RIPCITYSOCCERPREVIEWS Presents

A Short Time From Now, En Un País Muy, Muy Lejos…

ElSUPER

CLASSICO

-

It is a period of soccer rivalry! Real Madrid, striking from

The Bernabau, have taken top spot in La Liga and look to

Taste their first victory over the Evil Galactic Empire

(Barcelona) in more than a year.

-

-

-

-

-

-

During the game, Madrid must smother Barcelona’s

Ultimate weapon, MESSI DONA, a mercurial argentine

With enough pace and trickery to destroy an entire

Defense.

-

-

-

-

-

-

Shaking with intergalactic anticipation, I can’t wait to

Watch the match, at 3:00 ET or 2:00 CT on ESPN2 or

ESPN3, that could restore Madrid’s honor and help

Return the La Liga Title to the Galacticos where it

Belongs …

-

-

-

USWNT on to the World Cup

In front of approximately 9,000 fans at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois the US Women's National team managed to avoid the embarrassment of not making the World Cup by defeating the Italian national team 1-0.  They were forced into this playoff when, in one of the largest upsets in women's soccer history,....

Weekend in Review

So as I continue to digest my copious amounts of turkey I will reflect briefly on the weekend.

1.
For all you college kids out there...its gut check time. 2-3 weeks of hell until we are finally released from our institutions of higher education and returned to the rough streets from which we were raised.

2.
Dimitar Berbatov ended his goal drought with an unbelievable 5 against a terrible Blackburn side. Berbatov joins Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, and Jermaine Defoe as the only players to have scored 5 goals in a Premier league game.

3.
Chelsea continue their awful run of form, tying Newcastle United 1-1. Manchester United have taken the premier league lead with 31 points. Seems dumb to have sold Ricardo Carvalho without buying a replacement when the flimsy Paulo Ferreira is starting at Center Back.

3. Barack Obama required 12 stitches from battling terrorists in hand to hand combat in caves on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Rumor has it, although it has not been confirmed by official sources, that he slayed Osama Bin Laden with a can opener but not before Bin Laden had headbutted him in the dome with hidden razors in his turban. Just kidding, Obama got elbowed during a basketball game. We all wish he could hunt down terrorists.

4.
Benoît Assou-Ekotto has been awarded the premier league award for most swag:least skill ratio. What on earth is he doing starting on a champions league team?

5.
To continue the theme of Tottenham's defense, William Gallas continues to be my least favorite premier league player ever.



Brooklynism of the Weekend:
No sag no swag.

MUSIC: Who Sampled?

Here's a website that I found out about recently.  It's not new or anything, but many of you may not have heard of it.  It's called whosampled.com.  Basically, it is a huge database tracking which songs are sampled in other songs, which songs are covered by other bands, and which songs have remixes.  It's a really cool website if you like groups/artists such as Chiddy Bang or Kid Cudi, who frequently sample alternative or indie songs.  You can search by song, original song artist, year, or category.  Check it out.

Fail Friday 11/26

This is a little late, I know, but here is this Friday's weekend kickoff. Some of you may have seen this fail, but for those of you that haven't, this might be the funniest video i've ever seen. The guy wasn't hurt badly...Check it out!

Premier League Prediction Game

Sorry about the late picks on this weekends up coming action. Thanksgiving as well as a whole ton of school work have kept me away from the BPL.

1 for a home win, 2 for an away win and X for a draw. 10$ up for grabs if you guess 10/10 correct.

Sat 11/27

1. Aston Villa vs. Arsenal

Both teams coming off of defeats. Robin Van Persie could make it back into the Gunners starting lineup especially after Chamakh's wastefulness last week.

Bosque's Prediction: 2

2. Bolton vs. Blackpool

Stewy Holden bags another goal in an exciting encounter between too attacking sides.

Bosque's Prediction: 1

3. Everton vs. West Brom

Everton, at home, takes all three points. Cahill with a brace.

Bosque's Prediction: 1
Click to read the rest of the picks and the winners from last week!

Be Thankful for the Little Things

As an athlete, there are somethings we take for granted.  We sometimes forget about the wonderful opportunity we have to play the sport we love, while others have never even had that chance to take the field of play.  We take for granted our opponent who, at times, we'll curse, scream and even hate, yet we forget that if it wasn't for them, we'd have no one to play against resulting in us not playing at all.  Lastly, we forget to remember how precious the gift of good health is to us.  Injuries happen often in sports; we watch it happen to both teammates and opponents every game, yet we have the naivety to act as if we're invincible and it will never happen to us.  The cold and somber truth is that injuries happen, and you never expect yourself to get hurt until you're lying on the field.

I found a story on D3 Football.com about a college senior quarterback who was hurt the second game in the season.  He was not going to be able to take another snap in his college career.  However, this leader took it upon himself to neither pack it in or give up.  He spent the entire rest of the season helping out the young, inexperienced, backup quarterback to help lead their team to the best season the school has had in the past 24 years.

In the end, the injured senior quarterback was able to take the last snap of the season on a victory kneel to win the game.  I can guarantee you that no one has been more thankful for the simple action of taking one snap of the football than this guy was.  Click here to read the original and touching story.

So during this Thanksgiving break, take time to really give thanks for the simple things in life.  It's the meager actions and events that we take for granted, and we never realize it until they're long gone.  Be thankful and have a very delightful and joyous Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Rip City crew. We will be taking the day off and I hope you are too.  Be safe,  eat until it hurts and then sleep it off, and don't forget about the turkey day playlist.

Rip City Hump Day Links

National Geographic photogralphy contest releases crazy pictures.

Ohio St. releases alternative jersey for The Game. (that's right I'm a Buckeye fan)

MLS Cup comes at a cost for one Rapids

Bayern Munich future starlet opts for US?

AC St. Louis is in limbo; Is NASL truly right D-2 Candidate? 

This Week In Numbers - FIFA

Video of the Day: World Cup bad boy Suarez bites another player

USSF releases 2010 Award finalists

Happy Thanksgiving from Rip City Soccer

peace

MLS Expansion Draft: The picks are in (Updated)

Expansion teams Portland and Vancouver are finally starting to take shape.  Each team picked ten players in the MLS expansion draft today, significantly altering the rosters in MLS.  Several MLS teams took gambles with some of their more important and more expensive players by leaving them unprotected. Those that did were rewarded as no DPs were selected. However, several rising stars in the league did get snatched up by the Portland and Vancouver. See picks and grades after the jump.

Premier League Surprise Packages

As we approach game week 15 the Premier League has been more surprising and more competitive than ever before. Liverpool's fall from grace last season has broken the deadlock of the big four. Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal have been dropping more points than in recent memory and only 14 points separate Chelsea in 1st place and Fulham in 17th. Furthermore, with the absences and lack of form of superstars like Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres, and Frank Lampard this season has been dominated by surprise performers and new arrivals. Because of this I have decided to put together a starting IX all star team for the biggest and best surprises and new arrivals of this season.

Goal Keeper: Ben Foster
Despite suffering from lack of confidence and opportunities at Man United Foster has flourished this season at Birmingham putting him back into the England frame.

Right Back: Rafael
Although we could all see his skill, last season his attitude and temperament were sometimes in question. This season he has looked much more disciplined, keeping even the great Gareth Bale in his pocket.

Center Back: Roger Johnson
Even though he was relatively unknown before signing last year for Birmingham his towering displays have put him in the picture for an England call up.

Center Back: Titus Bramble
Even though he has been voted worst premier league player of the year, Steve Bruce always gets the best out of him and he has been part of a stingy Black Cat defense this season.

Left Back: Gareth Bale
Everyone knew he had great talent but it was not until this year that he has been talked about as one of the best players in the world, leading Tottenham with 9 goals on the season. In fact, it took Bale more than 2 years to play in a game that Tottenham won.

Right Wing: Nani
The Portuguese winger has finally stepped out of Cristiano Ronaldo's shadow, leading Manchester United with assists and becoming one of their most dangerous attacking players.

Center Mid: Rafael Van Der Vaart
Never utilized properly at Real Madred, he has recaptured his earlier form at Hamburg and has been the best player on the pitch most games, including a commanding 3-1 win against European Champions Inter Milan. He has scored 8 goals this season so far.

Center Mid: Jordan Henderson
This 20 year old English player has become a stalwart part of Sunderland's midfield. His great form this season has just seen him earn his first senior England cap last week.

Left Wing: Chris Brunt
This West Brom winger has been a revelation from the championship, sparking interest from Liverpool and Aston Villa.


Forward: Johan Elmander
The swede looked average at best at the Reebok last season. But now the Bolton forward has justified his 10 million pound price tag with 8 league goals this season.

Forward: Andy Carroll
Nobody doubted his talent, but adapting from the Championship can be challenging however he has responded with 8 league goals in an up and down season for Newcastle so far.


Surprise Manager of the season: Owen Coyle
He has caused the Bolton faithful to think realistically about European football again.

Honorable mentions:
Charlie Adams
Chamakh
Wilshire
Albrighton
Dann

In other news I still continue to dominate Bosque in our fantasy league.

Video Game Review: Black Ops

The newest game in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops, was released two weeks ago.  I’ve spent a good amount of time in those weeks testing the game out and I have to say, I’m impressed by the game on a whole.

However before I write more, here’s a little background on the Call of Duty games.  Black Ops was created by the design team called Treyarch.  These designers made the CoD 3 and CoD: World at War.  They are not the same team that made the CoD series and the ever popular Modern Warfare series (Infinity Ward made these).

MLS Expansion Draft

The release of the lists of protected players came out last night and Portland and Vancouver will be pouring over the list of players who didn't get protected in preparation for the draft tomorrow.  Both teams will be looking to find several starters for their teams and there are plenty of quality players to choose from.  The draft will start 1pm tomorrow.  Portland will pick first and then the teams will alternate for ten rounds. There is quite an extensive list of rules and guidelines that can be found here...Expansion draft rules.  MLS teams often try and work the system in expansion drafts.  They take risks and gamble on what they think the expansion teams will need.  It will be interesting to see if any of the big names that were left unprotected get snatched up because traditionally their high salaries are deterrents for expansion teams. However, Ljunberg, Geovanni, and Blaise Nkufo sure look tantalizing to me on those lists.  Those aren't the only players on the lists of available players worth drafting. The full list can be found here...http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/mls-releases-unprotected-list-expansion-draft

Turkey Day Playlist

So it's almost Thanksgiving time, which for a lot of us, means miserable travelling.  But travelling doesn't have to be all that bad.  I find that a good mix is crucial for traveling so I thought I'd try something new at Rip City Soccer and make a playlist for people to make and listen on their way home, or wherever, for Thanksgiving.  I used to make mix CDs for my ex-girlfriend and friends all the time, and I'm told I have a knack for it (although, I don't know how much skill or insight is needed for this sort of thing).  So here's 25 songs I've compiled that I think you guys should listen to on your travels.

MLS Cup Hangover

The Colorado Rapids won their first MLS title last night in Toronto.  They overcame a first-half deficit to win in overtime 2-1.  Sadly, an own goal was the decider.  The actual goals came from David Ferreira for FC Dallas and Conor Casey from Colorado.  Overall, the game was extremely physical with challenges and cards a-flying.  Colorado did a good job physically beating the aesthetically-pleasing flow out of Dallas.  The game started with neither team really gaining a foothold in neither possession nor scoring chances.  The game changed in the middle of the first half when Jair Benitez clearly tripped Conor Casey in the box but the ref didn't buy it.  From there, Dallas started gaining possession and converted their chance in the 35th minute with a classly counterattack.  Around the half, Jair Benitez play a crossfield ball to an onrunning Marvin Chavez, who put in a beautifully-whipped in ball into the box.  The cross was met by an unrushing Ferreira who netted his second of the postseason by volleying the ball past an ondiving Pickens.  The half ended in controversy with a hard head-to-head collision in the Dallas box between George John and Conor Casey (not the last time this happened).

NASL approved as second division league.

MLS fans who desperately want a promotion/relegation system should be happy this week because the division 2 soccer situation in the United States seems to be settling.  Last weekend USSF approved NASL's application to become the official second division league in the United States.  This ends the battle between the NASL and USL that has been going on for around a year and a half now.  USL will become USL-Pro and become the third  division league.  If MLS is ever to go to a promotion relegation system these lower tier leagues will need to flourish.  So no matter what division your local team is in go out and support your club. NASL will begin its first division 2 season with eight teams. Those include the Carolina Railhawks, FC Edmonton, Atlanta Silverbacks, Puerto Rico Islanders, NSC Minnesota, Montreal Impact, FC Tampa Bay, and Miami FC.  San Antonio is set to join in 2012 and the future of AC St. Louis is in limbo right now but if current owner Jeff Cooper manages to sell the team they could possibly join the league for the 2011 season.

MLS Cup Final: Extended Highlights

Look for Thug Winslow's recap of the MLS Cup Final tonight but for now enjoy these highlights.

MLS Cup Final: Cover it Live

Upcoming Cover it Live Event: MLS Cup Final Colorado VS FC Dallas

Barack Obama wants YOU to watch the MLS Cup Final.

Tonight at 7:30 the Rip City crew will be doing a live commentary of the game so don't forget to log on and join the conversation.  Don't let baracka flacka flame down.

MLS Cup Preview, an in-depth look

The 2010 MLS season wraps up this weekend in Toronto with the 15th MLS Cup Final.  The Championship features the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas, two originial MLS teams with modest histories.  The game kicks off at 8:30 ET (7:30 CT), and can be seen live on ESPN, Galavision, and of course, ESPN 3 on Xbox Live.  If your'e in the Macalester, pull through Wallace 316 for the game.  Also, Rip City Soccer will be covering the game live on the blog.