(.)_(.)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
field of screams
and so the Revs play in another dour MLS final and discover a new way to lose the championship match. Oh the irony. In the previous two loses, the Revs were the better team in both overtimes, only to be hit on the counter attack and surrender a sudden death goal. And this year, when they are the team which manages to score first in overtime? Well the rule has been changed so that the overtime period lasts the entire 30 minutes regardless of any goals scored. No sudden death means that Houston has 7 minutes to tie the match and force penalties. Of course, Houston needed fewer than 20 seconds after the ensuing kickoff to tie the game. And the injured Ralston, and an inexplicably absent Clint Dempsey meant that defender Jay Heaps stepped up to take the 5th and deciding penalty. The result was inevitable.
And just to have something to look forward to regarding next season, Gillette stadium is installing field turf. How perfectly awful. We'll have bright and clear football lines on the field year round now as well as an unnatural surface where the ball rolls faster and bounces differently than natural grass. If you felt that MLS games had a tendancy to be too athletic and less artistic than a soccer match should be, well.....this isn't going to help any.
This is my 100th post. w00t! 1 comments
and so the Revs play in another dour MLS final and discover a new way to lose the championship match. Oh the irony. In the previous two loses, the Revs were the better team in both overtimes, only to be hit on the counter attack and surrender a sudden death goal. And this year, when they are the team which manages to score first in overtime? Well the rule has been changed so that the overtime period lasts the entire 30 minutes regardless of any goals scored. No sudden death means that Houston has 7 minutes to tie the match and force penalties. Of course, Houston needed fewer than 20 seconds after the ensuing kickoff to tie the game. And the injured Ralston, and an inexplicably absent Clint Dempsey meant that defender Jay Heaps stepped up to take the 5th and deciding penalty. The result was inevitable.
And just to have something to look forward to regarding next season, Gillette stadium is installing field turf. How perfectly awful. We'll have bright and clear football lines on the field year round now as well as an unnatural surface where the ball rolls faster and bounces differently than natural grass. If you felt that MLS games had a tendancy to be too athletic and less artistic than a soccer match should be, well.....this isn't going to help any.
This is my 100th post. w00t! 1 comments
Thursday, November 09, 2006
indian summer
yes, there is also stuff of interest in my life that does not involve mr. baby head. However I'm not sure if anything discussed below is of any more interest than diaper changes and pacifiers.
The Revs are in MLS Cup for the second year running and 3rd time in 5 years. Of course you’ll recall that they lost the two other chances to win the championship, both 1-0, both in overtime and both to the LA Galaxy. This will definitely the last best chance for the team to win it all as there are some aging veterans as well as a few top players who will likely be gone to Europe this winter. The team is also in the best position to win when compared to the 2002 squad (just happy to be there) and the 2005 team (supremely talented and also supremely injured and tired). The only stumbling block is that the Houston team they are playing matches the New England strengths very well. Both teams have strong midfields, a dynamic attack, and solid, but beatable defenses. The Revs midfield is stronger down the middle while Houston excels on the flanks. If the Revs really have Pat Noonan, Steve Ralston and Clint Dempsey all back from injury, then that should be enough to put them ahead. The game in this Sunday at 3:30 on ABC.
I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Mobile, AL for 2 days this past week for work. I was staying on the outskirts of the city and the area reminded me of the suburban sprawl of Northern Virginia with the foliage and general decay that I associate with Florida. There’s something about the warm, damp weather that just seems to make most everything seem a bit run down. The highlights of my visit were as follows:
I was referred to as a Yankee, we stopped for a fried steak biscuit on the way to the boat on Tuesday morning, my work went off without too much trouble, there are a whole lot of oil rigs in Mobile Bay, I had a fired shrimp po’ boy for dinner on Monday night and ribs for lunch on Tuesday. The ribs were fantastic. Interestingly, there was no dry rub from what I could tell, it was just pork, smoke and a little sauce added just prior to serving. I admired the simplicity of their approach. The single item on the dessert menu was home made banana pudding, and it was excellent.
Here’s my brief rundown on the fall TV schedule. I still look forward to seeing The Office every week, but so far it has been very good rather than very excellent. I enjoyed the pilot episode for Studio 60 but have come to dislike it since. While it still enjoys a spot in the TiVo, I have relegated its viewing to late night, just trying to settle the baby status, well behind Dawson’s Creek reruns on Noggin as well as any bowling that might be saved. 30 Rock is funny and I’m enjoying that. I think the role that they’ve made for Tracy Morgan is just perfect for him. The highlight of the season so far has been Friday Night Lights. I thought the first few episodes were excellent and it has continued to be strong since then. While I do not care for the soap opera storyline of the girl cheating on her hospitalized boyfriend with his best friend, I do very much like the stuff that focuses on the the coach, his relationship with his wife and the storyline about the new starting quarterback.
This blog is neat. 0 comments
yes, there is also stuff of interest in my life that does not involve mr. baby head. However I'm not sure if anything discussed below is of any more interest than diaper changes and pacifiers.
The Revs are in MLS Cup for the second year running and 3rd time in 5 years. Of course you’ll recall that they lost the two other chances to win the championship, both 1-0, both in overtime and both to the LA Galaxy. This will definitely the last best chance for the team to win it all as there are some aging veterans as well as a few top players who will likely be gone to Europe this winter. The team is also in the best position to win when compared to the 2002 squad (just happy to be there) and the 2005 team (supremely talented and also supremely injured and tired). The only stumbling block is that the Houston team they are playing matches the New England strengths very well. Both teams have strong midfields, a dynamic attack, and solid, but beatable defenses. The Revs midfield is stronger down the middle while Houston excels on the flanks. If the Revs really have Pat Noonan, Steve Ralston and Clint Dempsey all back from injury, then that should be enough to put them ahead. The game in this Sunday at 3:30 on ABC.
I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Mobile, AL for 2 days this past week for work. I was staying on the outskirts of the city and the area reminded me of the suburban sprawl of Northern Virginia with the foliage and general decay that I associate with Florida. There’s something about the warm, damp weather that just seems to make most everything seem a bit run down. The highlights of my visit were as follows:
I was referred to as a Yankee, we stopped for a fried steak biscuit on the way to the boat on Tuesday morning, my work went off without too much trouble, there are a whole lot of oil rigs in Mobile Bay, I had a fired shrimp po’ boy for dinner on Monday night and ribs for lunch on Tuesday. The ribs were fantastic. Interestingly, there was no dry rub from what I could tell, it was just pork, smoke and a little sauce added just prior to serving. I admired the simplicity of their approach. The single item on the dessert menu was home made banana pudding, and it was excellent.
Here’s my brief rundown on the fall TV schedule. I still look forward to seeing The Office every week, but so far it has been very good rather than very excellent. I enjoyed the pilot episode for Studio 60 but have come to dislike it since. While it still enjoys a spot in the TiVo, I have relegated its viewing to late night, just trying to settle the baby status, well behind Dawson’s Creek reruns on Noggin as well as any bowling that might be saved. 30 Rock is funny and I’m enjoying that. I think the role that they’ve made for Tracy Morgan is just perfect for him. The highlight of the season so far has been Friday Night Lights. I thought the first few episodes were excellent and it has continued to be strong since then. While I do not care for the soap opera storyline of the girl cheating on her hospitalized boyfriend with his best friend, I do very much like the stuff that focuses on the the coach, his relationship with his wife and the storyline about the new starting quarterback.
This blog is neat. 0 comments
Saturday, November 04, 2006
baby days
and so the beat goes on with life at home with Andrew. In the past few weeks he got to meet many of his cousins and aunts and uncles as well as spend time with his Grandmom while she stayed with us. He also became a Christian, got his first cold, met his great grandmother and is showing the very first signs of smiling and cooing. Thanks to Reen's tireless efforts, Andrew continues to gain mass like an object approaching light speed. (you have to admit, that was relatively funny....)
He is a joy to be with during the good times and there are very many more good times than bad.
1 comments
and so the beat goes on with life at home with Andrew. In the past few weeks he got to meet many of his cousins and aunts and uncles as well as spend time with his Grandmom while she stayed with us. He also became a Christian, got his first cold, met his great grandmother and is showing the very first signs of smiling and cooing. Thanks to Reen's tireless efforts, Andrew continues to gain mass like an object approaching light speed. (you have to admit, that was relatively funny....)
He is a joy to be with during the good times and there are very many more good times than bad.
1 comments
