A good effort that was not indicative of the final score.
Seems to be a recurring theme for us. Eventually you figure that we will have to catch a break and have something go our way, but I guess it was not meant to be. Perhaps all of our fortunes will change in the playoffs (stranger things have happened).
As I mentioned at halftime, I had a dream the night before that we were trailing in the game by one goal at the half (2-1 in dreamland, but 1-0 in reality). In the second half of my dream game we scored 4 times to blow the game wide open. I guess the big lesson learned is that my dreams are not indicative of jacksh....
Recap:
The first 10 minutes of the game was fairly even for both teams. Blue took control and had the vast majority of chances in the first half, but failed to find the back of the net. Red scored on a counterattack breakaway that I should have charged sooner. Blue continued to own the left side of the field and created numerous opportunities with lots of shots on goal. Halftime score: 1-0.
The second half was very similar to the first except that we took control right away. We finally evened the match about 20 minutes into the half on a pretty shot from the new Mike from just outside the box. Despite many chances, we did not break their defenses again in the game and the score remained 1-1 at the end of the match.
Looking back on the game, there were many solid performances: lots of good passing combos and feeds to the forwards, tough defense, and fairly good positioning. I only remember making about 5 saves and it seemed like their keeper must have had to make about 15-20. While I feel like a broken record in thanking everyone for good effort despite the result, I don't want to downplay the very positive attitude that everyone has shown this season. I have been very proud to play with all of you. Hopefully, we will have some playoff soccer to look forward to and make up for some unlucky bounces here and there.
Monday, June 20, 2005
UF Baseball Advances in CWS
UF's baseball team defeated Nebraska 7-4 Sunday night in the College World series in Omaha. The gators now need only one victory to advance to the championship series where they would face the winner of the other semifinal pod.
Here is a schedule of games to give you a better idea of how the tournament works. Basically the final 8 teams are broken into two groups of four. Each group of four plays a double elimination tournament. Once a victor is determined from each group of four. Those two teams play a best of 3 series to determine the national champion. UF has never advanced to an NCAA baseball title game.
Here is a schedule of games to give you a better idea of how the tournament works. Basically the final 8 teams are broken into two groups of four. Each group of four plays a double elimination tournament. Once a victor is determined from each group of four. Those two teams play a best of 3 series to determine the national champion. UF has never advanced to an NCAA baseball title game.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Update on Dry Cleaning Thieves
F--- Dry Clean Direct. There is a low price Dry Cleaner near Grosvenor Metro station. They can take my money for crappy service from this point forward.
Dry Cleaners
Is it just me or do Dry Cleaners take too much advantage of the "Not Responsible for Items Left in Clothing" policy they all seem to share? I wonder if this policy is actually a fringe benefit for the lower wage employees of the store.
Dry Cleaner: You should come and work for us, the payand working conditions suck, but you can keep anything you find in the garments you handle.
Scrub: Sweet!
Yesterday, I took some items into my normal Dry Cleaner, the DryClean Direct in Silver Spring. They do a fair to below average job with the items I bring in, although I have noticed that if there is a stain on any garment, it will remain there unless I explicitly point it out. I had put the headphones from my iPod in my suit jacket pocket the day before and had meant to take them out prior to dropping the clothes off at the store. I, of course, forgot and realized this mistake less than 30 minutes after I had originally gone into the store. I went back and while they found my asthma inhaler (which has no value to most people in the world), they did not "find" the premium headphones in my jacket.
In the grand scheme of things losing a $35 item is not that big of a deal. It is just irritating that I believe they found it and just don't give enough of a crap to have their employees do the right thing and save items for their paying customers. If I thought that any other dry cleaner was different I would switch, but experience has taught me otherwise. My previous dry cleaner couldn't find a new sweater I brought in for my wife and suggested that perhaps I lost it. So, since the current one is cheap and convenient to where I work, I will stay with them until a better priced competitor opens or a more conveniently located one appears.
Dry Cleaner: You should come and work for us, the payand working conditions suck, but you can keep anything you find in the garments you handle.
Scrub: Sweet!
Yesterday, I took some items into my normal Dry Cleaner, the DryClean Direct in Silver Spring. They do a fair to below average job with the items I bring in, although I have noticed that if there is a stain on any garment, it will remain there unless I explicitly point it out. I had put the headphones from my iPod in my suit jacket pocket the day before and had meant to take them out prior to dropping the clothes off at the store. I, of course, forgot and realized this mistake less than 30 minutes after I had originally gone into the store. I went back and while they found my asthma inhaler (which has no value to most people in the world), they did not "find" the premium headphones in my jacket.
In the grand scheme of things losing a $35 item is not that big of a deal. It is just irritating that I believe they found it and just don't give enough of a crap to have their employees do the right thing and save items for their paying customers. If I thought that any other dry cleaner was different I would switch, but experience has taught me otherwise. My previous dry cleaner couldn't find a new sweater I brought in for my wife and suggested that perhaps I lost it. So, since the current one is cheap and convenient to where I work, I will stay with them until a better priced competitor opens or a more conveniently located one appears.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Heat and Air Travel
Heat
Man, it has been hot in Metro DC this past week. It has regularly been over 90 degrees and the humidity has not helped. I was able to contrast the heat here yesterday with that of Toronto, where I had to go for business and it was quite a difference. It felt warmer in DC stepping off the plane after midnight that it felt in Toronto at noon.
Air Travel
I have travelled quite a bit over the past 7 years for the various companies I have worked for and business travel has become fairly unbearable. It used to be merely inconvenient but now it is downright deplorable.
Yesterday I experienced a 45 minute delay leaving DC because the flight attendant didn't show up for work. I agree that this is not the airline's fault that an individual employee screwed them over. I point this out only because 7 of my last 9 flights have experienced a significant delay for one reason or another.
Coming back home, the pilot of the plane was asked to deliver some parts that were needed for planes located at Dulles Airport. We were told it would be 5-10 minutes before the parts arrived. 20 mintues later, the pilot announces that they still say the parts are 5-10 minutes away. We finally push back from the gate after waiting 45 minutes and take off a full hour late. When your plane is departing at 11 PM, this is a big difference.
Once airborne, the pilots typically turn off the Fasten Seatbelt sign after the plane reaches cruising altitude. On the 53 minute flight with no turbulance, our pilot decided to keep the light on for an extra 20 minutes for no apparent reason (remember, this is following a 1 hour delay on the ground). Take into account that planes board 20-30 minutes before scheduled takeoff and it had been approximately 2 hours of time on the plane without an opportunity to move around. The reason I mention all this is because over such a time span, certain biological functions naturally occur and one will likely need to relieve oneself. Also note that if you have taken a previous flight, you may have just come in with a tight connection schedule, and it is likely that when you consider descending, deplaning and moving to the new gate, that it has more likely been close to 3 hours between times with access to a restroom.
Unfortunately, I do not see much hope for better prospects in the future. Even the friendly airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue had significant delays the last time I flew them. At least they are nice about it and try to keep you informed.
Man, it has been hot in Metro DC this past week. It has regularly been over 90 degrees and the humidity has not helped. I was able to contrast the heat here yesterday with that of Toronto, where I had to go for business and it was quite a difference. It felt warmer in DC stepping off the plane after midnight that it felt in Toronto at noon.
Air Travel
I have travelled quite a bit over the past 7 years for the various companies I have worked for and business travel has become fairly unbearable. It used to be merely inconvenient but now it is downright deplorable.
Yesterday I experienced a 45 minute delay leaving DC because the flight attendant didn't show up for work. I agree that this is not the airline's fault that an individual employee screwed them over. I point this out only because 7 of my last 9 flights have experienced a significant delay for one reason or another.
Coming back home, the pilot of the plane was asked to deliver some parts that were needed for planes located at Dulles Airport. We were told it would be 5-10 minutes before the parts arrived. 20 mintues later, the pilot announces that they still say the parts are 5-10 minutes away. We finally push back from the gate after waiting 45 minutes and take off a full hour late. When your plane is departing at 11 PM, this is a big difference.
Once airborne, the pilots typically turn off the Fasten Seatbelt sign after the plane reaches cruising altitude. On the 53 minute flight with no turbulance, our pilot decided to keep the light on for an extra 20 minutes for no apparent reason (remember, this is following a 1 hour delay on the ground). Take into account that planes board 20-30 minutes before scheduled takeoff and it had been approximately 2 hours of time on the plane without an opportunity to move around. The reason I mention all this is because over such a time span, certain biological functions naturally occur and one will likely need to relieve oneself. Also note that if you have taken a previous flight, you may have just come in with a tight connection schedule, and it is likely that when you consider descending, deplaning and moving to the new gate, that it has more likely been close to 3 hours between times with access to a restroom.
Unfortunately, I do not see much hope for better prospects in the future. Even the friendly airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue had significant delays the last time I flew them. At least they are nice about it and try to keep you informed.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
FSU QB Goes Nuts
Most Gator fans think that you would have to be nuts to go to FSU. Apparently it is not so far from the truth.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Blue defeated by Green 2-0
Despite a solid effort, Blue lost a tough match 2-0 to the Green Team on Sunday in sweltering conditions. Limited to 12 players, team blue adopted a patient passing attack and employed some very solid position play. Two mistakes led to two goals which made for the result indicated above.
The refs asked us before the game about playing 4 quarters instead of two halves. Team Blue was for it, but team Green thought they would lose their advantage since the had more subs than us. Jerks. Incidentally, we had new refs for this game and these guys are unquestionably, the best refs we have had in quite some time. They explained their calls, worked together when one could not see a play and called offsides tightly, but consistently.
About 10 minutes into the game, a green striker broke free on the right side and took a shot for the far post. I dove and got a solid hand on the ball for the save, but unfortunately, another one of their strikers made it to the back door and put away an easy one. We possessed the ball more than they did and had quite a few opportunities to score, but were not lucky enough to put one away. Halftime score, 1-0.
The second half was played pretty similarly to the first half, we possessed the ball much more and had some good opportunities to score. The woodwork denied 2 potential scoring chances for team blue. With about 5 minutes to play, a blue defender was whistled for a hand ball in the box leading to a penalty kick for the greens. I went against my gut feeling on the kick and chose to go left instead of right (the kicker was left footed) and really had no chance to redirect myself to the ball. I think I could have gotten it if I went with my first choice, but the question is moot now. Final score, 2-0.
Everyone who made it to the game should be proud of the effort. It was something we can build on for our last regular season game before the playoffs start. If we play this style of ball next week, I guarantee a Blue victory.
The refs asked us before the game about playing 4 quarters instead of two halves. Team Blue was for it, but team Green thought they would lose their advantage since the had more subs than us. Jerks. Incidentally, we had new refs for this game and these guys are unquestionably, the best refs we have had in quite some time. They explained their calls, worked together when one could not see a play and called offsides tightly, but consistently.
About 10 minutes into the game, a green striker broke free on the right side and took a shot for the far post. I dove and got a solid hand on the ball for the save, but unfortunately, another one of their strikers made it to the back door and put away an easy one. We possessed the ball more than they did and had quite a few opportunities to score, but were not lucky enough to put one away. Halftime score, 1-0.
The second half was played pretty similarly to the first half, we possessed the ball much more and had some good opportunities to score. The woodwork denied 2 potential scoring chances for team blue. With about 5 minutes to play, a blue defender was whistled for a hand ball in the box leading to a penalty kick for the greens. I went against my gut feeling on the kick and chose to go left instead of right (the kicker was left footed) and really had no chance to redirect myself to the ball. I think I could have gotten it if I went with my first choice, but the question is moot now. Final score, 2-0.
Everyone who made it to the game should be proud of the effort. It was something we can build on for our last regular season game before the playoffs start. If we play this style of ball next week, I guarantee a Blue victory.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
UF defeats FSU to earn CWS berth
The Florida Gators baseball team defeated hated rival FSU 8-5 to win the second game of their best of three series with the Seminoles. UF won game 1 on Friday night 8-1 with starter Tommy Boss throwing a complete game. UF now heads to the College World Series in Omaha Nebraska where they will face SEC rival Tennessee.
As of this posting, all 3 SEC teams in Super Regionals were still alive with 2 already advancing to Omaha. Fifth-seeded Ole Miss is facing Texas for a spot on the other side of the bracket.
As of this posting, all 3 SEC teams in Super Regionals were still alive with 2 already advancing to Omaha. Fifth-seeded Ole Miss is facing Texas for a spot on the other side of the bracket.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Liverpool to Defend Champion's League Title
UEFA has decided to allow Liverpool to defend its Champion's League title next season, but to do so, the Reds will have to go through the full round of qualifying. This could lead to a fairly unprecedented 5 teams from the English Premiere League in next year's group stage.
Nats and Metro
Washington Nationals
Thanks to my friend Jim, who obtained some killer tickets, I went to my first Nationals game last night: a somewhat thrilling 4-3 victory over Oakland to give the Nats 7 wins in a row! Nationals games are a pretty good time. The crowd is not as voracious as Redskins or O's crowds are, but since the team is so new, the city seems to be trying to find a comfort level with them. In the ninth, the stadium did get very loud as the Nats were urged to close out the game and the series. I think that by the time they move to their new stadium, the team will have crowds that rival the other bigtime teams in terms of numbers and interest level.
Metro
I rode Metro to the game which these days always seems to be a bit of a crap shoot. The Washington Post has been chronicling the difficulties and mismanagement the system faces over the past week. As we left the game and waited for a train on the track and boarded and Orange line train in the direction of Vienna. The train became filled to full capacity as the many thousands of game patrons left the stadium to head home. After sitting on the tracks for about 5 minutes in sardine-esque conditions, an announcement indicated that our train was out of service and everyone on board would have to get off (about 3-5 minutes to unload).
The platform--already full of people waiting for the next train--became dangerously crowded as everyone unloaded from the now out of service train. Everyone waited patiently on the platform for another 5-10 minutes before the out of service train departed. Note: is it just me or doesn't it seem like if the train can depart from the super-crowded station with no one aboard, it would also be capable of departing with everyone on board and just deposit us at a less-crowded station?
After another 3 or minutes or so a new train arrives and we go through the exercise of loading the train again except with 2-3 times as many people trying to board. The train finally takes off and from there the ride is uneventful.
If you take the time to speak with anyone who rides Metro daily, you will find that such occurrences are commonplace. The bride rides Metro every day to and from work and reports such events roughly 25 percent of her rides. I am a proponent of Metro and wish I could take it to work every day. While I do see an effort from Metro to improve facilities and customer service, they are still behind in their efforts. Ignoring obvious problems will not solve them.
Thanks to my friend Jim, who obtained some killer tickets, I went to my first Nationals game last night: a somewhat thrilling 4-3 victory over Oakland to give the Nats 7 wins in a row! Nationals games are a pretty good time. The crowd is not as voracious as Redskins or O's crowds are, but since the team is so new, the city seems to be trying to find a comfort level with them. In the ninth, the stadium did get very loud as the Nats were urged to close out the game and the series. I think that by the time they move to their new stadium, the team will have crowds that rival the other bigtime teams in terms of numbers and interest level.
Metro
I rode Metro to the game which these days always seems to be a bit of a crap shoot. The Washington Post has been chronicling the difficulties and mismanagement the system faces over the past week. As we left the game and waited for a train on the track and boarded and Orange line train in the direction of Vienna. The train became filled to full capacity as the many thousands of game patrons left the stadium to head home. After sitting on the tracks for about 5 minutes in sardine-esque conditions, an announcement indicated that our train was out of service and everyone on board would have to get off (about 3-5 minutes to unload).
The platform--already full of people waiting for the next train--became dangerously crowded as everyone unloaded from the now out of service train. Everyone waited patiently on the platform for another 5-10 minutes before the out of service train departed. Note: is it just me or doesn't it seem like if the train can depart from the super-crowded station with no one aboard, it would also be capable of departing with everyone on board and just deposit us at a less-crowded station?
After another 3 or minutes or so a new train arrives and we go through the exercise of loading the train again except with 2-3 times as many people trying to board. The train finally takes off and from there the ride is uneventful.
If you take the time to speak with anyone who rides Metro daily, you will find that such occurrences are commonplace. The bride rides Metro every day to and from work and reports such events roughly 25 percent of her rides. I am a proponent of Metro and wish I could take it to work every day. While I do see an effort from Metro to improve facilities and customer service, they are still behind in their efforts. Ignoring obvious problems will not solve them.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Spam, the sequel
By now, I assume that everyone has received the "Relative of a Nigerian Oil Minister that requests help moving $30 M out of the country" e-mail. I think I received the sequel to this plea last week.
The message I received was from an "American" that fell for the scam and was begging for modest sums of cash to scrounge airfare to get back to the U.S. These guys are nothing if not inventive.
The message I received was from an "American" that fell for the scam and was begging for modest sums of cash to scrounge airfare to get back to the U.S. These guys are nothing if not inventive.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Blue defeated by Navy, 2-1
What a hot, gnarly day. What a crappy feeling.
The heat was oppressive on Sunday, and both teams seemed bothered by it. Our opponents were apparently bothered less and picked up a crucial win. The loss leaves the good guys with a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. After we lost our first game in heartbreaking fashion, we came back to win two in a row. Now is the time to turn it around and do it again. Special thanks to all players, but especially to those who played even though they were not feeling well. Thanks for all of your efforts.
Quick recap:
Blue struck first about 10 minutes into the game. After being denied by the post, our substitute stopper fired in a pretty shot from outside the box. Our regular stopper was sidelined with a leg cramp early in the game. On a side note, my thermometer at home registered 95 F, so it is very little surprise that this game which kicked off at 12:45 PM seemed to wear everyone down.
Overall the first half was fairly evenly played. If memory serves me correctly the other team probably had more possession in our end overall. They also had a shot hit the crossbar post junction, so I guess things evened out there. Halftime score, 1-0.
The second half started off poorly for us. About 4 minutes into the half, an opposing striker broke free on the left side of the penalty area. I tried to cut down the angle and the ball was played in front of the goal. It ended up near one of their players right in front of the net that I thought must have been offside, but apparently was not. The ball was tantalizingly on the goal line for a split second, but I couldn't get to it in time.
With about 10 minutes to go in the half, one of their strikers broke free. One of our defenders and I tried to tackle him American football-style, but the dude outweighed us by quite a bit and was able to muscle through our feeble attempts to bring him down. He put the ball in the net for the winning margin.
Overall, our opponent seemed to have the better run of play in the second half. We created a few really good scoring opportunities, but their keeper played a very strong second half. I was quite impressed with his play. I hope to bounce back and do you all proud next week.
In an unrelated positive note, I watched "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" Saturday night. It was one of the funniest movies I have seen since "Old School". If you are looking for a few good cheap laughs, rent it.
The heat was oppressive on Sunday, and both teams seemed bothered by it. Our opponents were apparently bothered less and picked up a crucial win. The loss leaves the good guys with a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. After we lost our first game in heartbreaking fashion, we came back to win two in a row. Now is the time to turn it around and do it again. Special thanks to all players, but especially to those who played even though they were not feeling well. Thanks for all of your efforts.
Quick recap:
Blue struck first about 10 minutes into the game. After being denied by the post, our substitute stopper fired in a pretty shot from outside the box. Our regular stopper was sidelined with a leg cramp early in the game. On a side note, my thermometer at home registered 95 F, so it is very little surprise that this game which kicked off at 12:45 PM seemed to wear everyone down.
Overall the first half was fairly evenly played. If memory serves me correctly the other team probably had more possession in our end overall. They also had a shot hit the crossbar post junction, so I guess things evened out there. Halftime score, 1-0.
The second half started off poorly for us. About 4 minutes into the half, an opposing striker broke free on the left side of the penalty area. I tried to cut down the angle and the ball was played in front of the goal. It ended up near one of their players right in front of the net that I thought must have been offside, but apparently was not. The ball was tantalizingly on the goal line for a split second, but I couldn't get to it in time.
With about 10 minutes to go in the half, one of their strikers broke free. One of our defenders and I tried to tackle him American football-style, but the dude outweighed us by quite a bit and was able to muscle through our feeble attempts to bring him down. He put the ball in the net for the winning margin.
Overall, our opponent seemed to have the better run of play in the second half. We created a few really good scoring opportunities, but their keeper played a very strong second half. I was quite impressed with his play. I hope to bounce back and do you all proud next week.
In an unrelated positive note, I watched "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" Saturday night. It was one of the funniest movies I have seen since "Old School". If you are looking for a few good cheap laughs, rent it.
Friday, June 03, 2005
DC United
Some random thoughts heading into the weekend....
DC United
I moved to the Washington DC area in 1997, but was a fan of DC United before ever coming here. I remember watching the first ever MLS championship game where United came back from the dead to defeat the seemingly invincible LA Galaxy. That was a gritty team that started the season rather weakly and finished strong.
Last season's MLS champion DC United was similar. They were hanging around near the bottom of the league and finished the season on an incredible winning streak. They took this momentum into the playoffs and became the team that no one wanted to face. It looks like United is playing the same way this year. Coach Peter Nowak's troops are starting to gel. Look for them to make a strong finishing run in the second half of the season!
Team Blue
I am hopeful that my soccer team can emulate the accomplishments of DC United. We currently sit in the middle of the standings of our league with 7 points on 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. We have 3 games remaining against the 3rd, 8th, and 10th place teams (12 total teams in the league). I think we are good enough to win all three games and go into the league playoffs on a roll. If that happens, the rest of the league better watch out!
Shootouts
Last week the Champion's League Final was decided on penalty kicks after Liverpool and AC Milan played to a dramatic 3-3 tie through regulation and overtime. If you did not get to watch this game, or any part of it, you missed an instant classic. Having faced (and saved!) my first ever penalty kick two weeks ago, I can't help but wonder why FIFA and EUFA don't consider adopting the former NASL and MLS-style shootouts to break ties.
Under current FIFA rules, tie matches that require a winner are broken by penalty kicks. After each team has taken 5 shots, the team with the most goals wins. If they are still tied, we go to "Sudden Death" where each team gets 1 shot and if one team makes while the other misses, the match is over. If both make or both miss, the process continues.
Under the MLS-style shootout, a player starts with the ball 35 yards out from goal. The player has 5 seconds to take a shot. The player can dribble and basically do whatever they like prior to taking their shot (it is similar to a hockey penalty shot). Like the penalty shootout described above, each team gets five opportunities to score and the team with the most goals wins. Ties continue on in "Sudden Death" fashion.
What I like about the MLS-style shootout is that it is more like a natural play of the game. Keepers are often required to make stops on breakaway opportunities. Penalty kicks are much more rare. The MLS-style shootout puts the keeper and the striker on a more equal footing. As a result, less luck is involved in deciding the outcome.
I am going to talk to friends in Europe to see if they feel similarly about Penalty Kick Shootouts. Maybe a grass-roots change can happen.
DC United
I moved to the Washington DC area in 1997, but was a fan of DC United before ever coming here. I remember watching the first ever MLS championship game where United came back from the dead to defeat the seemingly invincible LA Galaxy. That was a gritty team that started the season rather weakly and finished strong.
Last season's MLS champion DC United was similar. They were hanging around near the bottom of the league and finished the season on an incredible winning streak. They took this momentum into the playoffs and became the team that no one wanted to face. It looks like United is playing the same way this year. Coach Peter Nowak's troops are starting to gel. Look for them to make a strong finishing run in the second half of the season!
Team Blue
I am hopeful that my soccer team can emulate the accomplishments of DC United. We currently sit in the middle of the standings of our league with 7 points on 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. We have 3 games remaining against the 3rd, 8th, and 10th place teams (12 total teams in the league). I think we are good enough to win all three games and go into the league playoffs on a roll. If that happens, the rest of the league better watch out!
Shootouts
Last week the Champion's League Final was decided on penalty kicks after Liverpool and AC Milan played to a dramatic 3-3 tie through regulation and overtime. If you did not get to watch this game, or any part of it, you missed an instant classic. Having faced (and saved!) my first ever penalty kick two weeks ago, I can't help but wonder why FIFA and EUFA don't consider adopting the former NASL and MLS-style shootouts to break ties.
Under current FIFA rules, tie matches that require a winner are broken by penalty kicks. After each team has taken 5 shots, the team with the most goals wins. If they are still tied, we go to "Sudden Death" where each team gets 1 shot and if one team makes while the other misses, the match is over. If both make or both miss, the process continues.
Under the MLS-style shootout, a player starts with the ball 35 yards out from goal. The player has 5 seconds to take a shot. The player can dribble and basically do whatever they like prior to taking their shot (it is similar to a hockey penalty shot). Like the penalty shootout described above, each team gets five opportunities to score and the team with the most goals wins. Ties continue on in "Sudden Death" fashion.
What I like about the MLS-style shootout is that it is more like a natural play of the game. Keepers are often required to make stops on breakaway opportunities. Penalty kicks are much more rare. The MLS-style shootout puts the keeper and the striker on a more equal footing. As a result, less luck is involved in deciding the outcome.
I am going to talk to friends in Europe to see if they feel similarly about Penalty Kick Shootouts. Maybe a grass-roots change can happen.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Pulp Hockey
The following is an exchange a friend and I had on IM earlier. We were talking about the possibility of a transatlantic hockey league and at some point the conversation went down a strange path. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent:
[16:22] MDGator: i think the NHL is considering going to Euro rules in many cases when they resume
[16:22] TheFRB: good
[16:22] TheFRB: much more flowing game
[16:42] MDGator: olympic hockey is pretty thrilling
[16:43] TheFRB: yeah, I dig it
[17:01] MDGator: you dig it the most
[17:01] MDGator: you know what i like most about european hockey?
[17:01] MDGator: it's the little differences.
[17:01] TheFRB: example
[17:02] MDGator: like, there, they don't have a red line. There's no two line pass!
[17:02] TheFRB: oh man
[17:02] MDGator: i seen em passing the puck and drownin' it in lines
[17:03] TheFRB: what do they call a goal there?
[17:03] MDGator: Gooooooooooool!
[17:03] TheFRB: what do they call a dunk?
[17:04] MDGator: I dunno, I didn't watch any basketball.
[16:22] MDGator: i think the NHL is considering going to Euro rules in many cases when they resume
[16:22] TheFRB: good
[16:22] TheFRB: much more flowing game
[16:42] MDGator: olympic hockey is pretty thrilling
[16:43] TheFRB: yeah, I dig it
[17:01] MDGator: you dig it the most
[17:01] MDGator: you know what i like most about european hockey?
[17:01] MDGator: it's the little differences.
[17:01] TheFRB: example
[17:02] MDGator: like, there, they don't have a red line. There's no two line pass!
[17:02] TheFRB: oh man
[17:02] MDGator: i seen em passing the puck and drownin' it in lines
[17:03] TheFRB: what do they call a goal there?
[17:03] MDGator: Gooooooooooool!
[17:03] TheFRB: what do they call a dunk?
[17:04] MDGator: I dunno, I didn't watch any basketball.
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