I believe that all parents love to hear the creative ways their children learn to interact with others in the world. One of my favorite stories was relayed to me by our daycare provider. But first some background:
Ellie has a stuffed doggy that was originally mine. My mother gave both me and Dorann these stuffed dogs as a gift one time when she visited. We had kept them in our room where they were appreciated, but not really embraced until our daughter Ellie was old enough to recognize them. Ellie likes all animals, but is especially excited by dogs. One of her first words was "doggy" and anyone walking their dog past our house is greeted with a voracious chorus of "doggy, doggy!"
For whatever reason, she has decided that the stuffed dog that was originally mine, is the preferred doggy and is to be with her as much as is possible. The other doggy, originally Dorann's, is offered for guests to hold. Sort of like a proactive peace offering to keep other's filthy mitts off her doggy.
About two month's ago, Ellie had held onto the doggy as we gathered her belongings to go to daycare. I had no problem with her bringing the doggy there for the day. The following was relayed to me by one of the teachers when I picked her up that afternoon:
Ellie was holding her doggy and playing with the other children and at some point, dropped her doggy. Her friend Megan (about 2 months older) picked up the doggy and decided she liked it. Ellie immediately noticed, but did not freak out. She politely asked Megan, "doggy, please" and held out her hands. Megan refused. Ellie again asked, "doggy, please" to again be rebuked by Megan.
Our little negotiator then pulled the pacifier out of Megan's mouth (taking Megan's most prized possession) and once again asked "doggy, please". To which, Megan immediately handed over the doggy and Ellie returned the pacifier.
I give the little girl high marks for solving the doggy dilemma non-violently and with style! Which was quite good for a 17 month old!
Friday, February 24, 2006
Stories from the Gwib Side
As we were drying our 19-month old daughter off after her bath, she started singing "rock-a-bye baby". To our extreme surprise, Ellie belted out the following line:
Rock a bye baby, doggy peacock!
Rock a bye baby, doggy peacock!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Fall Soccer Game 11/6
This is perhaps the most embarrassed I have ever been after a game. I don't think anyone truly walked away from this game with a good feeling and I certainly hope our opponents felt like crap. After a game like this one does have to ask oneself if playing is really worth this. If our league has gotten so out of control that teams like Big Dough are welcomed, then I don't want to continue to be a part of it.
I am deeply troubled by the lack of emphasis on sportsmanship that plagues most sports leagues these days. As younger players have entered our league, I have encountered more and more trash talking during games and have seen way too many cheap shots during games. There are notable exceptions and there are lots of players who play hard and with class. Perhaps the DCJCC should disband the league for a year and start again with people who are a little less intense and more under control.
If anyone cares, here is a recap:
First half, Mocha welcomed the return of Stuart Bassin and John Knapp for guest spots in the game. For the sake of everyone, these are the only two names I will be mentioning in today's recap. Our opponent, nicknamed Big Dough and wearing dark blue, showed up en masse about 3 minutes before the game. Having only seen one or two of them in previous years, I question how many of them were really members of that team.
Early in the half, one of their strikers was fouled (as he was pulling the shirt of our defender) and this started an altercation. Tempers flared between the two and one of our defenders (Defender B) appeared to me to step in to break things up. A player from their sideline (possibly Ron Artest) came in swinging and landed a number of punches to the head of Defender B. Ron Artest apparently wanted to fight everyone. After things settled down, the referee red-carded Ron Artest and Defender B. Somewhere along the way, Big Dough scored 2 goals since I happen to be the suckiest goalie on the face of the earth. Halftime score: Big Dough 2 - Mocha 0.
I should perhaps explain another interesting aspect of the game. For once, our team had a full complement of players. We started the game with 4 female and 12 male players, which meant we would be able to field the full 11 players (3 female, 8 male) the entire match. Big Dough, started the game with 2 female and 11 male player and therefore would only be able to field 2 female and 8 male players for the match.
After the melee (I still can't believe I was at a match and playing where a melee occurred), we were able to field 3 female (+1 sub) and 7 male (+3 subs) and Big Dough was left with 2 female and 7 male (+1 sub) as Ron Artest vacated the field with his criminal buddy who may or may not have been Stephen Jackson.
The second half saw Big Dough displaying considerable delay tactics to run out the clock and found their players considerably weary due to the fact that they had fewer subs and were outnumbered. With about 10 minutes to play, one of their guys who wasn't the goalie, caught a ball with his hands to keep the ball from going in the net. This earned him an automatic red card and gave us a penalty kick and our first goal. They now had to field 8 players against our 10. We added two more in quick succession and the game mercifully ended. Final Score: Mocha 3 - Big Dough 2.
One of our players thought we should have ended the game when it was tied at 2-2. In retrospect, I believe that would ahve been the correct course of action. I originally thought the game should have ended after the melee when it was 0-0. Perhaps it was better that the game finished giving everyone a chance to cool down. Perhaps we all should have just walked away and thought about what it really means to play recreational soccer.
I am deeply troubled by the lack of emphasis on sportsmanship that plagues most sports leagues these days. As younger players have entered our league, I have encountered more and more trash talking during games and have seen way too many cheap shots during games. There are notable exceptions and there are lots of players who play hard and with class. Perhaps the DCJCC should disband the league for a year and start again with people who are a little less intense and more under control.
If anyone cares, here is a recap:
First half, Mocha welcomed the return of Stuart Bassin and John Knapp for guest spots in the game. For the sake of everyone, these are the only two names I will be mentioning in today's recap. Our opponent, nicknamed Big Dough and wearing dark blue, showed up en masse about 3 minutes before the game. Having only seen one or two of them in previous years, I question how many of them were really members of that team.
Early in the half, one of their strikers was fouled (as he was pulling the shirt of our defender) and this started an altercation. Tempers flared between the two and one of our defenders (Defender B) appeared to me to step in to break things up. A player from their sideline (possibly Ron Artest) came in swinging and landed a number of punches to the head of Defender B. Ron Artest apparently wanted to fight everyone. After things settled down, the referee red-carded Ron Artest and Defender B. Somewhere along the way, Big Dough scored 2 goals since I happen to be the suckiest goalie on the face of the earth. Halftime score: Big Dough 2 - Mocha 0.
I should perhaps explain another interesting aspect of the game. For once, our team had a full complement of players. We started the game with 4 female and 12 male players, which meant we would be able to field the full 11 players (3 female, 8 male) the entire match. Big Dough, started the game with 2 female and 11 male player and therefore would only be able to field 2 female and 8 male players for the match.
After the melee (I still can't believe I was at a match and playing where a melee occurred), we were able to field 3 female (+1 sub) and 7 male (+3 subs) and Big Dough was left with 2 female and 7 male (+1 sub) as Ron Artest vacated the field with his criminal buddy who may or may not have been Stephen Jackson.
The second half saw Big Dough displaying considerable delay tactics to run out the clock and found their players considerably weary due to the fact that they had fewer subs and were outnumbered. With about 10 minutes to play, one of their guys who wasn't the goalie, caught a ball with his hands to keep the ball from going in the net. This earned him an automatic red card and gave us a penalty kick and our first goal. They now had to field 8 players against our 10. We added two more in quick succession and the game mercifully ended. Final Score: Mocha 3 - Big Dough 2.
One of our players thought we should have ended the game when it was tied at 2-2. In retrospect, I believe that would ahve been the correct course of action. I originally thought the game should have ended after the melee when it was 0-0. Perhaps it was better that the game finished giving everyone a chance to cool down. Perhaps we all should have just walked away and thought about what it really means to play recreational soccer.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Fall Soccer Game 10/31
Good effort, results in defeat. The recurring theme that seems to be played over and over again in this space. Since this is a recreational league and since everyone involved does not have professional aspirations, and since we all need the exercise, I cannot be upset with what happens on the field. So, with that being said, here is what transpired:
Today we played the red team, which just so happened to be the light gray team that we tied 2-2 last season in a game marred by cheap shots and overly physical play. While they still have certain personalities on that team that take away some enjoyment from the game, today's game was much better than last season's game.
Prior to the start of the game, Bill and I had a Rochambeau to determine who would start in goal. I lost, I started, we defended the grosser of the two goal areas (lots of mud and standing water). In the first half, Red controlled most of the action. Damian, Kerry and Gail made some great defensive plays to keep the scoring to a minimum. They scored on what I considered to be two unsavable shots to the far post. We scored on a long free kick from Peter that fooled the opposing keeper. There were lots of good passing plays from Bill, Jon, Greg, Brian Sklar, and Lisa. Halftime score: Red 2- Mocha 1.
The second half saw a change in fortune as far a game possession. Mocha had the better run of play to start the half. We even drew a penalty kick when I was taken down in the box on a breakaway. Unfortunately, we could not convert. Helen, Ken and the rest of the defense kept the score close until the end and Marie had some dangerous opportunities up front. Bill had a superb half in goal and only surrendered a very late goal that he had no chance of stopping. It was a beautiful day with a great temperature for playing. Final Score: Red 3 - Mocha 1.
I think we only have one more game left in the regular season, so hopefully, we can finish on a high note!
Today we played the red team, which just so happened to be the light gray team that we tied 2-2 last season in a game marred by cheap shots and overly physical play. While they still have certain personalities on that team that take away some enjoyment from the game, today's game was much better than last season's game.
Prior to the start of the game, Bill and I had a Rochambeau to determine who would start in goal. I lost, I started, we defended the grosser of the two goal areas (lots of mud and standing water). In the first half, Red controlled most of the action. Damian, Kerry and Gail made some great defensive plays to keep the scoring to a minimum. They scored on what I considered to be two unsavable shots to the far post. We scored on a long free kick from Peter that fooled the opposing keeper. There were lots of good passing plays from Bill, Jon, Greg, Brian Sklar, and Lisa. Halftime score: Red 2- Mocha 1.
The second half saw a change in fortune as far a game possession. Mocha had the better run of play to start the half. We even drew a penalty kick when I was taken down in the box on a breakaway. Unfortunately, we could not convert. Helen, Ken and the rest of the defense kept the score close until the end and Marie had some dangerous opportunities up front. Bill had a superb half in goal and only surrendered a very late goal that he had no chance of stopping. It was a beautiful day with a great temperature for playing. Final Score: Red 3 - Mocha 1.
I think we only have one more game left in the regular season, so hopefully, we can finish on a high note!
Fall Soccer Game 10/23
"Rout" does not adequately describe the beating administered on this day. We lost 6-0 to a very talented team. They had Multiple players who could dribble the ball through multiple defenders and basically walk the ball right into the net. It certainly didn't help that I gave them the first goal by letting it slip through my hands and into the net.
Losing 6-0 sucks in any league. Everyone kept a good attitude and tried hard, which is the important thing at the end of the day. It was a beautiful day and a great day to run around and play a game.
Losing 6-0 sucks in any league. Everyone kept a good attitude and tried hard, which is the important thing at the end of the day. It was a beautiful day and a great day to run around and play a game.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Painful loss to White, 3-0
Hi folks out in the cyber-ether!
Since our last soccer update two game weeks have passed. We lost a game 3-0 in week one and were rained out the following week.
Our team had a rather painful 3-0 loss to a team wearing white jerseys yesterday. I guess all losses are painful and this one is definitely not top ten in terms of excruciation, but it did suck none-the-less. Quick recap below:
Due to difficulties with the pregnant-with-twins wife, I arrived 20 minutes late to the game so I cannot comment on what happened early in the game. Upon my arrival, I immediately substituted for keeper and let our much better field player, Greg give it a go out of the net. For me, the rest of the first half was uneventful. There was stalwart D in front of me and I think I touched the ball about 5 times.
The turning point of the game happened in the last 3 minutes of the half. Our sweeper, Brian S. pulled a muscle in his leg and limped off the field. He would not return to the game. This left an already shorthanded team even more shorthanded and without a very good player. Hopefully, he will be back soon. Halftime score, 0-0.
I played the field in the second half and Bill took his turn in goal. I must say that Bill plays keeper most excellently. He makes some incredible saves and only the unsavable shots seem to get past him. Unfortunately for Bill, he faced many opportunities where one or more strikers came through the defense unimpeded and he was left as the last line of defense. He stopped a few and 3 got past him. That is about as good as one can do.
We had a couple of opportunities to score in the second half. Trailing 2-0, Neil sent a pretty cross in front of the goal that I tapped in. The blind-as-shit ref called me offside even though I was behind the ball the whole time and then gave me a yellow card to boot. I won't be missing these maddening calls next season. Final score, White 3 - Skids 0.
There was a lot of good trapping and ball distribution by our team in this game. Everyone seems to be making a concerted effort to gain control of the ball and then look for a good place to distribute it. Such effort will surely be rewarded eventually. Great play by all who were there and let's keep a good thought for the next game!
Since our last soccer update two game weeks have passed. We lost a game 3-0 in week one and were rained out the following week.
Our team had a rather painful 3-0 loss to a team wearing white jerseys yesterday. I guess all losses are painful and this one is definitely not top ten in terms of excruciation, but it did suck none-the-less. Quick recap below:
Due to difficulties with the pregnant-with-twins wife, I arrived 20 minutes late to the game so I cannot comment on what happened early in the game. Upon my arrival, I immediately substituted for keeper and let our much better field player, Greg give it a go out of the net. For me, the rest of the first half was uneventful. There was stalwart D in front of me and I think I touched the ball about 5 times.
The turning point of the game happened in the last 3 minutes of the half. Our sweeper, Brian S. pulled a muscle in his leg and limped off the field. He would not return to the game. This left an already shorthanded team even more shorthanded and without a very good player. Hopefully, he will be back soon. Halftime score, 0-0.
I played the field in the second half and Bill took his turn in goal. I must say that Bill plays keeper most excellently. He makes some incredible saves and only the unsavable shots seem to get past him. Unfortunately for Bill, he faced many opportunities where one or more strikers came through the defense unimpeded and he was left as the last line of defense. He stopped a few and 3 got past him. That is about as good as one can do.
We had a couple of opportunities to score in the second half. Trailing 2-0, Neil sent a pretty cross in front of the goal that I tapped in. The blind-as-shit ref called me offside even though I was behind the ball the whole time and then gave me a yellow card to boot. I won't be missing these maddening calls next season. Final score, White 3 - Skids 0.
There was a lot of good trapping and ball distribution by our team in this game. Everyone seems to be making a concerted effort to gain control of the ball and then look for a good place to distribute it. Such effort will surely be rewarded eventually. Great play by all who were there and let's keep a good thought for the next game!
Friday, October 14, 2005
Yom Kippur
It is known as the Day of Atonement. One is supposed to afflict one's soul and search your conscience for t'shuvah, repentance.
This past Yom Kippur seemed more meaningful for me and I am not sure why. Maybe it was the fact that so much is going on in my life that is good, but I was not dreading the 25-hour fast like I normally do. The one thought I had this year was of joy. In biblical times, Yom Kippur was considered to be one of the happiest days of the year. The entire nation was excited that Yom Kippur would come and their sins would be forgiven (provided appropriate repentance had been completed). So what was the difference this year as compared to recent years?
I think we all can have a tendency to focus on what is not right in our lives at the expense of that is right. If I were to make a list of the good and bad in my life it would look like this:
Good - family life, great daughter, excitement at upcoming twins, good and supportive friends, excellent house, great yard, incredible neighbors and neighborhood,overall good weather in this part of the country.
Bad - Job sucks ass, driving in region is fraught with peril.
Out of the two bad things on my list only the first is something I can even try to change and I am working on it. Hopefully, perserverence will pay off and that situation will improve. Until then, I will make an effort to keep better perspective and not let the few bad things cloud my outlook. Every day is a gift and it is truly great to be alive in the USA. Opportunity is out there and one day, I look forward to posting what my next opportunity will be.
Peace.
This past Yom Kippur seemed more meaningful for me and I am not sure why. Maybe it was the fact that so much is going on in my life that is good, but I was not dreading the 25-hour fast like I normally do. The one thought I had this year was of joy. In biblical times, Yom Kippur was considered to be one of the happiest days of the year. The entire nation was excited that Yom Kippur would come and their sins would be forgiven (provided appropriate repentance had been completed). So what was the difference this year as compared to recent years?
I think we all can have a tendency to focus on what is not right in our lives at the expense of that is right. If I were to make a list of the good and bad in my life it would look like this:
Good - family life, great daughter, excitement at upcoming twins, good and supportive friends, excellent house, great yard, incredible neighbors and neighborhood,overall good weather in this part of the country.
Bad - Job sucks ass, driving in region is fraught with peril.
Out of the two bad things on my list only the first is something I can even try to change and I am working on it. Hopefully, perserverence will pay off and that situation will improve. Until then, I will make an effort to keep better perspective and not let the few bad things cloud my outlook. Every day is a gift and it is truly great to be alive in the USA. Opportunity is out there and one day, I look forward to posting what my next opportunity will be.
Peace.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Man, what a Defeat
The Gators got pummelled by the Crimson Tide today. Perhaps one of the more thorough beatings administered to them over the last 15 years. The margin of victory wasn't worse than the 45-3 beating they took against Tennessee in 1990, but in that particular game, the halftime score was 7-3 and we had just missed getting a touchdown on the last play of the half. The floodgates opened (both literally and figuratively) in the second half of that one.
Perhaps a better comparison was the 1995 Fiesta Bowl where Nebraska beat us 62-24 and dominated from start to finish. It was fairly clear from the outset that this was going to be a long day. The gators failed to take advantage of an early muffed punt and quickly found themselves down 14-0.
Not that it affected the outcome of the game, I have to question UF's decision to go for it on 4th down at the Tide 1 yard line. At the time, UF trailed 17-0 and we were early in the second quarter. No matter how you assume points are needed to catch up, the gators trailed by at least 3 scores. Basic strategy tells you that it doesn't matter what order you get points in as long as you continue to get points. Furthermore, since our running game was non-existent prior to that play, one cannot assume that the one yard is an easy conversion. Missing the 4th down attempt will result in leaving your team 3 scores down and having less time on the clock. Making a field goal is a necessary first step toward tying the game.
Since a football game is an endurance test more than anything, you have to make decisions thinking that you will get more chances later in the game. I think that many coaches see that one last yard and get fooled into thinking that they should take the opportunity while they are so close. In reality, the true opportunity was to be close enough for an easy three points and start some momentum going in your own direction.
Either way, the game ended up being a blowout 31-3 loss that the team will have to recover from. The nice thing about a season is there are plenty of opportunities to erase the bad memories of a single game.
Peace.
Perhaps a better comparison was the 1995 Fiesta Bowl where Nebraska beat us 62-24 and dominated from start to finish. It was fairly clear from the outset that this was going to be a long day. The gators failed to take advantage of an early muffed punt and quickly found themselves down 14-0.
Not that it affected the outcome of the game, I have to question UF's decision to go for it on 4th down at the Tide 1 yard line. At the time, UF trailed 17-0 and we were early in the second quarter. No matter how you assume points are needed to catch up, the gators trailed by at least 3 scores. Basic strategy tells you that it doesn't matter what order you get points in as long as you continue to get points. Furthermore, since our running game was non-existent prior to that play, one cannot assume that the one yard is an easy conversion. Missing the 4th down attempt will result in leaving your team 3 scores down and having less time on the clock. Making a field goal is a necessary first step toward tying the game.
Since a football game is an endurance test more than anything, you have to make decisions thinking that you will get more chances later in the game. I think that many coaches see that one last yard and get fooled into thinking that they should take the opportunity while they are so close. In reality, the true opportunity was to be close enough for an easy three points and start some momentum going in your own direction.
Either way, the game ended up being a blowout 31-3 loss that the team will have to recover from. The nice thing about a season is there are plenty of opportunities to erase the bad memories of a single game.
Peace.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Fall Soccer Game 3
Game 3 took place today under the clouds and quite pleasant temperature of a nice Autumn day in Washington, DC. Team Mocha took the field against a nemesis team from last season, team Green. The Green team was only a nemesis in that they beat us two times including the heartbreaking 4-3 loss in the playoffs, which still haunts me to this day.
Today, with Bill out of town, Peter and I agreed to share the goalkeeping duties. I started the game between the pipes determined to not have a repeat of the episode from game 1 where I bobbled the early ball and gave up a cheap goal. Team Green has a player named Bruce who seems to always be looking for trouble. He is similar in temperament to Eric, the prick bastard from the gray team of last season, but not quite as bad. Eric is dangerous to others, where Bruce is mostly just dangerous to himself.
Team Mocha started the match with 12 players available and only one substitute. Team Green had 4 substitutes and lots of good ones at that. I have noticed that in these situations in the past, our team has responded with very good play. It is like we know we can't play too much long ball, so we concentrate on passing the ball. Since soccer is a game of possession and passing, this is usually a good thing.
The first half seemed to be fairly even. Despite having a number of good strikers, team Green failed to get any quality shots due to great defensive play from Brian Siever, Brian Sklar, Ken, Gail, Greg and Brian Trackman. This keeper was truly blessed to have such an amazing effort in front of him. We took a number of long-range shots that didn't really threaten their keeper, but it did give us a chance to rest while they chased the ball down into the trees behind the goal. Halftime score: 0-0.
The second half was absolutely nuts. Less than 10 minutes into the half, team Green took the lead on a ball that skidded weirdly under my foot through the midfield and then found one of their strikers. He beat the defense and put in a nice low shot to the near post.
Down a goal, Mocha put the offensive pedal to the metal. We started sending more folks forward and were threatening their goal. After many missed opportunities (many by yours truly), Mocha evened the match with 15 minutes to play on a goal by Brian Sklar that deflected a little off the defender's foot and found the inside of the left post.
The action went back and forth until one of our players was red-carded with about 10 minutes to play on what the ref deemed to be a retaliatory kick to a green player. Like most of these situations, the ref neglected to call the shirt pulling the preceded the incident. Now we were a player down and holding on for dear life. With about 2 minutes to go, team Green took the lead again on a ball that seem to hang around our goal and finally find a Green striker's boot.
With little to lose, Mocha attacked with all that we had. We won a corner kick and I had an excellent chance to tie the match after heading a perfectly placed kick from Ken on goal. Unfortunately, the opposing players blocked it and my rebound kick was deflected out of bounds for another corner. Seconds later and with seconds to play, Brian Siever tied the match on a brilliant screaming shot from the top of the box to the lower left part of the goal, just inside the post. Final Score: Mocha 2 - Green 2.
I cannot remember the last time we victimized a team like that. It always seams like we are the team that has such bad luck, but today our fortunes were different. A great match by everyone to come up with a well-deserved point.
I don't normally do this, but today's match will be an exception. I feel the need to specifically note part of the great contribution everyone played in this match.
Marie had some great feeds to the wings and some good shots on goal. Lisa played the right half with poise and made a lot of good stops and feeds. Neil had some good shots, a ton of excellent feeds and should have had more than one assist. In addition to his stellar defensive stops, Brian Trackman had a great assist on the final goal and came close to scoring himself. Greg played his normal all-around excellent game and did a great job not letting Bruce get under his skin. Angel played tough on the right side and disrupted a number of plays. Peter played a great first half in the midfield and distributed well. He was peppered with tons of shots in the second half and kept us in the game with many nice saves. Ken played a stalwart game of defense and had some great corner kicks that should have been converted to goals. Gail was solid as ever (and as usual) and thwarted many attacks on defense. Brian Siever saved our hides on defense and then saved our hides on offense and played a really top-notch game. Our captain, Brian Sklar not only got us on the scoreboard, but played a whale of a game at stopper. He wasn't feeling so well after the game, so everyone wish him good health!
What a good way to start the week!
Today, with Bill out of town, Peter and I agreed to share the goalkeeping duties. I started the game between the pipes determined to not have a repeat of the episode from game 1 where I bobbled the early ball and gave up a cheap goal. Team Green has a player named Bruce who seems to always be looking for trouble. He is similar in temperament to Eric, the prick bastard from the gray team of last season, but not quite as bad. Eric is dangerous to others, where Bruce is mostly just dangerous to himself.
Team Mocha started the match with 12 players available and only one substitute. Team Green had 4 substitutes and lots of good ones at that. I have noticed that in these situations in the past, our team has responded with very good play. It is like we know we can't play too much long ball, so we concentrate on passing the ball. Since soccer is a game of possession and passing, this is usually a good thing.
The first half seemed to be fairly even. Despite having a number of good strikers, team Green failed to get any quality shots due to great defensive play from Brian Siever, Brian Sklar, Ken, Gail, Greg and Brian Trackman. This keeper was truly blessed to have such an amazing effort in front of him. We took a number of long-range shots that didn't really threaten their keeper, but it did give us a chance to rest while they chased the ball down into the trees behind the goal. Halftime score: 0-0.
The second half was absolutely nuts. Less than 10 minutes into the half, team Green took the lead on a ball that skidded weirdly under my foot through the midfield and then found one of their strikers. He beat the defense and put in a nice low shot to the near post.
Down a goal, Mocha put the offensive pedal to the metal. We started sending more folks forward and were threatening their goal. After many missed opportunities (many by yours truly), Mocha evened the match with 15 minutes to play on a goal by Brian Sklar that deflected a little off the defender's foot and found the inside of the left post.
The action went back and forth until one of our players was red-carded with about 10 minutes to play on what the ref deemed to be a retaliatory kick to a green player. Like most of these situations, the ref neglected to call the shirt pulling the preceded the incident. Now we were a player down and holding on for dear life. With about 2 minutes to go, team Green took the lead again on a ball that seem to hang around our goal and finally find a Green striker's boot.
With little to lose, Mocha attacked with all that we had. We won a corner kick and I had an excellent chance to tie the match after heading a perfectly placed kick from Ken on goal. Unfortunately, the opposing players blocked it and my rebound kick was deflected out of bounds for another corner. Seconds later and with seconds to play, Brian Siever tied the match on a brilliant screaming shot from the top of the box to the lower left part of the goal, just inside the post. Final Score: Mocha 2 - Green 2.
I cannot remember the last time we victimized a team like that. It always seams like we are the team that has such bad luck, but today our fortunes were different. A great match by everyone to come up with a well-deserved point.
I don't normally do this, but today's match will be an exception. I feel the need to specifically note part of the great contribution everyone played in this match.
Marie had some great feeds to the wings and some good shots on goal. Lisa played the right half with poise and made a lot of good stops and feeds. Neil had some good shots, a ton of excellent feeds and should have had more than one assist. In addition to his stellar defensive stops, Brian Trackman had a great assist on the final goal and came close to scoring himself. Greg played his normal all-around excellent game and did a great job not letting Bruce get under his skin. Angel played tough on the right side and disrupted a number of plays. Peter played a great first half in the midfield and distributed well. He was peppered with tons of shots in the second half and kept us in the game with many nice saves. Ken played a stalwart game of defense and had some great corner kicks that should have been converted to goals. Gail was solid as ever (and as usual) and thwarted many attacks on defense. Brian Siever saved our hides on defense and then saved our hides on offense and played a really top-notch game. Our captain, Brian Sklar not only got us on the scoreboard, but played a whale of a game at stopper. He wasn't feeling so well after the game, so everyone wish him good health!
What a good way to start the week!
Fall Soccer Game 2
You may recall from the last post our team is not yet given a name since we did not have jerseys prior to the first game. We were told we would have jerseys prior to the start of game 2, but game time rolled around and there were none to be found. A mystery indeed.
The mighty men and women of TOIC A took the field with our light jerseys again, determined to reverse the curse of last week. I will call our opponent TOIC C for now just to keep consistent. This week, the field we played on also had the unique pleasure of not having soccer lines on it aside from the touchlines. No goal box, no penalty box and lots of weird dotted lines.
Peter and Bill were going to share goal duties today and were determined to make everyone proud. Peter started the match in goal and played a very good half. The match started slowly for both teams. There was a lot of change of possession in the midfield and few good scoring opportunities for the first 10 minutes or so. TOIC A took the lead on a goal from Bill that was similar to his goal in game 1. So far it looks like Bill is going to have an excellent year offensively and in goal!
There was a play that happened in the first half that seemed quite innocuous at the time, but it foretold of disastrous consequences later so I will tell you now rather than create an even more hideous run-on sentence. One of the TOIC C strikers called for the ball and was a good 2 yards behind our last defender. The ball was played to him in his clearly offside position and I asked the ref to call it. He did not. Luckily, Brian Siever tracked the ball down and did not let the bad call cost us a goal. The ref insisted the player was even with me (the player told me after the game, he knew he was WAY offside) and the ref was quite belligerent. I thought at the time that at least our defense won't have to deal with this ref in the second half. Score at the half: TOIC A 1 - TOIC C 0.
At halftime, we received our jerseys for this season. I kind of poo brown. I don't know who we pissed off in the league office, but man, these jerseys are reminiscent of the Brown Sound episode of South Park. Many ideas were immediately floated for our team name, most of them scatalogical. The only clean one was "mocha". So here is what I will do: When things go well, I will refer to us as Mocha and when things go poorly, we will be Skidz.
The second half featured a lot of weirdness. Having a one goal lead is nice, but it is also precarious. It helps to pick up another goal to give a good cushion for the inevitable strange goal of the day that always seems to happen to us. The action was very tight, but we started to get some chances. Team Mocha extended its lead to 2-0 about 20 minutes into the second half on a controversial goal by Jon Rose. We had played a corner kick into the area. It was semi-cleared by Team Yellow (formerly TOIC C) to one of our players who played it to Jon who was still right by the goal in what looked like offside position. The referee (same one from the first half) did not call offside and when the Yellow players argued with him and tried to explain the rule (which he demonstrated earlier, he does not understand) he gave a red card to their captain (and best defender) and a yellow card to another one of their players.
From there the floodgates opened. Neil scored a few minutes later by practically walking the ball in. Jon Rose added another nice outside shot from the top of the penalty area to the inside of the post. Greg capped Mocha's scoring with about 8 minutes to play. Team Yellow kept fighting hard and got on the board with less than five minutes to play on a header that seemed to have its own eyes for the net. Final score: Mocha 5 - Yellow 1.
A very nice effort from our team. The red card and goal #2 really changed what was a close and fairly even game to a lopsided affair. I can't think of anyone who played poorly on our team today. A great effort all around!
The mighty men and women of TOIC A took the field with our light jerseys again, determined to reverse the curse of last week. I will call our opponent TOIC C for now just to keep consistent. This week, the field we played on also had the unique pleasure of not having soccer lines on it aside from the touchlines. No goal box, no penalty box and lots of weird dotted lines.
Peter and Bill were going to share goal duties today and were determined to make everyone proud. Peter started the match in goal and played a very good half. The match started slowly for both teams. There was a lot of change of possession in the midfield and few good scoring opportunities for the first 10 minutes or so. TOIC A took the lead on a goal from Bill that was similar to his goal in game 1. So far it looks like Bill is going to have an excellent year offensively and in goal!
There was a play that happened in the first half that seemed quite innocuous at the time, but it foretold of disastrous consequences later so I will tell you now rather than create an even more hideous run-on sentence. One of the TOIC C strikers called for the ball and was a good 2 yards behind our last defender. The ball was played to him in his clearly offside position and I asked the ref to call it. He did not. Luckily, Brian Siever tracked the ball down and did not let the bad call cost us a goal. The ref insisted the player was even with me (the player told me after the game, he knew he was WAY offside) and the ref was quite belligerent. I thought at the time that at least our defense won't have to deal with this ref in the second half. Score at the half: TOIC A 1 - TOIC C 0.
At halftime, we received our jerseys for this season. I kind of poo brown. I don't know who we pissed off in the league office, but man, these jerseys are reminiscent of the Brown Sound episode of South Park. Many ideas were immediately floated for our team name, most of them scatalogical. The only clean one was "mocha". So here is what I will do: When things go well, I will refer to us as Mocha and when things go poorly, we will be Skidz.
The second half featured a lot of weirdness. Having a one goal lead is nice, but it is also precarious. It helps to pick up another goal to give a good cushion for the inevitable strange goal of the day that always seems to happen to us. The action was very tight, but we started to get some chances. Team Mocha extended its lead to 2-0 about 20 minutes into the second half on a controversial goal by Jon Rose. We had played a corner kick into the area. It was semi-cleared by Team Yellow (formerly TOIC C) to one of our players who played it to Jon who was still right by the goal in what looked like offside position. The referee (same one from the first half) did not call offside and when the Yellow players argued with him and tried to explain the rule (which he demonstrated earlier, he does not understand) he gave a red card to their captain (and best defender) and a yellow card to another one of their players.
From there the floodgates opened. Neil scored a few minutes later by practically walking the ball in. Jon Rose added another nice outside shot from the top of the penalty area to the inside of the post. Greg capped Mocha's scoring with about 8 minutes to play. Team Yellow kept fighting hard and got on the board with less than five minutes to play on a header that seemed to have its own eyes for the net. Final score: Mocha 5 - Yellow 1.
A very nice effort from our team. The red card and goal #2 really changed what was a close and fairly even game to a lopsided affair. I can't think of anyone who played poorly on our team today. A great effort all around!
Fall Soccer Game 1
F-ing website lost my first write up of this game. So I will attempt to recreate the literary masterpiece that it was.
I have been quite delinquent in writing up the games for my soccer team this season but I think I will be able to do a better job going forward. Demands on my time (work, job hunting, naps, and uber naps) have kept me from posting more often. Since countless 1's of people visit this forum every few months and since it is a place for current events knowledge in and around my house, I will endeavor to improve my performance.
This season our team will be experimenting with a goal keeper by committee approach. Bill, Peter and me will share the duties equally. Basically, two of the three keepers will split each game. You can kind of think of it like a soccer version of Rochambeau. You may ask yourself, "How do I work this?" Ooops. That was the Talking Heads. You may ask yourself, "What does this have to do with the outcome of game one?" Absolutely nothing! Since this is my blog, I get to be self centered about this and explain how the whole thing affects me!
Onto the game one highlights:
This season, our team of indeterminate color (TOIC A) played another team of indeterminate color (TOIC B). At this point, you may ask yourself, why the indeterminate colors? Well, the league in its infinite wisdom and with much prior knowledge of the exact start date of the season, did not order jerseys for the league on time. So we showed up with light and dark shirts and chose to play light based on the shirts the other team brought.
Historically, TOIC B has given our team great problem when we play. I cannot remember ever beating them. They have a lot of younger and very skilled players that dribble well, pass well, and defend well. They also seem to be pretty fast. Not a good combination for a team like ours.
As mentioned above, I started the game in goal and with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, an offseason of no practice and definitely no thought of playing keeper, does not leave on with the sharpest skills. About 2 minutes into the game, the first ball I handled I bobbled and it fell right onto the feet of a TOIC B striker who touched the ball right into the net for an early lead. Luckily, that would be my game one blunder of the day.
TOIC A evened the match a few minutes later when Bill volleyed a cross from the left side right into the left side of the net. The rest of the half featured good chances from both teams. I was forced to make a couple of saves and to charge out of the box to break up some attacks. One ball did get past me, but Jeff scrambled back to make and excellent save and kick the ball off the goal line. Halftime score: 1-1.
The second half was owned by TOIC B. The got back to their ball control ways and kept peppering our goal with shots. Bill made a ton of great saves but was beaten by two excellent shots from TOIC B strikers. The first was a good shot ripped to the near post from inside the penalty area about 20 minutes into the second half. The TOIC B striker had received the ball outside of the penalty area and beaten me to the outside. He then made a bee-line for the goal and hit a pretty shot just past Bill's outstretched hand.
The second goal was a looping shot to the upper left hand corner that looked pretty unstoppable to me. Our team kept fighting and tried very hard, but it was just not meant to be on this day. Final score: TOIC B 3 - TOIC A 1.
I was impressed by our overall effort and thought everybody did a good job trying to get back into game shape and get back into the mental aspect of playing. I feel good about this season, which will likely be my last for a while. But more on that in later posts....
I have been quite delinquent in writing up the games for my soccer team this season but I think I will be able to do a better job going forward. Demands on my time (work, job hunting, naps, and uber naps) have kept me from posting more often. Since countless 1's of people visit this forum every few months and since it is a place for current events knowledge in and around my house, I will endeavor to improve my performance.
This season our team will be experimenting with a goal keeper by committee approach. Bill, Peter and me will share the duties equally. Basically, two of the three keepers will split each game. You can kind of think of it like a soccer version of Rochambeau. You may ask yourself, "How do I work this?" Ooops. That was the Talking Heads. You may ask yourself, "What does this have to do with the outcome of game one?" Absolutely nothing! Since this is my blog, I get to be self centered about this and explain how the whole thing affects me!
Onto the game one highlights:
This season, our team of indeterminate color (TOIC A) played another team of indeterminate color (TOIC B). At this point, you may ask yourself, why the indeterminate colors? Well, the league in its infinite wisdom and with much prior knowledge of the exact start date of the season, did not order jerseys for the league on time. So we showed up with light and dark shirts and chose to play light based on the shirts the other team brought.
Historically, TOIC B has given our team great problem when we play. I cannot remember ever beating them. They have a lot of younger and very skilled players that dribble well, pass well, and defend well. They also seem to be pretty fast. Not a good combination for a team like ours.
As mentioned above, I started the game in goal and with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, an offseason of no practice and definitely no thought of playing keeper, does not leave on with the sharpest skills. About 2 minutes into the game, the first ball I handled I bobbled and it fell right onto the feet of a TOIC B striker who touched the ball right into the net for an early lead. Luckily, that would be my game one blunder of the day.
TOIC A evened the match a few minutes later when Bill volleyed a cross from the left side right into the left side of the net. The rest of the half featured good chances from both teams. I was forced to make a couple of saves and to charge out of the box to break up some attacks. One ball did get past me, but Jeff scrambled back to make and excellent save and kick the ball off the goal line. Halftime score: 1-1.
The second half was owned by TOIC B. The got back to their ball control ways and kept peppering our goal with shots. Bill made a ton of great saves but was beaten by two excellent shots from TOIC B strikers. The first was a good shot ripped to the near post from inside the penalty area about 20 minutes into the second half. The TOIC B striker had received the ball outside of the penalty area and beaten me to the outside. He then made a bee-line for the goal and hit a pretty shot just past Bill's outstretched hand.
The second goal was a looping shot to the upper left hand corner that looked pretty unstoppable to me. Our team kept fighting and tried very hard, but it was just not meant to be on this day. Final score: TOIC B 3 - TOIC A 1.
I was impressed by our overall effort and thought everybody did a good job trying to get back into game shape and get back into the mental aspect of playing. I feel good about this season, which will likely be my last for a while. But more on that in later posts....
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Team Work
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.
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.
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.
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