12-minutes in, the newest member of the Blues scores on a 25-yard free kick. What a thing of beauty.
Welcome to City, Robinho. May your reign be long and glorious.
Update: Just as I hit publish, Chelsea’s Ricardo Carvalho leveled the scoring. So much for the afterglow…
Update: 11:47 am. In the end, there was just too much Chelsea.
No sooner did the announcement come out that the dudes from Dubai have bought my beloved Blues, then they opened up their wallets and started spending like drunken sailors.
Robinho? Check.
David Villa and Mario Gomez? Check and check.
Berbatov? Almost!
Look out, you oligarch bastards. You think you have money? Ha!
Every time I fill my tank now, I’m gonna think of my Blues. Suddenly $4.50/gallon doesn’t seem so bad.
The EPL moved quickly to get Man City owner Thaksin Shinawatra out of Eastlands. A “memorandum of understanding” has been reached to sell the team to a group from Abu Dhabi; in other words, rich Arab oil men. This all went down in the last week or so. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for some official word on the rich Canadian oil man who wants to own the Winter Hawks.
There’s a joke in here somewhere…
It’s been a depressing last few months for Man City fans. It began with last season’s post-Christmas fade. The sacking of Sven. Then we lost out on Ronaldinho. Now the team’s owner has had his assets frozen and may not be able to dip into his fortune to pay things like salaries. Sounds familiar to Winter Hawks fans, I guess.
Anyway, it’s lead to a lot of depression among the fans. No wonder the team had to let out their souvenier jerseys just a little.
Memo to Gallacher: When you start stocking the souvenier stand this season, would it kill you to bring in some more huskier sizes? I know one fan who would buy a 3x 4x jersey if one were made available.
HT: EPL Talk
Even Derby, as bad as they are, has only given up a maximum of six goals this season. Granted, they did it three times, but still.
If this is how Sven responds to the speculation, then good riddance.
Arizona Cardinals: They seem to be getting B-pluses for their draft yesterday. I still don’t get the Dominique Rogers-Cromarte thing. The Deion Sanders seal-of-approval is just too much for me to overcome. I wonder if they’ll come to regret not drafting Mendenhall and cutting Edge. We should know around week six or seven. They loaded up on much needed defensive ends in the 2nd, 4th, and 6th rounds. Throw in Tim Hightower and Brandon Keith, and I guess they did alright. Between Thanksgiving night at Philly and December 21 at New England, it’s going to be a tough year for the Cards. It may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise though, as Matt Leinart will stink the joint up, forcing the Cards to go QB in next year’s draft. And won’t that be fun.
Man City: A dumb loss to bottom-dwelling Fulham isn’t going to do anything to quiet the whispers that Sven Goran Eriksson may soon be out of work. Of course the whole of England would welcome his permanent deportation, I suspect, but still. The guy knows his soccer football. And the team is much better off with him running the show than they were with Pearce. As with all sports, you don’t fire the coach you have unless you believe the next one will be better.
Roger Clyne: Rick Emerson has talked me into seeing Clyne three times now in the last probably year-and-a-half. Each time I go and wait for the religious experience to hit me like Jake in the church. But it never does. Is it because I don’t listen to the cd’s I’ve bought? Is it because I’ve never visited Circus Mexicus? Is it because I think the show, especially Saturday night’s, is a little…forgive me Rick…cliché? I’m not sure I can put my finger on it. Clearly I need to see Clyne another three or four times before I form an opinion.
Diamondbacks: I was out with friends this afternoon when I should have been watching Webb vs Peavy. The Diamondbacks’ top-three pitchers (Webb, Haren, and Owings) have been lights out for the first month. Add in the Big Unit as the #4 starter, and visions of October can start dancing in one’s head. It’s way early yet, but who in the West is going to catch them?
Scalia: Say what you will, and you will. I liked the 60 Minutes interview.
You think there ought to be a right to abortion? No problem. The Constitution says nothing about it. Create it the way most rights are created in a democratic society. Pass a law. And that law, unlike a Constitutional right to abortion created by a court can compromise. It can…I was going to say it can split the baby! I should not use… A Constitution is not meant to facilitate change. It is meant to impede change, to make it difficult to change.
Pass a law. Hmmmmm……
Portland Winter Hawks: Hypothetical. Let’s say I’m jazzed about hockey right now. I watched the Stanley Cup playoffs this weekend and was mesmerized. And let’s say I decided to pony up and get season tickets for next year. Leave everything else aside… Is there anyone in the office who can cash the check and assign me my seats?
The new Vancouver Freddy’s: Normally I make the drive down to the Hollywood Freddy’s. I really like that one. Last night though I tried out the new one off SR-14. Its nice and all, but they’re going to have a tough time living the whole opening week stabbing thing down. The lady who checked me out summed it up well when she suggested customers wouldn’t let them live that one down for a while. And she’s right. Say what you will about “my” Fred Meyer store up at 79th and Highway 99, I never hear about people getting stabbed there.
Yes, that’s me in today’s Trib. The Butterbean story never seems to get old. And just when I think everyone has heard it, I run into another friend who hasn’t.
For the record, the guy who was shot survived. To this day I’ve never met him nor do I even know his name. I just know, according to the cops at least, that he was shot once in the arm. So I’m not an accused murderer. Just an accused drive-by shooter.
Also, for the record, since the charges were dropped quickly after I was released, I don’t have a criminal record. Those are only reserved for people who have been convicted. I was never even arraigned.
The only reminder I have of the entire episode is the sweet nickname. As you can probably tell, I’m kind of fond of it.
Portland Beavers: I feel terrible. I didn’t make it to a single game this home stand. Between two Blazer games, more on that in a sec, and the rain, I just didn’t make the time. I’ll do better this week. I promise. As for the week past, the Beavs went 2-1 against the Fresno Grizzlies, getting strong pitching performances from Josh Geer (1-0 / 7 IP / 1 hit / 4 strikeouts) and Shawn Estes (1-0 / 6 IP / 4 strikeouts / 0.00 ERA) and solid offense from outfielder Chip Ambres (2 HR) and Matt Antonelli (3-for-9 with 2 triples).
Trail Blazers: I went to the Houston game on Thursday night. I only made it to halftime. The Blazers seemed to be sleepwalking and I was a little tired myself. I guess it turned into the T-Mac show in the second half. Kind of wish I’d stuck around. Yesterday’s game against the Spurs was another snoozefest. They should institute a San Antonio rule. Require the Spurs to get a shot up within say 15-seconds. Watching them plod their way through the Rose Garden yesterday was…well, boring. At the end of the third quarter, I figured the Blazers would need 75 points to win the game. At that point they had 52. It wasn’t meant to be. Nice to see Ime Udoka back in the building. And it was nice to see Damon Stoudamire get booed when he got into the game. Blzaer fans haven’t forgotten. I like that.
Whacky Idea of the Day: How cool would it be if the Blazers activated Oden for the last game of the year and stuck him in with say 5 minutes left in the Memphis game? Just long enough to see him in uniform and have him run around a little bit. I bet that would sell a few ticket packages for next year. I wonder if that’s crossed either Larry Miller or Kevin Pritchard’s minds.
Man City: Like they were going to beat Chelsea. Even at home. The Blues have managed three goals since the middle of February. A streak reminiscent of the end of last season. What’s different? The new owner seems willing to spend whatever it takes to become a top-four club. I just wonder if they’ll ever be able to draw the talent required to do it. They are the Clippers to Man U’s Lakers. And always will be.
Twitter: Sitting in the office on Saturday afternoon, I took a moment to check in on my Twitter account to see what was happening. Everyone and their daughter was headed to Fire on the Mountain for a meet-up. Being just up the street, I decided to join in. I’m so glad I did. Hockley was there, as was Banana Lee Fishbones. I made a few new friends as well. It was worth it to just listen to Aaron and friend discuss Twitter philosophy. The more I use it, the more I enjoy it. Twittering is definitely a participation sport. I don’t think wall flowers get nearly as much out of it.
Oregon State Beavers: Craig Robinson? Well, OK. Corvallis Gazette-Times beat writer Brooks Hatch has an interesting take on the reality of the Beavers gig.
The last three coaches at OSU were Ritchie McKay, Eddie Payne and Jay John. McKay went directly to New Mexico of his own volition, and thence to Liberty. Eddie has since been the head coach at Greensboro College and is now head coach at South Carolina Upstate. John did some scouting for the Denver Nuggets, and will undoubtedly find another position in basketball someplace in the not-to-distant future. My point is, all three (Jimmy Anderson retired, so he doesn’t count) found quick employment. Perhaps not at BCS-level schools, but they quickly found jobs that provided a comfortable income, even though they couldn’t get OSU turned around. For them, it was hardly a graveyard job.
Now, ask yourself, where are Washington’s last three coaches (Bob Bender, Andy Russo, Lynbn Nance)? Where are Kevin Eastman and Paul Graham of WSU, or Dick Kutchen, Lou Campanelli, or Todd Bozeman from Cal, or Rob Evans, Bill Frieder and whomever else has been at ASU before Herb Sendek (I’m drawing a blank here; Steve Patterson?)?
(Kevin Eastman, who I knew in college, is with the Boston Celtics. But the question is partly rhetorical).
Point is, there’s perception, and reality.
Thats something I hadn’t considered. I wonder if Bill Grier had considered that before leaving the Beavers at the altar last week.
Springsteen: There’s not a lot to add that Jack hasn’t said already (Part 1, 2, 3). It probably escaped most folks’ notice, but Rose Garden Poo Bah Mike Scanlon was at the north entrance as fans entered the arena on Friday night. That guy runs a tight ship. Few details get past him. As for the show… I laughed, I cried, I called Betty with Sunglasses. The highlights for me were “Lonesome Day”, “She’s the One”, and “Lost in the Flood”. Oh, and I may have cried during “The Rising”. I sort of wish I’d taken a seat rather than being on the floor. The energy down there was great and all, but I couldn’t quite take in the whole spectacle. I love watching Max do his thing, for example, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t concentrate on him. Too many other distractions. It was fun, though, to watch Charlie Giordano flip frantically through his song book as Bruce audibled “For You” and “Lost in the Flood” back-to-back. Giordano, filling in for Brother Danny Federici as he battles cancer, spent most of the evening looking out into the crowd, clearly enjoying his time with the band, but for those two tunes, his eyes were glued to his book. I thought he did a great job. Props also to Gary W. Tallent who came down and sang back-up on “American Land”. I also ran into my friends Brad and The Tin Man. They were there with their wives and friends. One of the friends evidently coaches Springsteen’s son, so everyone in their party were wearing backstage passes. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the cut. *sigh*
Tall in the Saddle: There was a Star Wars-esque plot twist in the fifth act wherein it turned out the hottie I was hoping The Duke would end up with was actually his cousin. Instead he got Ella Raines. Not a bad consolation prize, I suppose. The movie also featured Gabby Hayes as “Dave”, one of the few times he played a character not named Gabby. As usual he got the best line of the movie.
“She’s meaner than a skillet full of rattlesnakes.”
As Pete in Parkrose mentioned, I think I may have dated her at one point.
Man City: The Blues have slid all the way down to 9th place in the table. Safely out of relegation, but also safely out of European contention. They’ve been a frustrating team all season. They’ve shown an ability to go run with the big dogs, but then they get beat 3:1 at bottom-dwelling Birmingham. I don’t get it.
Jim Norton: I should have known it wouldn’t be my kind of show when I saw all the KUFO banners hanging in the lobby of the Winningstad Theatre. But I was such a fan of his HBO special, I wanted to get out and support him. I thought he was a young up and comer. Turns out, he’s a regular with Opie and Anthony. Now that’s a show I don’t get. I knew we were in trouble when he went straight to relationship talk straight out of the chute. He does the same thing on his Letterman appearance. Lame, lame, lame. And from there it just got worse. And by worse, I mean the little old ladies who were acting as ushers were shocked. It was the first night for one of them. Two other ladies had to reassure her that not every show and not every crowd was “this bad”. Norton did have a pretty good opener though by the name of Al Jackson. You can see him here. Comedy is a tricky thing. There’s not a lot that separates them from musicians like Springsteen. Every joke to a comedian is like a song to Springsteen. The difference is while I love to hear Bruce break out the old tunes when I see him, I don’t want to see a comedian break out the same jokes every time I see them. The only exception I can think of is Andrew Dice Clay. Hmmm…. Just something I’ve been rolling over in my head.
Major League Baseball: Diamondbacks over the Red Sox in six. That’s based on nothing but pure speculation. And any guess you make is based on the same thing.
The Big Lebowski: I made the mistake of having three White Russians before the show last night. I couldn’t get off the couch at all today. Yes, this makes me a lightweight. I don’t drink. Like ever. I figured if Jeffery Lebowski could guzzle Caucasians by the bucket load in that movie, then certainly I could do the same in real life. Turns out I was wrong. Lesson learned.
I don’t understand a thing about the European transfer window. As near as I can figure out, the rich teams write checks to the poor teams for their best players and the poor teams use the money to pay off credit cards. Or something. Anyway, Man City went out and signed this guy named Benjani from Portsmouth. Benjami’s first match with the Blues was today against Manchester United the Scum and wouldn’t you know it, he scored a goal! City went on to win the match at Stamford Bridge 1:2, putting themselves back in a three-way tie for fifth place, just three points out of the top-four. Woo hoo!
