Bon_Mot

EURO '08 Fantasy League Group name: "Texas Soccer" Password: "It's hot!" [Hidden Content]

EURO '08 Pick 'Em Group name "Texas Soccer" [Hidden Content]

I forgot to mention Kenny Cooper. Ives has the same questions we do: [Hidden Content]

I don't think Dempsey's defending is adequate enough to put him as a true center mid. I think he's better suited as a withdrawn forward / attacking center mid in a 4-2-3-1 or paired up with someone like Adu in a 4-3-2-1 so that he can make runs at people, distribute the ball wide, or finish a cross or two with his well timed runs. He's not too bad out wide either. Donovan doesn't like playing center mid. He's much more comfortable out wide or up front. I don't know if Jozy is the answer yet or not. From the few games I've watched him play this year, he seems to get a little too emotional and almost gets baited too easily. And this is by MLS defenders - not Materazzi bringing up his sister and whatnot. I think the real problem lies in our youth system. It emphasizes winning and not development. Results over creativity. American players are very lacking the creativity department.

...and Lil Bradley and Rico Clark are both D-mids. Having both of them together in the middle of the field destroys any chance of possesion or creativity. If there is no forward who can link up with them...you get long balls to guys who can't hold on to the ball or take anyone on 1v1. Granted facing a midfield of Beckham, Lampard, Hargreaves, and Gerrard might be the best midfield the US has EVER faced, but it seemed as if RoboBob conceded the middle of the pitch from the start. Sure we're gonna beat El Salvador, St. Kits, T&T, etc. in CONCACAF qualifying, but is that the point? Just making the World Cup?

As a coach, it's hard for me to take shots at a coach...But come on, Bob!!! Josh Wolf and Eddie Johnson up front?!?!?! That's like giving someone notebook paper and scotch tape and asking them to make a rain coat. They might assemble something that looks like a rain coat, but it ain't gonna work. Josh Wolff. Really? I'm only some yahoo who played JUCO soccer and I can tell you that Josh Wolff IS NOT GOOD ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. HE WASN'T YESTERDAY. HE AIN'T TODAY. AND HE WON'T BE TOMORROW! Stop wasting valuable minutes versus quality opponents with wasn't-ain't-won'ters! Speaking of wasting time - Eddie Lewis?!?! First off, the dude is 34! Do we really think he'll be a contributor over the next couple of years of World Cup Qualifying?! And Nate Jaqua in the 89th minute? Since he's out of contract, are you just trying to get him a job somewhere, Bob? Or did you think that Eddie Johnson would score a goal for the first time in any type of a competitive match in almost a year? And for a team that - and everybody knows this by now - lives off of the counter attack, corner, and set piece, you might want to find someone who can actually put a ball where it might be considered at least a wee bit dangerous. What the %$@ was Demarcus Beasley doing taking the free-kicks ??!?!?! How many hit the wall or the first defender?!?!? Did any find an American target?!?!! Things better get better quick!

He scored from 70 yards away this past weekend.

I haven't had a chance to watch the game yet, but from what I've read that was pretty much the B-/C Team. I think Seitz was the only carry-over from the team that qualified for the tournament. What the hey-yall happened to Benny Feihlaber?!?! The guys on BigSoccer shredded his performance. Add that to the fact he didn't get time for the worst team in the history of the EPL and it makes you scratch your head. He and Bradley seemed to be so close together. Now Bradley is getting serious looks from really good clubs and Benny is about to get canned from Championship bound Derby! The kid from College Station, Brek Shea, did well susposedly as a sub. He's only 18 and something like 6' 3''. I imagine the Us will be lucky get out of this tournament with a point or two. Who knows.

The U-23's are in action this week on FSC from France. Get your DVRs ready! [Hidden Content]

ENGLAND Champion: Man. United (Champions League) Runner-up: Chelsea (Champions League) Third place: Arsenal (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fourth place: Liverpool (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fifth place: Everton (UEFA Cup) Sixth place: Aston Villa (UEFA Cup) Relegated: Reading, Birmingham, Derby Promoted: West Bromwich, Stoke, Hull or Bristol City Top scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (Man. United), 31 goals Cup champion: Portsmouth (UEFA Cup) League Cup champion: Tottenham (UEFA Cup) FRANCE Champion: Lyon (Champions League) Runner-up: Bordeaux (Champions League) Third place: Marseille (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fourth place: Nancy (UEFA Cup) Fifth place: St. Etienne (UEFA Cup) Relegated: Metz, Strasbourg, Lens Promoted: Le Havre, Nantes, Grenoble Cup champion: Final to be played (Lyon vs. Paris St. Germain, May 24) League Cup champion: Paris St. Germain (UEFA Cup) Top scorer: Karim Benzema (Lyon) 20 goals GERMANY Champion: Bayern Munich (Champions League) Runner-up: Werder Bremen (Champions League) Third place: Schalke 04 (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fourth place: Hamburg (UEFA Cup) Fifth place: Wolfsburg (UEFA Cup) Relegated: Nuremberg, Hansa Rostock, Duisburg Promoted: Borussia Moenchengladbach, Cologne, Hoffenheim Top scorer: Luca Toni, 24 goals Cup champion: Bayern Munich Cup runner-up: Borussia Dortmund (UEFA Cup) ITALY Champion: Inter Milan (Champions League) Runner-up: Roma (Champions League) Third place: Juventus (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fourth place: Fiorentina (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fifth place: AC Milan (UEFA Cup) Sixth place: Sampdoria (UEFA Cup) Seventh place: Udinese (UEFA Cup) Relegated: Empoli, Parma, Livorno Promoted: to be determined Top scorer: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), 21 goals SPAIN Champion: Real Madrid (Champions League) Runner-up: Villarreal (Champions League) Third place: Barcelona (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fourth place: Atletico Madrid (Champions League, third qualifying round) Fifth place: Sevilla (UEFA Cup) Sixth place: Racing Santander (UEFA Cup) King's Cup champion: Valencia (UEFA Cup) Relegated: Levante, Real Murcia, Real Zaragoza Promoted: Numancia, others to be decided Top scorer: Daniel Guiza (Real Mallorca) 27 goals

& BC

Not much going on here, so I figured anything would be worthwhile... The Felix Garcia kid mentioned here is from Laredo and is a STUD. [Hidden Content]

The wife works for CPS, so I'm well-aware of the term "neglectful supervision" and all, but I'm just saying that if he finds himself in a bind in a crucial part of meaningful game, he might be on his own for a while...

Poland actually finished ahead of Portugal in group play leading up to the tournament. I'm glad I'm off this June so I can catch all of the games! I've got my 2 1/5 year old watching soccer with me already (I've got him calling it football with a British accent.) Now I gotta work on getting my 1 year old to understand that he needs stay out of trouble from 11:00 to 4:00 every day, my life will be easier this summer.

EURO 2008 SCHEDULE: Group A June 7 in Basel Switzerland vs. Czech Republic ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 7 in Geneva Portugal vs. Turkey ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, 2: 30 pm June 11 in Basel Switzerland vs. Turkey ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 7 in Geneva Czech Republic vs. Portugal ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 15 in Basel Switzerland vs. Portugal ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 15 in Geneva Turkey vs. Czech Republic ESPN Classic, 2:30 pm, ESPN Deportes, 5 pm Group B June 8 in Vienna Austria vs. Croatia ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 8 in Klagenfurt Germany vs. Poland ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 12 in Klagenfurt Croatia vs. Germany ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 12 in Vienna Austria vs. Poland ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 16 in Klagenfurt Poland vs. Croatia ESPN Classic, 2:30 pm, ESPN Deportes, 5 pm June 16 Vienna Austria vs. Germany ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm Group CJune 9 in Zurich Romania vs. France ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 9 in Berne Netherlands vs. Italy ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 13 in Zurich Italy vs. Romania ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 13 in Berne Netherlands vs. France ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 17 in Zurich France vs. Italy ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 17 in Berne Netherlands vs. Romania ESPN Classic, 2:30 pm, ESPN Deportes, 5 pm Group D June 10 in Innsbruck Greece vs. Sweden ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 10 in Salzburg Spain vs. Russia ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 14 in Innsbruck Greece vs. Russia ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 14 in Salzburg Sweden vs. Spain ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 11:50 am June 18 in Salzburg Greece vs. Spain ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 18 in Innsbruck Russia vs. Sweden ESPN2, 2:30 pm, ESPN Deportes, 7 pm Quarterfinals June in 19 Basel 1. Winner Group A vs. Runner-up Group B ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 20 Vienna 2. Winner Group B vs. Runner-up Group A ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 21 Basel 3. Winner Group C vs. Runner-up Group D ABC, 2:30 pm June 22 Vienna 4. Winner Group D vs. Runner-up Group C ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 2:55 pm Semifinals June 25 Basel 1. Winner QF 1 vs. Winner QF 2 ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm June 26 Vienna 2. Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 2:30 pm Final June 29 in Vienna Winner SF 1 vs. Winner SF 2 ABC, 2:30 pm

Several local players and an area coach were recently honored by being named to the All Region Team by the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Organization. Lumberton Girls Coach, Jason Hopson was named the 3A/4A Girls Coach of the Year for Region III, and Lumberton Forward, Laurie Abbo was also named to the All Region Team. Lumberton teammates Brent Waldrup and Scott Poole were selected to the Boys 3A/4A All Region Team along with Nederland Keeper, Tyler Vidrine. West Brook Senior Forward, Jacob Pallone was named to the Boys 5A All Region Team. Congratulation to these young men and women on a great 2008 season, and a special congratulations to Coach Hopson for being recognized by your peers for doing such a superb job. To see the complete list, click on "Region III All Region/All State" on the following link: [Hidden Content] (You need Adobe.)

[Hidden Content] The tournament is less than a month away! Here are the groups: Group A: Czech Republic • Portugal • Switzerland • Turkey Group B: Austria • Croatia • Germany • Poland Group C: France • Italy • Netherlands • Romania Group D: Greece • Russia • Spain • Sweden In the knock-out stage, the Group A winner will play the Group B runner up and the Group B winner will play the Group A runner up, and then the winner of those two games will play each other in the semi's. Groups C and D will follow the same format. Since Greece was the 2004 winner, it's hard to go with one of the usual suspects, but here's my picks Group A Winner - Portugal Runner up - Czech Rep Group B W - Germany R - Poland Group C (The Group of Death!) W - Italy R - Holland Group D W - Spain R - Sweden Portugal over Poland, and Germany over the Czech Republic in the A&B quarters. And Holland over Spain (upset special!) and Italy over Sweden in the C&D quarter finals. Germany beats Portugal and Italy beats Holland in the semi's. And Germany lifts the hard ware... ...wait now I like Spain!

Weah, coast to coast... [Hidden Content]

Set your DVR for Fridays at noon on FSC. It's a half hour hi-light show. You can get your updates here: [Hidden Content] And don't forget Nigeria or South Africa. Not to mention the mostly unknown countries like Liberia that produced the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah. I remember watching him when I was in college and he was at AC Milan. Check out his Wiki: [Hidden Content]

Check these out from 2007: [Hidden Content] Some of those guys are actually Brazilians like Bare and Juninho. There's more than a dozen Brazilians on J-League rosters. I'm so glad the MLS is drifting away from signing mid-level Euro's and opting for more Central and South Americans. I can't stand the "hack and whack" attitude of some of the lower level European leagues. La Liga is fun to watch...the Dutch Eredivise seems like it has quality stuff...other than that...ehh. I'd like to see the MLS tap into some of the African countries, too. There's bound too be a TON of unknown talent there who would come to the States at a bargain.

Japan has paterned their youth system to resemble the Brazilians as much as possible. The result is exciting, free-flowing soccer with plenty of heel-flicks, 1-2 combo's, and zig zagging charges at the goal...oh and crappy defense, too. It sure beats the mid-table EPL team's mentality of Route One soccer. Here's the goals of the month from March: [Hidden Content]

Thanks for the two do-nuts last night, Juan Pablo and Marvell Wynne. I was hungry. I went ahead and made a turd sandwich with them since I made Juan Pablo my captain cuz I was just sooo sure he was going to get a goal or two. How is it that people who play the full 90 get as many points as a deadman?!?! I know Bobby Boswell resembles a deadman on the field, but if he goes 90 minutes, he should get a little love. No?

Wow. I didn't know they were drafting that young. I can't say too much because I'm not a part of it, and I haven't heard reasons why they think this is the best way... but it really should be about fun. I can remember after games looking to my parents to see if we "won" or not. Their reaction meant much more than the score.

We've put together one of the most difficult schedules that Nederland has had since I've been here. We've got non district games with PA Memorial, Vidor, Deer Park, Kelly, and Baytown Lee. We're going to the Kingwood Park tournament to play KP, Friendswood, and Pine Tree with the possibility of playing Katy 7 Lakes, Katy Taylor, Brazoswood, or Jersey Village. The Brenham 4A Showcase is always a tough draw. And the Inaugural PNG Tournament to break in their new turf should hopefully give us the opportunity to play West Brook and/or Lumberton. We probably won't have too many gimme's next year. As far as match ups I'd like to see not involving us... I think any of the Beaumont Derbies would be a good game. I think Central, Ozen, and The Brook are all playing each other but I don't know if Kelly is playing any of them. I think a 3A Battle Royal would be a good draw. I'd give an edge to Silsbee, but I think Hamshire Fannett, HJ, WOS, et al would make for some good games.

If you like comical defending, bad facial hair, and Max Bretos screaming...Please to enjoy: [Hidden Content] Thank you for the 100+ fantasy points, LandCakes!