Blitzkrieg! Luftwaffe! Farfrompuken! These are words that mean something in German. Look them up. Not sure what you'll find. What am I, a translator? One thing I know is they sound badass. They sound mean. They sound complicated. That's what I'm looking for in the next phase of US Soccer under our new Fuhrer Klinsman. Attack, attack, attack. No room for marathoners, only footballers. Let's bring in the guys who may not be the fittest, the quickest, the most ready to be nobodies. Let's bring out the skill, the vision, and the pizzazz. Let's see some ball movement. Let's see some poise. Let's see see a guy take on a whole team like Neymar did the other day (it was freaking awesome. seriously. if you guys didn't see it go to yahoo and find it. unreal. the dude made the run of his life. looked like the Adone circa 1994.)
He may not have done jack so far in his coaching career but the United States loves him. We wanted him 5 years ago. We got him now. I thought about getting his autograph one time but all I had on me was my samurai sword.....and Randy Jackson already signed that. Missed opportunity. He's going to be the guy that says, "Hey Brad Davis....wanna play some international ball? I heard you were good." And stuff like, "Eddie Johnson.....the dude who scores all the time because all he does is cherry pick....you're damn right he's starting for me over Altidore. Jozy can't score!" We're going to find out what it's like to play dirty. We're going to know what it's like to shoot from 30 out. And we're going to know what it's like to win.
I'm totally talking out of my ass right now because I have no idea what the hell this guy is going to do. The players could end up thinking he's a retard. "Send 9 guys forward on every play? Are you sure coach? Did you just get back from Gooch's bachelor party/acid trip through the Amazon?" All I know is the ho-hum approach that Bradley had is gone. We're going to have some passion, some excitement, some buzz.....hopefully. If we don't and US Soccer is in the same situation in 2 years as it is now.........bring on Maradona!!!!!!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Give Me That Chicken
There's a little known Chinese food place in Hazelwood called Mandah Lee. Their traditional Chinese food is par for the course but North County has a few decent places to get Chinese just like this. But that's not their claim to fame: they have some of the best fried chicken this mouth has ever eaten. If anyone remembers the old Charlie's Chicken they'll be able to call up the style of chicken I'm talking about. Thick breading, piping hot, extra juicy, just enough grease, big pieces. De-freaking-licious. Best part about it......the price. For less than $4 you can get 3 pieces of white meat and a legitimate helping of fries. Or you can get a 4 piece mixed with fries. Or you can get 5 wings, the biggest you've ever seen. Seriosuly.....they look like Sylvester Stallone if he were a chicken. Huge! All for under $4. Unreal. The white piece box comes with a breast and two "miscellaneous pieces." My best guess is that they're some sort of back piece. Whatever the hell they a they're pure goodness.
I haven't been to Mandah Lee in quite a few years. Yesterday I got a craving for some fried chicken, had to pick Lil Penny up from 1310 Flordawn, it was on the way, I called it in and was treated to a blast of flavor I couldn't comprehend. It was like my whole childhood was packed into every bite. Everything I remembered being great about being a kid in summer encased in breading and oozing with fried juiciness. All the joys of riding my bike until I couldn't stand. Swimming in pools until my hands and feet actually hurt from being so pruned. Watching Wimbledon for 5 hours straight on NBC for 2 straight weeks without ever feeling that anything else could be happening anywhere else in the whole world. It was everything I could ever want in a meal.......and it made me happy.......oh so happy.
I haven't been to Mandah Lee in quite a few years. Yesterday I got a craving for some fried chicken, had to pick Lil Penny up from 1310 Flordawn, it was on the way, I called it in and was treated to a blast of flavor I couldn't comprehend. It was like my whole childhood was packed into every bite. Everything I remembered being great about being a kid in summer encased in breading and oozing with fried juiciness. All the joys of riding my bike until I couldn't stand. Swimming in pools until my hands and feet actually hurt from being so pruned. Watching Wimbledon for 5 hours straight on NBC for 2 straight weeks without ever feeling that anything else could be happening anywhere else in the whole world. It was everything I could ever want in a meal.......and it made me happy.......oh so happy.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Put Me In Coach...
The kid couldn't track a ball. He wouldn't hit a wall. Never took charge. Feet were terrible. What cutoff man? Looked at the runner before throwing.....and throwing offline.......bouncing at least twice..........with less power than Lil Penny can throw. Rasmus has played centerfield his whole freaking life. He's not a guy they just stuck out there and said, "He should be fine. Jimmy did it. How hard could it be?" His whole life, one position.......figure out how to play the Goddamned position!!
5 tools? Not a chance. We never saw them.
Here are his stats against the other CF in the NL.....
Hit for average = .244 (CF leader Matt Kemp is batting .310) = that is shit.
Hit for power = 11 home runs (Kemp has 24) = bush league.
Baserunning skills = 5 steals (there are 13 CF with 11 or more steals) = fucking run!
Throwing ability = 0 double plays, only 4 assists, Big Money says it's awful = told ya.
Fielding ability = 6th in fielding %, 8th in range, 4th in zone rating = whatever those stats say it only solidifies the fact that he's a piece of garbage out in the outfield.
The trade is crap only for the fact that it doesn't give the Redbirds anything exciting. That just shows how little Rasmus meant to the organization/to the baseball world. We'll take an ex-Cub who we hated, some Commy bastard whose name is as hard to say as it is spell (won't spell it for you just even if you are my friend), a washed up reliever and one "name" pitcher who might actually have a shot at keeping a lead that the offense has given. Woohoo! No more retards in the outfield. I'll take it.
5 tools? Not a chance. We never saw them.
Here are his stats against the other CF in the NL.....
Hit for average = .244 (CF leader Matt Kemp is batting .310) = that is shit.
Hit for power = 11 home runs (Kemp has 24) = bush league.
Baserunning skills = 5 steals (there are 13 CF with 11 or more steals) = fucking run!
Throwing ability = 0 double plays, only 4 assists, Big Money says it's awful = told ya.
Fielding ability = 6th in fielding %, 8th in range, 4th in zone rating = whatever those stats say it only solidifies the fact that he's a piece of garbage out in the outfield.
The trade is crap only for the fact that it doesn't give the Redbirds anything exciting. That just shows how little Rasmus meant to the organization/to the baseball world. We'll take an ex-Cub who we hated, some Commy bastard whose name is as hard to say as it is spell (won't spell it for you just even if you are my friend), a washed up reliever and one "name" pitcher who might actually have a shot at keeping a lead that the offense has given. Woohoo! No more retards in the outfield. I'll take it.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Over A Decade Later....
I'm too tired to wake up. My body aches. My head is throbbing. I feel like my insides are bleeding. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that my legs feel detached from the rest of my body. It's dark outside and still 90+ degrees. It's day 3 of preseason soccer at DeSmet Jesuit High School. It's at this point that I feel utterly stupid for not running in the offseason. I did not prepare for this. Or did I?
For 2 years I played varsity soccer at DeSmet. For 2 years I put my blood, sweat and tears into that team. We were supposed to win State both years. Both years we choked. We ran into Brad Davis my junior year and a pack it in and hope for the best CBC my senior year. Anyway you look at it we should have been better. Never did I think that this was a result of not being prepared.....and I still don't.
I skated by on talent and work ethic my first two years at DeSmet. I started both years in the back. I was even captain my sophomore year. Never ran more than a mile at a time, never more than a couple times a week, during the offseasons. I didn't think it would be much different my junior year but I decided to give running a try. That lasted one run of 2 miles in over 14 minutes. Ugly. I'd rather quit than run. So I sprinted. I ran hills. I bulked up. I was going to make the team because I was bigger, faster, stronger. I hoped I wouldn't get cut because I was out of shape. It's a tough thing to hope against. A soccer player who hates to run......Big Money, at your service.
Every morning for 2 weeks we'd have three practices a day. The first practice consisted of a 2 mile run followed by plyometrics, sprints, and hills. Second practice was nothing but small sided games, skill lessons, and positioning drills. The third practice of the day was almost entirely scrimmaging. I was gassed after the 2 mile run. We were supposed to get in under 12 minutes. That quickly turned into 13 minutes when the coach saw the times. I came in around the 13:30 mark traditionally until it was time to get under 13 or else we ran it again. Those are the days of the blazing fast 12:52s I put up. 2 years in a row. Good thing I planned ahead. Those sprints, hills and quick feet drills I did instead of running all the time sure were easier when I didn't have to run 2 miles beforehand. Had to dig deep just to keep up and make a name for myself.
Over the two weeks before school year started, and the subsequent 2 weeks running more 2 miles before class started, I had run more miles than I ever thought I could. I was still out of shape but only compared to my teammates. I could still outrun them in sprints, still get them on those last steps of the hills, and no one held a candle to me in the weight room.
I had a tough couple years on the team. The attitude of a kid who works hard but not the way the coaches want can be a tough way to go about being a starter. But I was always on the field for the big games and the big moments. Bigger, faster, stronger got me on the team and kept me on the team. Unwilling to adapt to a certain style of play every chance I got the ball at my feet put me on the bench....often. But there's nothing I would do differently. If Ambersley was open he was open. It didn't matter if there was only 2 feet of open field in front of him....he was open. I have ball, I give ball, I enjoy the show, I watch from the bench. Tough couple years. But it was still fun.....and I still wouldn't do it differently.
It wasn't a dream of mine to play pro. It wasn't a goal of mine to be the best player on the field. All I wanted to do was play better than the best player on the field when that player was around me. I wanted to keep the best player on the field from being the best. And I did that.....all but one time that really sticks with me to this day. I got turned around so bad by Brad Davis I get seasick just thinking about it now, 12 years later. But he beat me because he was him and I was anyone else besides him. It wasn't because I was out of shape. I never lost a battle to anyone at anytime on the field because I wasn't fit. My 2 mile runtimes didn't have an effect on the way my game came to be. If a guy was better than me I bumped him early and often. If he was faster than me I made his attitude sour.
I say all these things and remember them the way I choose to because I can. I'm not a coach trying to get kids in shape. I'm not a parent pushing my kid toward a scholarship. I'm not a guy who's looking to walk on and make it big. I'm a former player who played the game the way I liked to play the game.....bigger, faster, stronger than the other guy. And I'll be out of shape until the day I die.......and happy to tell you about it.
For 2 years I played varsity soccer at DeSmet. For 2 years I put my blood, sweat and tears into that team. We were supposed to win State both years. Both years we choked. We ran into Brad Davis my junior year and a pack it in and hope for the best CBC my senior year. Anyway you look at it we should have been better. Never did I think that this was a result of not being prepared.....and I still don't.
I skated by on talent and work ethic my first two years at DeSmet. I started both years in the back. I was even captain my sophomore year. Never ran more than a mile at a time, never more than a couple times a week, during the offseasons. I didn't think it would be much different my junior year but I decided to give running a try. That lasted one run of 2 miles in over 14 minutes. Ugly. I'd rather quit than run. So I sprinted. I ran hills. I bulked up. I was going to make the team because I was bigger, faster, stronger. I hoped I wouldn't get cut because I was out of shape. It's a tough thing to hope against. A soccer player who hates to run......Big Money, at your service.
Every morning for 2 weeks we'd have three practices a day. The first practice consisted of a 2 mile run followed by plyometrics, sprints, and hills. Second practice was nothing but small sided games, skill lessons, and positioning drills. The third practice of the day was almost entirely scrimmaging. I was gassed after the 2 mile run. We were supposed to get in under 12 minutes. That quickly turned into 13 minutes when the coach saw the times. I came in around the 13:30 mark traditionally until it was time to get under 13 or else we ran it again. Those are the days of the blazing fast 12:52s I put up. 2 years in a row. Good thing I planned ahead. Those sprints, hills and quick feet drills I did instead of running all the time sure were easier when I didn't have to run 2 miles beforehand. Had to dig deep just to keep up and make a name for myself.
Over the two weeks before school year started, and the subsequent 2 weeks running more 2 miles before class started, I had run more miles than I ever thought I could. I was still out of shape but only compared to my teammates. I could still outrun them in sprints, still get them on those last steps of the hills, and no one held a candle to me in the weight room.
I had a tough couple years on the team. The attitude of a kid who works hard but not the way the coaches want can be a tough way to go about being a starter. But I was always on the field for the big games and the big moments. Bigger, faster, stronger got me on the team and kept me on the team. Unwilling to adapt to a certain style of play every chance I got the ball at my feet put me on the bench....often. But there's nothing I would do differently. If Ambersley was open he was open. It didn't matter if there was only 2 feet of open field in front of him....he was open. I have ball, I give ball, I enjoy the show, I watch from the bench. Tough couple years. But it was still fun.....and I still wouldn't do it differently.
It wasn't a dream of mine to play pro. It wasn't a goal of mine to be the best player on the field. All I wanted to do was play better than the best player on the field when that player was around me. I wanted to keep the best player on the field from being the best. And I did that.....all but one time that really sticks with me to this day. I got turned around so bad by Brad Davis I get seasick just thinking about it now, 12 years later. But he beat me because he was him and I was anyone else besides him. It wasn't because I was out of shape. I never lost a battle to anyone at anytime on the field because I wasn't fit. My 2 mile runtimes didn't have an effect on the way my game came to be. If a guy was better than me I bumped him early and often. If he was faster than me I made his attitude sour.
I say all these things and remember them the way I choose to because I can. I'm not a coach trying to get kids in shape. I'm not a parent pushing my kid toward a scholarship. I'm not a guy who's looking to walk on and make it big. I'm a former player who played the game the way I liked to play the game.....bigger, faster, stronger than the other guy. And I'll be out of shape until the day I die.......and happy to tell you about it.
Am I Too Late?
How can there be two belts for the same championship? How can those two belts be held by two different men? How can a bad guy (heel) be the most beloved figure as well as be the champ? What happened to Vince McMahon? Is the "Dead Man" dead yet? These are just a few questions going through the mind of a casual fan of the WWE. There are less storylines in a Dan Brown novel than what's gone on in the past few weeks. The head of the WWE, Vince McMahon, has been ousted because his policies just aren't cutting it anymore. CM Punk holds the biggest belt in wrestling....but so does John Cena. I don't think anyone is sure if the Undertaker is even alive after his last Wrestlemania match.
As a young boy I grew up cheering for the good guys, hating the bad guys, and I couldn't care less about the guys who everyone knew wouldn't be worth a damn in the overall scheme of things. Hogan, Warrior, and HBK.....those were the names of my youth. The good guys. Ramon, Flair, and the Snake.....you knew the bad guys too. Mostly you knew they were meant to bad. You were supposed to hate them. Guys like Savage and later on Austin made it a little more difficult to figure out. Those were the guys I loved to hate and sometimes hated to love. They made me feel. They were fun. Then there was The Rock. The Brahma Bull, the People's Champ, the Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment. He was my guy. He could do no wrong. When he left to pursue his "acting" career it was the end for my WWE experience.
As a young boy I grew up cheering for the good guys, hating the bad guys, and I couldn't care less about the guys who everyone knew wouldn't be worth a damn in the overall scheme of things. Hogan, Warrior, and HBK.....those were the names of my youth. The good guys. Ramon, Flair, and the Snake.....you knew the bad guys too. Mostly you knew they were meant to bad. You were supposed to hate them. Guys like Savage and later on Austin made it a little more difficult to figure out. Those were the guys I loved to hate and sometimes hated to love. They made me feel. They were fun. Then there was The Rock. The Brahma Bull, the People's Champ, the Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment. He was my guy. He could do no wrong. When he left to pursue his "acting" career it was the end for my WWE experience.
A few months ago I heard Rocky was coming back.....to Wrestlemania.......I was intrigued. I caught an episode of RAW where the Great One ran his mouth like he used to, solidifying his return.....I'm listening. I ordered the PPV of Wrestlemania XVII because The Rock was MCing the event......seriously, could there be a better host?!?!? But the night was weird. He wasn't the driving force behind the event. He was just a guy every once in a while doing interviews outside the ring. He got everyone jazzed up and was gone, for the most part. That's a problem. I bought in to see the triumphant return of a great champion who was the most over-the-top performer the world had ever seen. What I got was a ho hum night that did feature a quality match between Cena and the Miz and an epic battle between HHH and the Undertaker. So I didn't get to see what I wanted but I did like what I ended up seeing.
Since that April day I've gotten more involved with the WWE's storylines, the backgrounds, etc. This CM Punk guy seems like he's turning the world of wrestling on its head. As far as I can tell he's the future of the WWE. He has roots, his future is bright, he can gab, he can sure as hell wrestle, he's a bad guy, he's loved like nobody else, and he's the champ. To a latecomer he seems to have come out of nowhere. Come to find out there are a ton of wrestling fans who could really care less about RAW because the real action happens in the minors, the indies, the low levels. That's where the talent is really cultivated. And wrestling fans eat it up.
Real fans know everyone's music from the first day they step into a ring up until the day they leave. They know the trademark moves and finishers. They know what's going to happen 10 minutes before the match even starts, 10 hours, 10 days even! Blogs are littered with spoilers, news updates, recaps, etc. If you ever want to know about any particular match there are thousands of synopses out there. Each and every one of them has a different take on what happened and what it means for the rest of the week.
It's tough for a newbie to come in and try to assimilate into that type of arena. There's just too much that has gone on in the last few years/months/weeks/days/hours to catch up. The world of wrestling is much more than I could have ever imagined. It used to be this is a bad guy, this is a good guy, the good guy would win or the bad guy would cheat and win. Now there are no good guys and bad guys. The bad guys are the good guys and the good guys are hated. John Cena is the most polarizing man in the WWE....except for CM Punk.....but Cena's the champ.....but so is Punk......but oh no I've gone cross-eyed. Will I be able to keep up? Is there enough time? Do I have the stamina? Stay tuned.
I won't always write about wrestling, but when I do I'll do it with all my jabronis out there in mind.
Since that April day I've gotten more involved with the WWE's storylines, the backgrounds, etc. This CM Punk guy seems like he's turning the world of wrestling on its head. As far as I can tell he's the future of the WWE. He has roots, his future is bright, he can gab, he can sure as hell wrestle, he's a bad guy, he's loved like nobody else, and he's the champ. To a latecomer he seems to have come out of nowhere. Come to find out there are a ton of wrestling fans who could really care less about RAW because the real action happens in the minors, the indies, the low levels. That's where the talent is really cultivated. And wrestling fans eat it up.
Real fans know everyone's music from the first day they step into a ring up until the day they leave. They know the trademark moves and finishers. They know what's going to happen 10 minutes before the match even starts, 10 hours, 10 days even! Blogs are littered with spoilers, news updates, recaps, etc. If you ever want to know about any particular match there are thousands of synopses out there. Each and every one of them has a different take on what happened and what it means for the rest of the week.
It's tough for a newbie to come in and try to assimilate into that type of arena. There's just too much that has gone on in the last few years/months/weeks/days/hours to catch up. The world of wrestling is much more than I could have ever imagined. It used to be this is a bad guy, this is a good guy, the good guy would win or the bad guy would cheat and win. Now there are no good guys and bad guys. The bad guys are the good guys and the good guys are hated. John Cena is the most polarizing man in the WWE....except for CM Punk.....but Cena's the champ.....but so is Punk......but oh no I've gone cross-eyed. Will I be able to keep up? Is there enough time? Do I have the stamina? Stay tuned.
I won't always write about wrestling, but when I do I'll do it with all my jabronis out there in mind.
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