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It wasn't as if I expected the United States to walk into Wembley Stadium and completely dominate the Premiership-dominated England squad. I didn't expect to see Eddie Johnson one-touching with an ACL-recovered Damarcus Beasley while Josh Wolff made enlightened runs to open space. But I did expect to see a coherent, cognizant American side that knew how to play the game match up against a world power and not look like a Sunday-league pub side versus a team of professionals. And that's what I got. What disappointed me most about this game was not the Americans lack of skill ... it was how obvious how much better England is than us. It wasn't even close. While watching the game with ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tacologic, we must have admitted England's dominance at least six or 10 times over the course of the game. We couldn't hold possession of the ball, we couldn't string together three passes and all we seemed to do was give away possession and hope that we could stave off their attack long enough to get possession again and hoof it down field. Basically, this game was my hope of getting a point out of our three game series with the world's powers ... but now I don't see how we get any points out of this tour. Though it does help us make clear the gap between us and the world's powers. The good: I thought Eddie J played better than we usually see ... the time at Fulham must have really helped him. Seemed like Heath Pearce is making his claim for the left back position. Boca and Gooch weren't too abused. Michael Bradley played alright. The bad: We couldn't hold possession. At all. How is Josh Wolff even still in the player pool, let alone starting against England? We miss Landon Donovan more when he's out than any other player. Dolo didn't play well at all at right back. Beasley can't be the only guy who can take free kicks. We can't focus our defense down the center of the field when they're going attack down the wings. The other thing that bugged me the most is how we weren't able to hold possession at all when the ball came toward us. While Ol Blighty was able to trap the ball like they had magnets attached to their feet, the ball pinged off of our body parts like a pinball. It was kind of ridiculous. Just a disappointing game, overall. I'm not mad at our performance, just disappointed that we're still so far away from being a world power. The next generation (Adu, Edu, Altidore) can't become regulars on European teams fast enough. PS: David Beckham is still an amazing player and one of my favorites in the world. He was dropped from Real Madrid. He was dropped from England. How did he react? He put his head down, worked hard and earned his spot back. And no one takes a better free kick or is more dangerous from 35 yards in than him. I might even buy one of his Galaxy jerseys. Except I hate the Galaxy. Tags: soccer
Current Location: 11215
Current Music: Whammo - There's Too Much Light in this Bar
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One of the great things about living in Brooklyn now is that my local laundromat is open until 10 p.m. instead of my last launderer of clothing which closed at 7. Even with those extra three hours, I couldn't make it home before their close last night (instead I opted for sushi with laughingirl which was a much better choice). All it meant, really, is that in order to be at a 9 a.m. appointment this morning, I'd have to be up at 7 this morning to get my laundry, get dressed, and be on the subway by 8. No problem, right? I even went to bed a little before midnight so plenty of sleep. Anyway, I don't yet have an alarm clock in my room -- I'm using my iPod and a stereo and I don't trust it to go off on time (even though it has every day the last two weeks). When I awoke this morning and the music was playing, and I was dead tired, I reset it for 7:15 and went back to bed. I awoke what felt a short time later panicked because there was no music playing. Did I turn the alarm functionality off? Was it really close to 11:30 and I didn't realize it? Oh noes! Everything seemed bad except I was exhausted. I couldn't figure out why -- I had gotten a decent amount of sleep and though I'm usually not the world's fastest waker-upper, usually I can get up and go. And it was dark outside. Whatever -- it's dark at 7 a.m., right? I'm never up that early, so what do I know? So I shut off the iPod, throw on some sweats and stumble into the living room to check out the time on my way to the laundromat. What's the clock read? 4:37 a.m. Apparently I had left the music on as I was going to sleep last night and never turned it off. The alarm worked just fine at 7:15. I'm a dork sometimes. Tags: music, musing, personal
Current Location: Floor 5F
Current Music: Mudcrutch - June Apple
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I don't care what Boston and Oakland (and Tokyo) say, nor last night's exciting ending and new D.C. stadium show, today is Opening Day and that's the day I recognize as an official holiday. I've got my button down shirt and sweater on at work ... and my sweat-stained Cubs hat.
I love soccer, too, and college football, don't get me wrong. But Opening Day has always been special (and I felt that way well before I ever started working here). And now, I take the email I send my mom every year (same email, different quotes) and post it here.
Play ball!
When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball."
- Willie Stargell
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base.
- Dave Barry
Putting lights in Wrigley Field is like putting aluminum siding on the Sistine Chapel.
- Roger Simon
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
- Earl Wilson
That's baseball, and it's my game. Y' know, you take your worries to the game, and you leave 'em there. You yell like crazy for your guys. It's good for your lungs, gives you a lift, and nobody calls the cops. Pretty girls, lots of 'em.
- Humphrey Bogart
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you.
- Reggie Jackson
Strikeouts are boring - besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. More democratic.
- Crash Davis
Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things.
- Robert Frost
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.
- A. Bartlett Giamatti
The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.
- Rick Wise
If a horse can't eat it, I don't want to play on it.
- Dick Allen
Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off.
- Bill Veeck
Ideally, the umpire should combine the integrity of a Supreme Court judge, the physical agility of an acrobat, the endurance of Job and the imperturbability of Buddha.
- "The Villains in Blue," Time magazine, 25 August 1961
I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen.
- Bob Lemon
You can't sit on a lead or run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all.
- Earl Weaver
During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.
- Mickey Mantle
Sandy's fastball was so fast, some batters would start to swing as he was on his way to the mound.
- Jim Murray, on Sandy Koufax
The strongest thing that baseball has going for it today are its yesterdays.
- Lawrence Ritter
Every player should be accorded the privilege of at least one season with the Chicago Cubs. That's baseball as it should be played - in God's own sunshine. And that's really living.
- Alvin Dark
I don't know why people like the home run so much. A home run is over as soon as it starts.... The triple is the most exciting play of the game. A triple is like meeting a woman who excites you, spending the evening talking and getting more excited, then taking her home. It drags on and on. You're never sure how it's going to turn out.
- George Foster
Baseball is a game dominated by ghosts; it's a fraternity, like no other we have of the active and the no longer so, the living and the dead.
- Richard Gilman
There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare.
- Tallulah Bankhead
More than any other American sport, baseball creates the magnetic, addictive illusion that it can almost be understood.
- Thomas Boswell
[L]ike those special afternoons in summer when you go to Yankee Stadium at two o'clock in the afternoon for an eight o'clock game. It's so big, so empty and so silent that you can almost hear the sounds that aren't there.
- Ray Miller
I believe in the Church of Baseball. I tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance.
- Ron Shelton
I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.
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