Mmmmm, Vanilla!

On the way home after the game, I had a huge hankering for ice cream so I stopped at the store. In honor of goal scorer and (official) Man of the Match Nate (SlowJack) Jacqua, I bought and consumed an entire pint of vanilla ice cream. The Rave Green'ers came away with their 5th straight draw in a 1-1 game that really could've gone either way.

Five games. Five draws. One win in eight matches. Has the rest of the MLS caught up with us? Wadda ya think? Not only that, but the problems are mounting:

Our forwards aren't linking up and aren't giving defenders much to worry about. The midfield is a muddle, a lot of running around with little to show for it and we are sorely in need of a left fullback that can also play defens, while modeling a rave green jersey. 

Shortly before half I turned to Jon and said "what happened to the team that started the season? This team looks bad." The Sounders were unfocused and uninspired in the first half and deserved the 1-goal deficit that Columbus hung on them with Moreno's header. They came out in the 2nd half slightly less uninspired, but with not much else going for the green. When SlowJack scored - a beautiful volley out of the air, off Freddie Ljungberg's hopeful over-the-head kick - it still seemed against the run of play.

Nonetheless, I will say this, the goal was brilliant. In an instant, all of the unease the game had caused me, exploded into ecstasy. I even made Jon applaud the Big Slow. The game got pretty exciting for a stretch and even looked like the Sounders might have a chance to score a winner. Things got bizarre then when a pass back led to an extended debate in front of the goalline, 2 yellows against Columbus and a fruitless goal attempt by the Sounders. The obligatory red card and Sounders ejection was issued against Tyrone Marshall, who apparently had retaliated against his mark for something.

When the whistle sounded the end of the game, I wasn't sure how to feel about the game. We certainly did enough to lose, had every right to win had we finished, and didn't do too badly to draw, all things considered. But after five in a row, the shiny luster is coming off the event of a draw.

More on the game. Jose Romero's blog. Quotes from Sigi. Team news and more about the strange goings on at the Xbox Pitch last night. David Falk calls it like he sees it, and he sees it ugly.

A $50 reward has been issued for any clues to the whereabouts of midfielder Steve Zakuani.

Also, ensuring that Jon has a quality midfield to root for at Chelsea, the Blues inexplicably sign reputed footballer and midfield stationary object Michael Ballhack to a long-term deal...maybe Roman just has so much money they overlooked the fact that the guy can't play in the EPL.

Barca Wins and the Off-Season Begins

Glad to see Barca win the Champions League over the New York Yank...er, I mean the US Treasury Departme...darn it, I mean Manchester United. I'm still watching the game on DVR, so I won't comment (and hey, thanks to Comcast for screwing up the progam listing so that I missed the first 16 minutes! You guys rock (and yes, I'm being sarcastic)), but Phil McNulty has some interesting analysis (as always) on the match.

And how cool is it that I'm going to see the European Champs play my Sounders FC in Seattle?!

And now it's the off-season, and Chelsea and ManUre (and nouveau riche ManCity) will begin spending like drunken sailors on shore leave. Chelsea already rumoured to be all over Bayern's Franck Ribery, a player I value highly. Hopefully, the Big Blues Machine won't ruin him.

And I've been saying for two seasons that Arsene Wenger needs to buy a new stud center half...I was hoping for someone older than my youngest daughter. Keep trying, Arsene.

Flu Pandemics and Cybercrime Pandemics

Perhaps I'm taking a little license to characterize cybercrime as a pandemic, but it is clearly global, easily transmitted and acquired, and it doesn't look like anyone knows how to stop it right now. This article from New Scientist made me clutch my wallet a little tighter.

Shifting to illness of the viral kind, the NYT reports that the World Health Organization is bowing to pressure from certain countries (I can't tell you their names, but their initials are U.S.A. and E.U.) and will rewrite its pandemic rules to de-certify our crazy Swine Flu as a pandemic.

The always-excellent Debora McKenzie summarizes the mismatch between the current pandemic rules and the existing situation with the Swine Flu, and sheds light on why W.H.O. is feeling the heat. As MacKenzie points out, the 1918 Pandemic, as most do most flu pandemics, began with a milder initial wave - much like the current Swine Flu - before going all aggro and killing tens of millions of people.

Colorado Recap and Arsenal Run Smash & Grab Operation

Let's start with the Arsenal game. They're up 4-1 on the Kotters from Stoke City at half time, who appear to have thrown in the towel early on this one. The Gunners have a clutch of Arsene's young Gunners in the line-up, including a goalkeeper I've never heard of before. Vito Mannone? My sources are telling me that he's a kid wearing an Arsenal Jersey that Arsene saw outside the stadium prior to the game. I'm not able to verify that yet, but lets pretend that's the case.

Anyhow, Arsenal is enjoying 75% posession and has 16 shots on the Sotters' goal, to 3 for the gang from Choke City. Arsenal has already switched to the 5-pass rule (the team has to make 5 consecutive passes, including to Eboue, who is on the bench, before shootign).

Key question: Will Arsene let RVN play goal in the 2nd half?

Now, on to my boys in the Rave Green jerseys...

Bottom line is that we took a point on the road with the 2-2 draw, against a key conference rival without Ljungberg, Porkchop (Evans) & my season MVP, Alonso, who went down in the first minute.

There are three keys to this game.

1. Kasey Keller. His goal was under assault. He must've thought he was starring in a remake of 300. The Persians just kept coming in waves. Keller made 2 of the nicest saves you'll see anywhere. In honesty, at times I've wondered whether Kasey is worth the Sounders FC hype. Yup. He is.


2. James Riley. One of the most outstanding players for Sounders this season, he was our only offensive spark, providing the runs down the side channel and the crosses that turned into our scores. That pass to Montero that set up the equalizer was a gem. And he wasn't bad at defense, either. Rapids ran riot down the right side, but had very few successful attacks on Riley's side.


3. Peter with the really awkward last name. It's going to take a few games for me to get the pronunciation right, or at least, not obscene. I thought Vagenas solidified a midfield that was in shambles from losing Frederik, Porkchop and Ozzie. He did what was needed to keep a lid on things through the middle, and worked very hard to complicate the Rapids' attacking plans. He was really unfortunate to cause the deflection for the OG, but was hustling back to defend on a play where the Rapids had once again sliced open our defense.

Also, worth note.

Fredy Montero had his best game in some time. Not a great game, but more energy and he figured in both goals. The first goal was just a nice run and persistence to take the easy deflection.

Gary Smith made a huge mistake taking Cummins out of the game. He shredded us all game long. Once he was out, a lot of air left the Rapids' river raft. Maybe he was hurt or tired, but that felt like a real momentum shift there, and we had great chances to steal the win after the speedy striker left.

Cummins and Casey are a great strike pair. They are an example of what an MLS front line should look like. Montero and SloJack are no comparison. In fact, while SloJack scored the equalizer, it was a sitter. Other than that, I thought he looked pretty pedestrian. Is it me, or is he reacting rather than anticipating his runs?

Nonetheless, our front line scored the goals, so all's to the good.

Oh, and Arsenal have beaten Croak City, 4-1. And it doesn't appear to be even that close. They finish 4th. Whoopee.

I took a look at some stats. Arsenal finished with 68 goals for. The top 4 all had 68 or more goals. The difference, though, came in goals against. Arsenal allowed 37. No top 3 team allowed more than 27. Hmmm. Where do we need to get stronger? How about a stud center back and a man's man holding midfielder?

The Double Whine Post

The bossman reiterates his reiteration of his commitment to the club, but says:

"Criticism I accept with respect. Disrespect I don't accept.

What sport does he think he's in, tennis? Although, I've disagreed with Le Professeur more and more in recent seasons, I don't like the disrespectful stuff. That being said, it is football. You kind of have to grow a pair and grow some extra dermis and move on.

Somewhere else in London, all you can hear is whine, whine, whine. Oh, and Lucky Guus wishing that UEFA would make do his "big apology." Really? Big apology? Why not ask Didier to make a big "F***ing" apology??

Drama, Gunner Style

Arsene defuses the drama over his supposed flirtation with Real Mess. Nothing to worry about, says Le Profeseur.

Meanwhile, the Sounders are banged up, bruised and beaten. Evans looks to be out awhile and Frederik is still suffering from his head wound. This has all the makings of a rough patch.

Sounders Give Dallas A Clinic

Seriously. The hype going into last night's game in Jabba-The-Hut Park in beautiful Dallas, was that FC Dallas with only 1 win in the season, was not very good. For 20 minutes, Dallas showed what bad MLS soccer can look like. Then, the Sounders took over and our boys in the Rave Green showed that they knew a thing or two about playing the kind of awful, uninspired, soul-sucking football that has caused grown men to swear off the game and take up pottery. A 1-1 draw has never looked this unappetizing.

Seriously. They were that bad. The best thing I can say about that game is that its 90 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. Of course, if it involved watching that game again, I don't want those 90 minutes back. Give them to someone whose looking for a reason not to live.

OK. Got that off my back. On the positive side, they did pick up a vital road point in one of the least hostile MLS arenas in the MLS. They withstood the relentless jeering and taunting of the hundreds of rabid Dallasites (?). The fact that they were all wearing Drew Carey glasses could not have helped.

Actually, I have to note that the fans were really getting into the game. After all, it was Drew Carey giveaway night. Sensing the possibility of a shock win, the fans realized that if the team actually beat the Sounders, FC Dallas would give everyone a Drew Carey suit to match the ugly glasses. Hey, its Dallas. There's no accounting for taste.

Let's see. I don't want to get too down on the boys. This was a team effort. But our forwards stink right now. I have to believe that both Nate Jacqua and Fredy Montero are better players than what we've seen the last 2 - 3 weeks. Jacqua, combingin a lack of speed with a lack of effort to make runs is not a good combination. Fredy, combing speed and talent...with a lack of effort to make runs, is producing about the same thing.

Good on Jhon Kennedy Hurtado for scoring his first goal as a Sounder. And on his birthday! Other than El Presidente, the rest of the team needs to go to finishing school.

If the defense hadn't fallen asleep in first half stoppage time, this still could've been 3 points against the league's easiest opponent...Remember Chris, its not 90 minutes of your life wasted...its 1 point and that's good.

Bring on the Hoops (really, the Hoops?!)

Sounders are in Dallas today to face a sorry FC Dallas team that I find out is called The Hoops. Sorry, boys, there's only one Hoops, its Celtic FC. You guys could be called the Whoops, though. That name is available.

Shoreline native George John, a man so blessed as to be born with not one, but two first names, will be in the starting lineup for the Whoops. James Riley thinks that the game will be like my Nana's Tea Party. I'll be watching on HD from the climate-controlled comfort of my entertainment room.

Go Sounders!

Yay, We're Undefeated (Today)!

I'm just trying to get in the spirit of the New Arsenal Era, the one where Le Profeseur tells us to not expect major silverware. Instead, we need to delight in the small achievements. Like being undefeated in the EPL for 21 games (before getting our asses restructured with a boot (first by ManUre, then by Chelsea) as we challenged for not being 5th in the league.

So, with the new perspective in mind, I salute the glory of today's result: we have stymied the mighty ManUre from defeating us (while, of course, allowing them the small pleasure of winning the league trophy on their home ground), while creating a mini-unlosing streak that we could conceivably stretch to 2 games, if we go on to not lose to mighty Stroke City next week.

Seriously, there'd be days I'd take a nil-nil draw at Old Spofford, but today ain't it.

Go Gunners! Bring on the next season...

Ozzie Rocks The Sounders Midfield

The Times has fallen into a nice rut of padding the mid-week lull between Sounders' games with an article or two about a player, or some other interesting look behind the scenes of the Rave Green Machine. (Boy, I know that sounds dumb, but I'm gonna keep using it. Rave Green For Life, G!)

Anyhow, Thursday they had an article looking at Osvaldo Alonso, who has to be considered as both Sounders' MLS Rookie of the Year candidate and MVP. Ozzie puts the steel in Sounders midfield, despite being a liddle guy. He is a fierce competitor, always at work, always battling. I love watching this cat play.

Now, I have to work tomorrow, so I am going to miss both the Sounders-LA Galactic Mistake game and the Arsenal-Chelsea Lately match. So, when I return from work I have got to figure out how to present 4 hours of footie on the telly as a Mother's Day present. Send your suggestions to me ASAP.

Champions League thoughts:

You can gripe all you want about the refereeing, but Chelsea players should've been taught by now that you never leave the game in the ref's hands. They left on the field some audacious opportunities to make it 2-0. Here's another thought: champions win games. Whiners whine.

The Arsenal-ManUre game was painful. For 7:32 I thought we had a chance. After that, it was clear that Arsenal inhabits a select middle cushion between the top 3 of the EPL and the gathering hordes below of completely awful teams pretending they belong in the top flight. Monsieur Wenger, It is time to climb back up to the top...