This game was a thriller.

Talk about highs and lows.  If you saw the U.S. men’s soccer team take on Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final, then you know what I’m talking about.  It didn’t even matter what team you were supporting in this game, because there were highs and lows aplenty for both teams.  For the average American fan (that would be me), this game was like a first crush.  You know, the one that feels so good at first, but just ends up crushing your heart in the end.  Well, just picture that person (your first crush).  Whoever that person was, well that person was like this game.  For the average American soccer fan (again, that’s me), all the highs came in the first half.  In the ninth minute, Clint Dempsey swiped at a cross from Jonathan Spector and something unbelievable happened.  Dempsey’s foot seemed to barely make contact with the ball, but the ball sliced perfectly past Julio Cesar, into the corner of the Brazilian net.  Brazil pushed forward after the goal, but they looked a little frantic and off rhythm, despite dominating possession of the ball.  Then, against the run of play, Landon Donovan somehow scored a stunning second goal for the U.S. in the twenty-sixth minute.  Donovan exchanged passes with Charlie Davies on a U.S. counter attack, then executed a perfect cutback and shot to slide in a second shock goal for his team. I still don’t know what was more of a shock in the first half, the two U.S. goals, or the fact that Brazil couldn’t score a goal of their own.  For the average Brazilian fan, it must have felt like an all time low for their national team.  Not only were they getting beaten in a final, they were getting beaten by a country that didn’t even really care about soccer that much.  The fact that Americans call the game soccer and not football, is a slap in the face in itself. To actually get beaten by an American team in a FIFA final though, might seem like a disgrace for a country with as rich and proud a football history as Brazil. 

Eventually, Brazil did score.

But none of it matters now anyway.  All of the speculation is a wash anyway, since the second half was another story entirely.  Brazil smashed in three goals against the U.S. and the Americans couldn’t reply with a single goal of their own.  Luis Fabiano struck two well taken goals, and then Lucio crashed in a header past Tim Howard.  In spite of allowing the three goals, Howard was the most valuable player for the Americans in my book, for saving so many others.  Brazil actually scored an additional goal, but the referee and his linesman must have been to slow to see the ball cross the line before Howard swatted it away.  Instant replay made it all too painfully obvious though.  The Brazilians in fact scored four goals in the second half, to raise the cup deservedly and crush my heart.  I’m still trying to figure out if I deserved to have my heart crushed, but that’s another story entirely.

The high point for Brazil was pretty high.

But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water here.  For Brazil, this final marks yet another FIFA championship where that lovable samba swagger and style carried the day in the end.  As for the U.S., this loss was actually a new height of sorts.  The U.S. men’s team had never before reached a cup final in a FIFA sponsored event.  By beating Spain, the number one ranked team in the world, 2-0 in the semifinals , the U.S. showed that it’s more of a team to be reckoned with than many folks might like to admit. The fact that the U.S. took a lead, and nearly beat the all mighty Brazil in the final, speaks volumes about how far the team has come.  But with new heights of hope, come new lows.  My hunch is that fans of U.S. soccer (yours truly) will have to learn how much it sucks to get to a final and lose, like so many other countries have in the past, before we can actually win one in the end.

So, I know how I'm supposed to feel.

So the Lakers are NBA Champions again.  Yawn.  Am I bored?  Well, yeah a little.  Am I a hater?  No.  In fact, I’m a Laker fan.  But not the kind that up and decided to become a fan a few weeks back.  I grew up in L.A., smiling about Magic and the Showtime era Lakers.  But maybe that’s my problem.  Maybe that’s the thing that was such a downer for me about this championship.  In a quick, disappointing five game series, the score line read Lakers 4, Magic 1.  I hate to admit it, but last years NBA finals was pretty much the same thing, with the Celtics stomping all over the Lakers in an embarrassing rout of a series.  With respect to last year’s finals, this title was a sweet little bit of redemption for the Lakers and their fans, no doubt about it.  So that part was nice.  I can admit it.  But all these monstrous blowouts in the finals are kind of bumming me out…man.  In the dying minutes of game five, I actually found myself feeling a little sorry for the Magic. Maybe it was just Rafer Alston’s tears. 

Rafer Alston played his heart out but came up short.

Maybe I was sorry for basketball itself, and all those neutral fans out there, that just wanted to tune in and watch a great series.  A championship is a championship, I know, but something was missing.  I know that might sound a little greedy, but what can I say?  When it’s true, it’s true.  I was trying to pinpoint what it was for a few days, and I think I’ve finally figured it out.   The thing that I’m missing are the days when you turned on the NBA finals and you couldn’t take your eyes off the screen for a second, because every moment, every point, and every elbow seemed to matter.  I miss those great seesaw battles, with two evenly matched teams, two clear stars.  I miss Magic and Bird.  I miss the two evenly matched supporting casts they had, willing to battle until the last second for that slim advantage that could make or break a game.  Back in the day, a slim advantage actually could make or break a game in the finals.  Nowadays it seems like every other game is a blowout.  Nowadays the most exciting battles in the postseason take place in the series that lead up to the finals, rather than during the championship games. Games two, three, and four of this series were great to watch, without a doubt.  And that being said, it would be hard to deny that Derek Fisher’s clutch shots in game four provided a couple of stunning moments.  But by and large, this series was not anywhere near a fantastic finals to watch. 

Derek Fisher hit some big three pointers.

All in all, I think this series means more to Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson than to anyone else.  Kobe took one giant step, out from under Shaq’s big shadow with this title.  He also took another big step in his attempt to chase down all the greatness that Michael Jordan represents.  Even if Kobe were to win two more titles, to tie Michael’s six, there are always going to be folks who complain that Kobe’s first three were really Shaq’s anyway.  It’s kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation, but you can tell that Kobe is going to fight tooth and nail to match or even trump Mike by a title if he can.  As for Phil, he’s reached the Zenith of Zen with ten.  He’s got one more than Red Auerbach now, so he’s already in the spot that Kobe wants to be in.  I’m betting that both of them will smell more titles and come back for a few more seasons, as long as Phil’s health permits.  Why?  Because when you’re on top it feels good, and if you want to stay on top you’ve just got to keep going, even if it gets a little boring from time to time.

Kobe and Phil could both come back to win a few more of these.

• Lakers take care of the Mavericks on the Ides of March
• Lakers Experience Overcomes Warriors Energy
• Unstoppable Boston Celtics visit Los Angeles Lakers

Barcelona are Europe's new club champions.

In the end, Barcelona’s slick passing style was way too much for Manchester United to handle.  If you only watched the first five minutes of this game, you would have put all your money on Manchester United to crush Barcelona.  But by the end of the game it was the other way around, with Barcelona’s fans shouting “OLE!” every time they completed yet another pass in and around the Manchester United defense.  

Eto celebrates his tenth minute goal

In the opening minutes Manchester dominated play, by creating an onslaught on the Barcelona goal.  Cristiano Ronaldo and Ji-Sung Park both came close to scoring for Manchester early on.  But the game was turned on its head when Barcelona scored against the run of play in the tenth minute.  Andres Iniesta ran through the midfield with the ball before slipping a neat pass through to Samuel Eto inside Manchester United’s box.  Eto then cut past Nemanja Vidic before stabbing the ball past Edwin van der Sar at the near post.  After the goal, Barcelona seized the momentum, and began to boss the game by maintaining possession of the ball.  Andres Iniesta and Xavi began to look particularly dominant in midfield.  In my preview of the game, I mentioned that if these two players could keep possession of the ball for Barcelona, my guess was that their team would carry the day.  By halftime it looked like my hunch was right, but I wasn’t sure what Sir Alex Ferguson might pull out his bag of tricks at half time.  He brought on Carlos Tevez in place of Andersen, and for a few minutes, the choice looked to be effective with Tevez lunging at defenders and breaking up Barcelona’s play out of the back.  I expected more of a full-blooded response from United as a whole though, but truth be told, it turned out to be more of the same in the second half.  Xavi, and Iniesta continued to dominate possession in midfield, while Barcelona’s makeshift backline of Puyol, Pique, Toure, and Sylvinho somehow began to look like the world’s best defense.  Things went from bad to worse for United in the 70^th minute, when Xavi sent a beautiful spinning ball across the face of the United goal to pick out Messi, who leapt and lofted a headed goal into the corner past van der Sar. 

Messi scores Barcelona's second goal.

Save for a few moments of counter attack excitement from United, the remainder of the match was spurred on by Barcelona’s neat distribution.  It seemed like United had no answer for Barcelona’s swift and subtle passes, and Ronaldo in particular looked frustrated.  He earned himself a yellow card for shoving Puyol late in the game, but was fortunate not to be booked earlier for a few rash challenges.  With the stakes high in this game, it now looks exceedingly likely that the votes for World Player of the Year will probably go to Messi, rather than Ronaldo.  Messi was not only was the top scorer in the Champions league, but also managed to score in the final, with Ronaldo silenced.  Messi and his Barcelona teammates found a way to break down the Red Devils, and were justified in their celebrations as European Club Champions.  After witnessing the Champions League Final, if Lionel Messi gets the plaudits this year for European and World Player of the Year, the awards he receives will be equally justified.

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• Champions League Dream Final-May 27th

The Champions League Trophy

It’s on.  The dream final is set for May 27^th in Rome. It’s Barcelona’s beautiful game vs. Manchester United’s world-beaters.  You couldn’t ask for anything more in a final.  The game pits Spain’s best vs. England’s best, and affords United the chance to defend their European title against a Barcelona side that is arguably the most stylish team in the world at the moment.  And the best part is there should be goals, goals, and more goals. 

Lionel Messi-The Young Gun

If you are a European soccer fan, then you don’t need me to tell you that the final on May 27^th will be worth watching.  But if you aren’t a fan of soccer (or football as it’s known everywhere else in the world-and for good reason), the UEFA Champions League Final on the 27^th is the perfect introduction. Not only will you get to watch the reigning World Player of the Year in Cristiano Ronaldo, in arguably his biggest game, but you’ll also get to watch the new kid on the block square off against him.  Lionel Messi, who was last year’s runner up, is the guy that seems to get everyone’s vote as the new World Player of the Year, and it will be fascinating to see which player’s talents are the most influential in the final.  Beyond this gargantuan battle between the two best players in the world, there is the battle of the teams they play for.  Manchester United are the reigning European and World Club Champions.  They also were just crowned Champions of the English Premier League for a record tying eighteenth time.  So needless to say, they are doing all right.  Barcelona were recently crowned Champions of the Primera Liga in Spain, a week after winning the country’s elimination round tournament known as the Copa Del Rey.  Reports from Spain claim that a win in the final against Manchester United would put an exclamation point on the club’s best season ever.

Cristiano Ronaldo-The Reigning Champ

But let’s get to the goals part.  Barcelona will be missing their best defenders in Rafael Marquez (knee injury) and Carles Puyol (suspension), so chances are that Manchester United’s awesome Ronaldo led attack force will score some goals. United are by no means a one trick pony, with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, and Carlos Tevez fighting for playing time up front.  That being said, Barcelona head into the final boasting the most potent strike force in Europe this year. Their three-prong attack, led by the twenty one year old Messi, Samuel Eto, and Thierry Henry, has combined for more goals than any other team on the continent this year.  The question is, whether or not their skills can get the best of Manchester United’s well-oiled machine of a defense.  But of course the larger question is:  Who’s going to win?  My guess is that Barcelona’s superior midfield, led by Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, will carry the day. Will there be goals, goals, and more goals?  I can’t say for sure, but if the game lives up to it’s promise, people will be talking about this one for decades.  My advice: tune in.Similar Posts:

• 2009 Champion’s League Final: Barcelona 2, Manchester United 0

This is a really big blow to the Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball, and just broke the modern-day record of 13 straight home victories to start a season. This suspension starts immediately, and will potentially break the spirit of the Dodgers and their fans. It’s especially tough coming after there was so much time and energy spent to keep Manny on the team prior to the season’s start.

So was Manny really juicing? Who knows. Hopefully this doesn’t effect the Dodgers run at the playoffs.

The game that would never end, finally did. In yet another epic battle between the Chicago Bulls and the defending champion Boston Celtics, the game goes down to the wire, ending 128 – 127 in triple overtime. This was a must win for the Bulls to stay in the series, and now they send it back to the do-or-die game 7 in Boston this Saturday. The time of the game is still to be determined at the time of this article.

Ray Allen had a playoff career high with 51 points. Even though 29 of them came in the first half, he still hit some clutch shots when it mattered, especially in the second over time where he put up the Celtics last 5 points including the 3-pointer to tie it with 7.6 seconds left. Glen Davis also played a big game for the Celtics with 23 points, but more importantly, he had 6 offensive rebounds. This was the first game that the Bulls decided to take the ball out of Paul Pierce’s hands when it mattered, by sending the second defender to crowd him and force him to get it to a teammate. That being said, he did have an opportunity to close out the game with 4.9 seconds left, but missed an uncontested jump shot that he makes with his eyes closed if it’s in the Boston Garden.

What can I say about the Bulls? This team is playing with some ridiculous heart, and uncanny confidence. Brad Miller, who missed the crucial free throws in the last game to tie it with time expiring, came up HUGE when the Bulls seemed out of sync at the end of the fourth. Not only did he knock down a gigantic 3 at the end of regulation, but he also hit two free throws with 16.9 seconds left in the second over time, and another two with 28.3 seconds left in the final over time. John Salmons lead the way for the Bulls with 35 points, with many of them coming in the paint against Paul Pierce. When Salmons figured out Pierce had to defend him gingerly (he had 5 fouls), he just kept taking him off the dribble.

It’s really tough to say what was the play of the game here. We have Salmons tying it up with 23.5 seconds left in regulation, and we also had Allen’s huge 3-pointer to send it to triple over time. There were then two significant plays that sealed the deal for the Bulls: a Joakim Noah steal off of Paul Pierce, which lead to a dunk and a free throw, and then a Derrick Rose block off of Rajon Rondo to close out the game.

Whatever it might be that gave this victory to the Bulls, both teams played their hearts out and have this entire series. Game 7 will be memorable in this epic playoff battle.

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

You would have seen some shenanigans. Basically, there was some JavaScript on the page that would bring up some frew-frew image, like a unicorn or rainbow, and if you clicked on one of the images, it would continue showing you more frew-frew images. So was this ESPN hacked, or an ESPN hoax?

Here’s something your browser might have looked like:

ESPN.com Hack or Hoax? (Click to enlarge)

Technically, some script kiddie could have some up with some super technical JavaScript to get this done, but he’d have to be a pro. And if you get that far to actually get through the several layers of system & database protection that you’d certainly see from the 85th largest site in the world, why would you show people a bunch of unicorns and rainbows? Plus, let’s not forget that ESPN is owned by Walt Disney.

In my opinion, this was just some fancy viral marketing from ESPN. Why today? Why frew-frew images? Not really sure, but I’d bet this was just really creative viral marketing. I guess when you’re as big as ESPN, you can still learn new tricks; just in case they will actually comment on this, I sent them an email. But don’t worry friends, I won’t hold my breath.

***UPDATE***

After a few emails back and forth with ESPN’s support, I was provided a statement from ESPN spokesperson Paul Melvin:

This was a case of an Easter Egg, a small hidden batch of code, that was put in place by somebody internally. ESPN.com was not hacked and it had no significant impact on the performance of the site or on external computers. We do not condone it and are dealing with the matter internally.

Well, looks like someone’s stay at ESPN will be a lot shorter than they anticipated.

Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins owned the offensive boards for the Celtics, which lead to lots of easy put back points in the paint. Davis had a strong game with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Ray Allen was extremely quiet in the first half (only scoring 2 points), but he came into the second half with a clean slate and a champion’s hunger to put up 28 to lead the team in points. First game it was the Rondo / Rose show, and this game it was the Allen / Gordon show. Ben Gordon was absolutely scorching from the perimeter, finishing the game with 42 points – 14 of which came in the fourth quarter, and he scored on each of the Bulls’ final three possessions. For fans of jump shooting, that fourth quarter was amazing with Allen and Gordon exchanging threes and tough jumpers with double teams and hands in their faces. These two were simply unstoppable.

Surprisingly enough, the Bulls team defense outdid the Celtics, with the Bulls setting a franchise playoff high of 14 blocks. Doc Rivers countered the Bulls tight D by getting Allen free with screens from his big men. Even with the slightest window of opportunity, Allen was able to drain his shots.

The game once again came down to the final possession for the Celtics, after Gordon made a huge jump shot. With less than three seconds to go, rolling off a screen, Ray Allen hit the winning three, putting the Celtics over the Bulls 118 – 115. There were two things I didn’t agree with from Bulls’ Head Coach Vinny Del Negro:

1. This is the second game in a row where the Bulls were out of timeouts going into their final possession. You need to manage your timeouts better. With 2 seconds left, there isn’t much you can do without a timeout left; having that final timeout gives you the ability to advance the ball to half court, and draw up a play.
2. Although I like Brad Miller’s play, I’d rather see more of Tyrus Thomas in crunch time. Thomas plays with loads of heart, had a team-high 6 blocks in the game, and proved in the first game he could be effective with 15 – 17 foot jumpers.

Now with the series tied 1-1, it should be really interesting to see how the young Bulls team bounces back after a loss. Game 3 is this Thursday at 8 p.m. EST.Similar Posts:

• Welcome to the Playoffs, Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose Flawless in First Playoff Game

If you haven’t caught any Bulls games this season, then you’ve missed out on the exciting play of rookie Derrick Rose, but he certainly came to play today. This was the first game of the series between the two teams, but the intensity level felt like it was game seven of the finals. Ben Gordon, Bull’s regular season leading scorer, didn’t have much impact on the game early on, but neither did Celtic’s Allen. This game turned into who could dominate the boards, and a point guard clinic.

Even though this was the first playoff game in Rose’s NBA career, he played inspired and flawless basketball. And from the Celtic’s side, Rajon Rondo kept the team in the game with his quickness to the hole. Rose was shooting light’s out from the field and from the free throw line; he made shots at will, and had no problems quieting Boston’s home crowd after their team made a big shot. There were stretches of the game where it was just Rose and Rondo having a “anything you can do, I can do better” battle, and damn was it fun to watch.

In the fourth quarter, Ben Gordon decided to start playing. Gordon started hitting big shots like he had it in him all along, helping his team with 12 points in the fourth. Down the stretch, it was all Gordon and Rose for the Bulls, and all Rondo and Pierce for the Celtics.

With less than a minute to go in the game, Rose hit two HUGE free throws to put the Bulls up a point, which wouldn’t usually be note-worthy except that he didn’t miss a free throw to this point, he’s a rookie, it’s his first playoff game, AND his team was visiting last year’s champion Celtics. Now the Celtics have to answer. They go to Pierce, who takes a tough jump shot with less than three seconds in the game, and gets bailed out by a terrible foul from Joakim Noah (aside from this blunder, Noah played a hell of a game himself). The Bulls are out of timeouts at this point, so all Pierce has to do is make both of these free throws, and the Celtics would be able to escape. Oops! Pierce missed the second free throw, and we have over time, baby!

There was no let up in overtime. Tyrus Thomas was an unlikely hero for the Bulls, draining mid-range jumpers like he’s Bill Laimbeer or something. Pierce had several isolation plays that did not drop for him. As it should have, it came down to the final play with the Celtics down two points. Not sure why the ball went to Ray Allen for the final shot – he couldn’t hit shit for four quarters, and he missed this shot too. Surprisingly, the young Bulls stun the Celtics, beating them 105 – 103.

Derrick Rose finished with 36 points and 11 assists. Now we have a series. Similar Posts:

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Pat Summerall and John Madden

This might be one of my saddest mornings in a long time – turning on Sports Center and seeing: John Madden retires. If you don’t know who John Madden is, you’re a motherfucker. Most people that know King Madden today probably know nothing of his coaching days, and only know him through his NFL broadcasting or the line of video games named after him. Here are some of the reasons John Madden is better than you and I:

• Inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006
• Head Coach of the Raiders his entire 10-year career
• Youngest pro coach to reach 100 career victories
• 1969 AFL Coach of the Year
• Helped the Raiders win Super Bowl Xl
• On-Air commentary since 1979, mainly with Pat Summerall and occasionally with Vin Scully – both of whom are hall of fame broadcasters
• 16 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sports Analyst/Personality

King Madden’s use of the telestrator should also make that list, but if you never caught a game he called, you wouldn’t get the reference AND shame on you. In a nutshell, he popularized the use of marking certain areas for the TV audience to show emphasis on a player, and sometimes just to be witty. He’s also known for his use of onomatopoeia, with my favorites being BOOM! and WHAP!, and what sometimes felt like exceedingly obvious explanations (i.e.: You see, what the receiver needs to do is focus and catch the ball.).

John Madden: The King of Fotball

I remember a game where Deion Sanders had his son in a stroller on the sideline, and the camera zoomed on him sleeping. Sanders was always a flashy sports personality, so King Madden said something that amounted to “like father like son” and circled his son wearing a pretty flashy necklace on the telestrator. There were also times where you’d see him just mark up the entire screen with 10 different circles, and he could still make sense of it all.

But all jokes, John Madden really knew football inside and out. Even if you thought what he was saying was painfully obvious, it was exactly what needed to happen for that player or team to do better in that game. And sometimes it felt like maybe the team was listening on his commentary, because I remember many times seeing the team or player adjust per what King Madden mentioned. He had the rare ability to make a football fan out of anyone, and could break down a situation on the field to the most minute particular – the angle of the player’s foot, the positioning of his hands, the speed of this, the movement of that.

There is no one, and I repeat NO ONE, with such an awe-inspiring love and knowledge for football, and there will never be another John Madden.

John Madden, you will be SORELY missed.