e.

on a slightly more random not, Fox Soccer Channel has the worst commercials. they are sooooo bad. in fact they are bad enough that some of them get the SLO rating, as in SLO has a lot of really bad small town commercials that are like homemade. one would think that advertising on FSC would be a good idea considering the ever growing appeal of the epl in the states, but maybe thats just me.

it's business time

def one of my fav songs ever. if you haven't seen flight of the conchords, its a great show that i highly recommend and their music is really good even though most of it is more lighthearted and clever then normal musicians.

they also created one of my favorite sayings,
its business time.


peace

FML

i will go vomit now

Full Tilt Poker Game #7763310575: $2 + $0.25 Rebuy (58923866), Table 7 - 2000/4000 Ante 500 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:44:04 ET - 2008/08/23
Seat 2: tyoung3701 (112,301)
Seat 3: Melinda440 (94,076)
Seat 4: me (167,328)
Seat 5: bigdaddyjsg (50,213)
Seat 6: gailyishous (214,316)
Seat 7: Yalanomatis (84,553)
Seat 8: Schoobydoo (148,293)
Seat 9: nyy486 (59,420)
tyoung3701 antes 500
Melinda440 antes 500
me antes 500
bigdaddyjsg antes 500
gailyishous antes 500
Yalanomatis antes 500
Schoobydoo antes 500
nyy486 antes 500
nyy486 posts the small blind of 2,000
tyoung3701 posts the big blind of 4,000
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to me [2h 2c]
Melinda440 folds
polyballer9 calls 4,000
bigdaddyjsg folds
gailyishous calls 4,000
Yalanomatis folds
Schoobydoo folds
nyy486 calls 2,000
tyoung3701 checks
*** FLOP *** [7d 5d 2d]
nyy486 checks
tyoung3701 checks
polyballer9 has 15 seconds left to act
me bets 14,321
gailyishous has 15 seconds left to act
gailyishous raises to 28,642
nyy486 folds
tyoung3701 folds
me calls 14,321
*** TURN *** [7d 5d 2d] [Ac]
pair the board one time?? checks
gailyishous has 15 seconds left to act
gailyishous bets 40,000
pair the board one time?? calls 40,000
*** RIVER *** [7d 5d 2d Ac] [Js]
FML checks
gailyishous checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
gailyishous shows [Kd 8d] a flush, King high
FML mucks
gailyishous wins the pot (157,284) with a flush, King high
The blinds are now 2,500/5,000 with an ante of 600
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 157,284 | Rake 0
Board: [7d 5d 2d Ac Js]
Seat 2: tyoung3701 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: Melinda440 folded before the Flop
Seat 4: FML mucked [2h 2c] - three of a kind, Twos
Seat 5: bigdaddyjsg folded before the Flop
Seat 6: gailyishous showed [Kd 8d] and won (157,284) with a flush, King high
Seat 7: Yalanomatis folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Schoobydoo (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: nyy486 (small blind) folded on the Flop


three hands later.

Full Tilt Poker Game #7763325275: $2 + $0.25 Rebuy (58923866), Table 7 - 2500/5000 Ante 600 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:46:17 ET - 2008/08/23
Seat 2: tyoung3701 (104,101)
Seat 3: Melinda440 (84,876)
Seat 4: me (87,986)
Seat 5: bigdaddyjsg (48,513)
Seat 6: gailyishous (299,558)
Seat 7: Yalanomatis (105,153)
Seat 8: Schoobydoo (146,593)
Seat 9: nyy486 (53,720)
tyoung3701 antes 600
Melinda440 antes 600
polyballer9 antes 600
bigdaddyjsg antes 600
gailyishous antes 600
Yalanomatis antes 600
Schoobydoo antes 600
nyy486 antes 600
polyballer9 posts the small blind of 2,500
bigdaddyjsg posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to me [9c 9d]
gailyishous folds
Yalanomatis folds
Schoobydoo raises to 15,000
nyy486 calls 15,000
tyoung3701 calls 15,000
Melinda440 folds
me has 15 seconds left to act
me raises to 87,386, and is all in
bigdaddyjsg folds
Schoobydoo calls 72,386
nyy486 folds
tyoung3701 calls 72,386
*** FLOP *** [3h 2d 2h]
Schoobydoo bets 58,607, and is all in
tyoung3701 calls 16,115, and is all in
Schoobydoo shows [Th Td]
tyoung3701 shows [Ks Qs]
me shows [9c 9d]
Uncalled bet of 42,492 returned to Schoobydoo
*** TURN *** [3h 2d 2h] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [3h 2d 2h 5h] [4h]
Schoobydoo shows a flush, Ten high
tyoung3701 shows a pair of Twos
Schoobydoo wins the side pot (32,230) with a flush, Ten high
me shows two pair, Nines and Twos
Schoobydoo wins the main pot (286,958) with a flush, Ten high
me stands up
tyoung3701 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 319,188 Main pot 286,958. Side pot 32,230. | Rake 0
Board: [3h 2d 2h 5h 4h]
Seat 2: tyoung3701 showed [Ks Qs] and lost with a pair of Twos
Seat 3: Melinda440 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: polyballer9 (small blind) showed [9c 9d] and lost with two pair, Nines and Twos
Seat 5: bigdaddyjsg (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: gailyishous folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Yalanomatis folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Schoobydoo showed [Th Td] and won (319,188) with a flush, Ten high
Seat 9: nyy486 folded before the Flop

seriously. how do you call there with TT. you could have folded. ugh. was playing some real solid poker too. tight life.

session ended up, i cashed in 3 of 6, made an FT,

and now want to punch myself in the face. ugh.

fulham makes me cry

im just predicting the future: tomorrow i will wake up, have like ten minutes to make it on time to our mens league game, we will win and clinch the league, i will come home and be happy. and then i will see how bad fulham played and lost, and then i will cry. mark my words. im just hoping they actually start dempsey, and that he stops playing like he is in a fog, and that will carry over to the usmnt. that would be nice

last nights sesh was minimal, ended up playing wii, then the spa. tonight i dialed up some donkaments, and immediately my jenky mofo computer locked up. playing on two sites is just too hard for old bessy here, which sucks, so i quit out of both, then trillian and firefox and entered the magic combination (ie starting tilt and getting all the tables up, then closing the lobbys, then stars doin the exact same). It is pretty much like apollo 13, where they had to figure out how to repower everything with a certain limited supply of power. except this is my computer, and it is not quite as pressing of an issue as it was in the movie. jumped in a $5 360 man, a $4 180, a $2 multi all on stars, and a $5 horse, $2 rebuy and midnight madness on tilt. some fun hands so far:

PokerStars Game #19826771327: Tournament #102281962, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2008/08/23 - 00:52:56 (ET)
Table '102281962 7' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: TheVaughnz (795 in chips)
Seat 2: me (2665 in chips)
Seat 3: squirtybm (1595 in chips)
Seat 4: Sinomengirl_ (4750 in chips)
Seat 5: carolina2114 (4580 in chips)
Seat 6: mdh6424 (1070 in chips)
Seat 7: Wonderdino (5445 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 8: tomasson (1445 in chips)
Seat 9: crzychinaman (2495 in chips)
polyballer9: posts small blind 25
squirtybm: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to me [Ks Ad]
Sinomengirl_: raises 100 to 150
carolina2114: folds
mdh6424: folds
Wonderdino: folds
tomasson: folds
crzychinaman: folds
TheVaughnz: calls 150
me: raises 400 to 550
squirtybm: folds
Sinomengirl_: calls 400
TheVaughnz: raises 245 to 795 and is all-in
me: calls 245
Sinomengirl_: calls 245
*** FLOP *** [6s 2d 2c]
me: bets 1870 and is all-in
Sinomengirl_: folds
Uncalled bet (1870) returned to polyballer9
*** TURN *** [6s 2d 2c] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [6s 2d 2c 6h] [Qc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
me: shows [Ks Ad] (two pair, Sixes and Deuces)
TheVaughnz: shows [As Qh] (two pair, Queens and Sixes)
TheVaughnz collected 2435 from pot

lol sick turn and river. i thought the original raiser was weak, but my iso squeeze didnt work quite how i planned.

this hand is simply explainable as i play terrible pre, and run terrible the rest of the way

PokerStars Game #19826498915: Tournament #103768235, $4.00+$0.40 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/08/23 - 00:37:08 (ET)
Table '103768235 8' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: MRopp05 (3030 in chips)
Seat 3: WEEDVILLE (2945 in chips)
Seat 4: moraljac (2230 in chips)
Seat 5: Gregori (2785 in chips)
Seat 6: me (2050 in chips)
Seat 7: wyldeyed (3525 in chips)
Seat 8: eeEntropy (1825 in chips)
Seat 9: FaustianDeal (1225 in chips)
moraljac: posts small blind 50
Gregori: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to me [As 7s]
me: calls 100
wyldeyed: folds
eeEntropy: folds
FaustianDeal: folds
MRopp05: folds
WEEDVILLE: folds
moraljac: raises 200 to 300
Gregori: folds
me: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [6c Ts 8s]
moraljac: bets 400
lol i has draws!!: raises 1350 to 1750 and is all-in
moraljac: calls 1350
*** TURN *** [6c Ts 8s] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [6c Ts 8s 5c] [Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
moraljac: shows [Kd Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
i has a draw!!and nothing else: shows [As 7s] (high card Ace)
moraljac collected 4200 from pot

and by far the hand of the night. how do aces hold here? pretty much amazing.
PokerStars Game #19826727768: Tournament #102281960, $2.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/08/23 - 00:50:15 (ET)
Table '102281960 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: handicapper7 (1605 in chips)
Seat 2: pmptwnhstlr (885 in chips)
Seat 3: thong33 (2300 in chips)
Seat 4: me (1730 in chips)
Seat 5: rustycarson (3190 in chips)
Seat 6: phlii (760 in chips)
Seat 7: 7777mar7777 (1190 in chips)
Seat 8: spDallas (3900 in chips)
Seat 9: Hydonis (950 in chips)
polyballer9: posts small blind 50
rustycarson: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to me [4h Kc]
phlii: raises 660 to 760 and is all-in
7777mar7777: raises 430 to 1190 and is all-in
spDallas: raises 2710 to 3900 and is all-in
Hydonis: folds
handicapper7: calls 1605 and is all-in
pmptwnhstlr: calls 885 and is all-in
thong33: folds
me: folds
rustycarson: folds
Uncalled bet (2295) returned to spDallas
*** FLOP *** [5h 4d 2d]
*** TURN *** [5h 4d 2d] [7d]
rustycarson said, "WOW"
*** RIVER *** [5h 4d 2d 7d] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
spDallas: shows [Ah Ac] (two pair, Aces and Fives)
handicapper7: shows [8h 8d] (two pair, Eights and Fives)
spDallas collected 830 from side pot-3
7777mar7777: shows [Th Ts] (two pair, Tens and Fives)
spDallas collected 915 from side pot-2
pmptwnhstlr: shows [Qs Qd] (two pair, Queens and Fives)
spDallas collected 500 from side pot-1
phlii: shows [Kd Kh] (two pair, Kings and Fives)
spDallas collected 3950 from main pot
insouthbeach is connected
mytwocards is connected
chuannguyen is connected
*** SUMMARY ***

uh fold equity one time? rofl, nh sir. also he fully used his timebanked. i was 99% sure i was getting slowrolled by some garbage pair.

PokerStars Game #19827076905: Tournament #102281962, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/08/23 - 01:12:16 (ET)
Table '102281962 7' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 2: who has the nuts? (3870 in chips)
Seat 3: squirtybm (1420 in chips)
Seat 4: Sinomengirl_ (4770 in chips)
Seat 5: carolina2114 (7075 in chips)
Seat 6: mdh6424 (1490 in chips)
Seat 7: Wonderdino (5220 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 8: tomasson (1145 in chips)
Seat 9: JustinBaker (1000 in chips) is sitting out
carolina2114: posts small blind 50
mdh6424: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to i has the nuts? [7h As]
Wonderdino: folds
tomasson: folds
JustinBaker: folds
i def has the nuts: raises 200 to 300
squirtybm: folds
Sinomengirl_: folds
carolina2114: folds
mdh6424: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [Qc 5d 9h]
mdh6424: bets 400
rofl I DEF HAS NUTS: raises 3100 to 3500
Rock Rob 2 is connected
mdh6424: folds
Uncalled bet (3100) returned to polyballer9
oh, nuts collected 1450 from pot
rofl nice fold sir: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***

still in three of the donkaments, meh. im not that amused. i should play better.
does anyone have a hand history converter that works with blogs?? if so holla at me.

peace

grinding and grinding

playing some cash games for the first time in a prob a week. i have pretty much decided that playing after work is futile, because I usually just don't care and tilt my money off wayyyy too easily, or i get super frustrated and it is like my job extended. which is not good. because my goal is to a) make money and b) have it not suck while making money.

I do want to say something that has helped me so much in building a bankroll was signing up for rakeback. it is so clutch for anybody who is playing online, especially if you are playing small stakes, because the rake takes so much of a bigger cut of your profit. if you don't have it, get it, and if you are considering starting playing online, make sure you sign up for rakeback first. it has been worth a ton of money to me just since november. rakeupdate is cash money, click here to go there

i will update post sesh, which might be short, since im playing omaha hilo, and it looks like we are gonna play wii bowling at the same time

"the US has just won a street fight in Guatemala"

couldn't have been much more true. the game was poorly played by the US, and they didn't look particularly special. However, a win is a win, and certainly on the road it is a brilliant win. scattered thoughts from the game:

-wtf espn. cut away from the baseball game and go straight to the soccer. the pennant race is not going to be decided in august anyway. bump them onto espn classic.
- Landon needs to attack from the wings when he gets the ball out there. He did way too much pulling the ball back when either driving a ball in to streaking forwards or dribbling at defenders were both much more dangerous options.
- On the same note, that kinda went for the whole team. where was the creativity/flair? I think it is time to bump bradley or mastroeni from the center mid, and let either dempsey/adu have a run as a withdrawn forward with the other as an attacking mid. we aren't beating world powers attacking like tonight, and unless Bradley gets some attacking freedom, two dmids is not getting it done.
- well done Chingy. you didn't do much early, but second half you were a difference maker. loved the backscreen on Boca's goal, and your workrate up top was first class.
- Oh how having Damarcus beasley on the field changes things. We miss you D, get back to fitness quick please.
-Carlos Ruiz is a piece of crap. how he didn't have a red by sixty in is beyond me
-Scrappy win fellas. good teams win even when they suck, and so does the US apparently.

Usain bolt is incredible, his running is so dominant. It made me think how sick Olympic track events would be with soccer players only. think of donovan, messi, eto'o and torres all squaring off in the 200. the combinations would be awesome.

the road starts now

us vs guatemala, on espn2 or espn classic.

do work fellas do work.

me thinks we pull out a 2-1 win, with goals from landon and eddie "maligned" johnson

linkage for the onetwo initiative

the onetwo initiative on facebook

join it.

the onetwo initiative

so today, after spending some lovely time at work on www.ussoccer.com and watching some videos to distract myself from the fact that i still had 6 more hours of work left, i stumbled upon the Men's National Team: Playing in Guatemala vid. it was talking about the stress of playing in a different nation and how some of the players deal with the adversity of not only playing in front of a hostile crowd, but the fact they deal with people calling their rooms at 3am, radio stations setting up outside their hotel, fans jeering them at the airport and the like. pretty legit stuff. but when these teams come to play the US in the US, do they face the same sort of treatment? not usually. why not? shouldn't their games on the road be as stressful as possible BEFORE the game starts too? I certainly feel like it. and that is where the onetwo initiative rears its (optimistically) very ugly head.

basically, the onetwo initiative is an attempt to organize US Men's National Team fans across the US to rally behind our boys and also make life suck for their opponents. i will start a group on facebook that allows us to connect and work on how to screw with the Guatemalans, the Cubans, the T&T fellows, and quite certainly the Mexicans, along with any other team the US might face along their road to WC2010. Unfortunately, because a) i am poor and b) i am on the west coast, I can only do so much. but if someone can get me the hotel name and room numbers in Chicago, Columbus or any other city in the US, I would love to waste my precious family plan cellphone minutes giving mr. ruiz and mr. blanco calls to discuss items such as why they suck and that nobody likes them. because its time to take being a fan of the USMNT to a whole new level. so, if you are interested, post, or look on facebook for "the onetwo initiative" and join up, so that we can start acting like the rest of concacaf, while playing like the beast the US national team is.

peace

allow me to reintroduce myself

to define luckbox united is the groundwork for this blog, luckbox coming from the poker world, as if you have a box filled with luck that lets you run good at critical times, and united from the futbol world, as in dc united, or yet more appealing, the united states of america. the passion for both poker and soccer are really what are driving me to write, along with some other topics like style and class, both of which i have little of but have great aspirations of. my name is biggy, and i love nothing more then snapping a brilliant free kick into the box and watching one of my teammates bury it with their head past a keeper. i also love lamp. after aspiring too long to write more, i think it is time to take some action. if one was to ask me what currently is running through my head in terms of top 5 topics, they would be

-US men's national team world cup qualifying, and pretty much the USMNT in general
-how soon the summer ends and i go back to school, with the intent to star on the club team
-learning to beat 50nl better
-hoping that i can find a nice Earthquakes jersey in the next two weeks
-and wondering what i am going to do with my life in 5 months when I graduate

if any of this seems borderline interesting, maybe i will be worth your time. if not, maybe you are so bored that i am worth your time no matter how dumb you think i am. if i am not worth your time, i recommend googling www.theoriginalwinger.com or www.theoffsiderules.blogspot.com as they are both blogs i enjoy greatly, and are certainly worth your time.

peace