Team work is a concept that lots of folks talk about and few actually believe. At my current employer, I find that teamwork is not rewarded. Individuals are rewarded for achievements even though their achievements are often due to contributions from many other people. I happen to get a bonus when the company does well financially, but the people who I depend on to finish projects, make new products, and help out from time to time do not get such bonuses. So when it comes down to it, they have no incentive to help me finish projects that increase revenue because it is not going to affect their bottom line. Since the company eliminated end of the year bonuses a few years ago, there is not even a sliver of an incentive in place other than vague threats to replace people.
Another nice concept at play is what I refer to as "when the going gets tough, get mean as hell" management. I am driven to do my job in the same manner whether times are good or whether times are bad. When times are good, management leaves me alone and asks few questions about what is going on. When times get bad, all of a sudden I have to answer picayune questions regarding every decision that I make. Not only is this demoralizing, but it is a waste of time. Time that could be spent doing my job, is instead spent answering worthless questions. The same level of work that was outstanding a few weeks ago, is now "unacceptable".
Needless to say, this leaves very little incentive to do more than look for a new job. Please keep a good thought out for me as I try to extricate myself from this employment hell-hole.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Goal Keeping Experiment Ends
It looks like yours truly has hung up his goalkeeping gear for good after only one season. Not a totally unsucessful effort, but not stellar by any means. The team deserves someone in there who can do a better job keeping the ball out of the net and I guess I proved that person is not me. It will be back to the field for what looks to be my last season of organized soccer.
I guess I can find other athletic pursuits that do not require the time commitment of playing on a team and give a good sense of accomplishment. I will miss the game, but there are very important things to take care of on the horizon and I am looking forward to those things!
I guess I can find other athletic pursuits that do not require the time commitment of playing on a team and give a good sense of accomplishment. I will miss the game, but there are very important things to take care of on the horizon and I am looking forward to those things!
Monday, August 29, 2005
Driving in Virginia
My apologies for being away for so long, I will try to be more regular with these communications.
I have lived in the DC area for 8 years now and drving in Virginia never ceases to amaze me. What an unbelievable system of signs they have there. If you do not have first hand knowledge of your route, you may as well count on getting lost because there will not be sign to help you navigate how to get around.
After finally seeing the latest Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith on Saturday night at the Arlington Drafthouse, I thought it would be a simple matter of reversing my directions from the theater to get home. Basically, I had taken the beltway, to the GW Parkway, to Route 50 west to the Arlington Drafthouse. So when I hop on 50 and head east toward DC and see a sign for the GW parkway, I naturally turn onto it. The only problem was it was a southbound only entrance.
WTF is wrong with that state? How hard is it to add "Southbound Only" to the huge sign that directs folks to the GW Parkway from Route 50? For all I know there is a northbound entrance later down the road, but there aren't any f-ing signs that would give you a clue about that.
Needless to say, this continues to leave me with the impression that Virginia is a state less interested in actually planning wise responses and more interested in randomly reacting to them.
I have lived in the DC area for 8 years now and drving in Virginia never ceases to amaze me. What an unbelievable system of signs they have there. If you do not have first hand knowledge of your route, you may as well count on getting lost because there will not be sign to help you navigate how to get around.
After finally seeing the latest Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith on Saturday night at the Arlington Drafthouse, I thought it would be a simple matter of reversing my directions from the theater to get home. Basically, I had taken the beltway, to the GW Parkway, to Route 50 west to the Arlington Drafthouse. So when I hop on 50 and head east toward DC and see a sign for the GW parkway, I naturally turn onto it. The only problem was it was a southbound only entrance.
WTF is wrong with that state? How hard is it to add "Southbound Only" to the huge sign that directs folks to the GW Parkway from Route 50? For all I know there is a northbound entrance later down the road, but there aren't any f-ing signs that would give you a clue about that.
Needless to say, this continues to leave me with the impression that Virginia is a state less interested in actually planning wise responses and more interested in randomly reacting to them.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Chelsea Out-Arrogants ManU
Good for Chelsea.
In one year they have managed to become more arrogant than Manchester United. As an Arsenal fan, I could really care less if ManU fell off the face of the earth. At least ManU established a dynasty of titles and solid play in Europe that their fans could be boastful of. One season in which Chelsea wins the league title and doesn't win the FA or Champions League and their general manager is talking about "dominating" European Football.
I imagine I will not be the only one to say "that's a shame" when they get their asses handed to them this year.
In one year they have managed to become more arrogant than Manchester United. As an Arsenal fan, I could really care less if ManU fell off the face of the earth. At least ManU established a dynasty of titles and solid play in Europe that their fans could be boastful of. One season in which Chelsea wins the league title and doesn't win the FA or Champions League and their general manager is talking about "dominating" European Football.
I imagine I will not be the only one to say "that's a shame" when they get their asses handed to them this year.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Green Holds on for Win Over Blue
I am sorry this post is not very timely. I have been unusually busy and have not had time to be quick in my analysis of our last game of the season. Plus the result was fairly painful and I was not really in the mood to relive it.
Recap
Green got on the board early with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. Goal number one was a breakaway on a counterattack following a corner kick from our team. Their striker came down the right side of the field and beat me fair and square to the far post. He had me dead to rights and there was little to do to stop his shot. Their second goal resulted from a throw in the was allowed to linger in our penalty area too long. Eventually it landed at the feet of their other good striker and he put it away.
Blue fought hard and evened the match before halftime. One goal was a nice header following a cross from the left side of the field and the other was somewhat similar to the Green team's second goal. It landed at a Blue player's foot and he calmly put it away. Halftime Score: 2-2.
The second half was eerily similar to the first half. Green scored early on another counter attack down the left side. The same striker beat me to the same side of the goal. You would think I could learn from the first goal! Blue fought back and tied the game at 3 apiece with about 15 minutes to play on a ball that ping-ponged around the Blue net before finally getting put away.
As time wound down, I was convinced we were looking at overtime, but alas it was not meant to be. With about 2 minutes to play Green crossed the ball from their right side and one of their players put it toward the net. Following a miscommunication between me and another Blue player, the ball bounced around and finally landed right at the feet of the Green striker who scored goal #2. He put away the winner and that was that. Final Score: 4-3 loss.
I have to give the Green team a lot of credit. It was a hot day, they had fewer subs than we did and they played just well enough to beat us. I am very proud of our team for not backing down, for coming back from behind twice, and for scoring three goals. I am equally proud that our defense did well to limit two very talented strikers from having more opportunities than they did.
This season has been tough. We lost more games than I thought we would, but everyone came out and played hard each week. I am excited that everyone seemed to have at least one game where they really excelled, sometimes against opponents who were physically superior to us. At the end of the game, I like to ask myself the following:
Did you play as hard as you can and play your position well?
If you feel you can answer "yes" to that question then you have much to be proud of when all is said and done. Isn't that why we play? Don't we like to see if we can push our boundaries a little and do something we shouldn't be able to do?
I hope everyone come back for the Fall season ready to build on some of the improvements we made this season. I hope everyone wants to bring a positive and productive attitude to team and let's see if we can just go out and have a great time playing the greatest game in the world.
Recap
Green got on the board early with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. Goal number one was a breakaway on a counterattack following a corner kick from our team. Their striker came down the right side of the field and beat me fair and square to the far post. He had me dead to rights and there was little to do to stop his shot. Their second goal resulted from a throw in the was allowed to linger in our penalty area too long. Eventually it landed at the feet of their other good striker and he put it away.
Blue fought hard and evened the match before halftime. One goal was a nice header following a cross from the left side of the field and the other was somewhat similar to the Green team's second goal. It landed at a Blue player's foot and he calmly put it away. Halftime Score: 2-2.
The second half was eerily similar to the first half. Green scored early on another counter attack down the left side. The same striker beat me to the same side of the goal. You would think I could learn from the first goal! Blue fought back and tied the game at 3 apiece with about 15 minutes to play on a ball that ping-ponged around the Blue net before finally getting put away.
As time wound down, I was convinced we were looking at overtime, but alas it was not meant to be. With about 2 minutes to play Green crossed the ball from their right side and one of their players put it toward the net. Following a miscommunication between me and another Blue player, the ball bounced around and finally landed right at the feet of the Green striker who scored goal #2. He put away the winner and that was that. Final Score: 4-3 loss.
I have to give the Green team a lot of credit. It was a hot day, they had fewer subs than we did and they played just well enough to beat us. I am very proud of our team for not backing down, for coming back from behind twice, and for scoring three goals. I am equally proud that our defense did well to limit two very talented strikers from having more opportunities than they did.
This season has been tough. We lost more games than I thought we would, but everyone came out and played hard each week. I am excited that everyone seemed to have at least one game where they really excelled, sometimes against opponents who were physically superior to us. At the end of the game, I like to ask myself the following:
Did you play as hard as you can and play your position well?
If you feel you can answer "yes" to that question then you have much to be proud of when all is said and done. Isn't that why we play? Don't we like to see if we can push our boundaries a little and do something we shouldn't be able to do?
I hope everyone come back for the Fall season ready to build on some of the improvements we made this season. I hope everyone wants to bring a positive and productive attitude to team and let's see if we can just go out and have a great time playing the greatest game in the world.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Playoff Bracket
Here is the bracket for the Spring 2005 DCJCC Playoffs.
It is an interesting way of setting up a 12 team tournament and one I have never seen before. I personally would have thought giving the top four seeds a bye would make sense, but then you have lots of teams not playing that first week.
Our team is the 9th seed Sklar. Go ahead and print out the bracket and make your predictions. Just note that the #1 team finished with 7 wins, 0 losses and 1 tie and the #12 team finished with 8 losses.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Playoffs, Playoffs?!
Much to the chagrin of Jim Mora, team blue has made the playoffs despite a record of 2 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties.
In truth, Jim Mora has nothing to be chagrined about as every team in the league made the playoffs. We finished in 9th place out of 12 teams with 8 points in eight games. Despite our record, our goal differential was only -4. We will be taking on the dark green team that beat us 2-0 a few weeks ago. I personally thought we could have won the game, so I am hoping they will come in over-confident.
Still to come this week: A downloadable bracket so you can follow all the action and start a pool with your friends and coworkers!
In truth, Jim Mora has nothing to be chagrined about as every team in the league made the playoffs. We finished in 9th place out of 12 teams with 8 points in eight games. Despite our record, our goal differential was only -4. We will be taking on the dark green team that beat us 2-0 a few weeks ago. I personally thought we could have won the game, so I am hoping they will come in over-confident.
Still to come this week: A downloadable bracket so you can follow all the action and start a pool with your friends and coworkers!
Monday, June 20, 2005
Blue ties Red, 1-1
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.
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.
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.
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