The World's Reaction

Check out this video of all the reactions to Landon Donovan's game-winner from yesterday.  Truly makes you appreciate the power of sports to bring people together.  

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbn3rOPmR9w

The American Fairytale Continues

 Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Say what you want about soccer. say you don't like it, say you don't think it'll ever be relevant.   But you can't say people aren't watching now.

My Facebook just blew up with status updates like "GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL" and "LANDON DONOVAN AMERICAN HERO!" among a plethora of U.S. Soccer related exertions of euphoria following Landon Donovan's 90th minute game-winner to send the Americans to the knockout round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  

Twitter is "over capacity," and has been now for about half an hour.  I can't even log on to see what the millions of American fans are saying.  This World Cup has crippled Twitter, and quite honestly, I'm OK with that.  

What's the best part of this World Cup?  My friends, who aren't normally soccer fans, are going crazy over what just happened in the game against Algeria.  They've become believers, and it's time for everyone to believe in this team.  

They may not be the most talented, but they have the most courage, the most heart.  That makes them the best team the US has taken to the World Cup, in my humble opinion.  These guys are playing together, and thank goodness they're not taking a page out of the "French Notebook of Soccer Ingenuity."  There is no friction between team and coach, and there is total support from the fans of our nation.

If you're not on the bandwagon yet, it's time to hop on.  Feel free, no one will judge you for even being just a little late to the party.  I myself joined the Columbus Crew bandwagon full-time this season, despite only being a "mediocre" fan for most of their existence.

That's what makes soccer beautiful.  The fans come from every creed, every race, all genders, all nationalities, but are united under one banner:  The love of the game.  The "world's game" is quickly making a statement in the States.  The fans don't judge you for trying to jump on late in the game.  They embrace you, and make you feel a part of something much greater than yourself.  That's why it's the most beautiful game in the world.

Be sure to watch the American's play again on Saturday morning at 10AM on ESPN or ABC.  You won't regret it!

Beginning of Summer Catch-All

I must apologize for the lack of posts lately, but as you know, being a college student requires one to give up any free time at the end of the quarter in order to pass exams, finish ten-page papers, and spend all night on projects that eventually lead to a degree.  Yeah, pretty crappy. 

However, now that summer is here, I've been watching ESPN non-stop, and I've found so many things to talk about.  So consider this a catch-all of my thoughts on the sports world the past week or so.

1.  College Conference Expansion:  My last post focused primarily on the wave of conference expansion that was planned, and to an extent, that has occurred the last 5 days.  However, I was incorrect in assuming that the Big 12 would collapse amidst the raid brought on by the Pac-10.  Nebraska did indeed leave for the Big Ten, and Colorado left for the Pac-10, but Texas stood tall and remained in the Big 12, saving the conference from almost certain collapse.

The reason?  Money.  Texas thinks they can make just as much money in the Big 12 as they could in the Pac-10, so they're going to organize a television network and see what they can do with it.  Good luck, don't drown in all of those Benjamins.

Keep an eye on Utah though, as they may join the Pac-10 in the next few days.

2.  The World Cup:  This is the month I have been waiting for all year, the time when everything gets put on the back burner, in my opinion, and I can sit around and watch soccer for a month straight, with no interruptions.  As I finish writing this, Switzerland just defeated the Spanish, marking this match as the biggest upset thus far in the competition. 

England/USA was a huge disappointment, in my opinion.  I was expecting a little more action, a little more liveliness from the Americans, but all I witnessed was a stagnant offense that was saved by a boorish mistake by the English keeper (right).  Hopefully a pre-meditated guarantee of victory made yesterday by Slovenia will strike a fire under the Americans and push them to an expected victory over the European side.

My favorite match, however, has been New Zealand/Slovakia.  Yesterday, Slovakia entered EXTRA TIME in the SECOND HALF with a one goal lead.  Four minutes were added, and during the third minute, Shane Smeltz of New Zealand sent a beautiful cross into the penalty area, where Winston Reid finished the header and tied the match with less than a minute left.  The celebration was euphoric (right), and I couldn't help but jump on my feet and cheer when the ball rolled into the net off the right post.  It was a captivating moment.
  

P.S. Hey FIFA, don't ban the vuvuzelas, they're awesome, and the French are being babies about the whole ordeal.  If anything, you should worry more about playboy Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal flopping around like a fish every time he's touched by an opposing defender.  I feel embarrassed for him.  Grow up, man.
  

3.  The NBA Finals:  Despite this year having an epic showdown between Los Angeles and Boston, I find myself...not caring at all.  My interest in other topics of interest has proven to me that, unless it involves Cleveland, I don't care about the NBA.  Tom Izzo (right) said "no" to the Cav's last night, and honestly, I would've said no too if I couldn't have any of knowing whether LeBron James was coming back to Cleveland or not.

4.  The Crew:  They came into the World Cup break losing two of their last three, and tying the other game.  Not the way a team would like to enter a two week break, but perhaps they got the losing out of their system early in the year.  Their disappointed result against Los Angeles, and the terrible play against Colorado left much to be desired, but I fully expect them to return to form when they engage D.C. United on June 26.  The return of defenders Danny O'Rourke and Frankie Hejduk should help shore up the defense.

  

5.  The Cincinnati Reds:  Wow, how about the Reds being tied for first as we slowly approach the All-Star break next month?  Now, the Reds are notorious for tanking, and tanking bad, following the All-Star break, but this year may be different.  The offense is producing, and the pitching has stayed stable, despite some boneheaded decisions by manager Dusty Baker.  He alone has probably cost the Reds six or seven games.  Imagine if they had won those games.  The Central wouldn't even be close.

6.  The Columbus Blue Jackets:  I reported a few posts ago that Guy Boucher was reportedly named the new head coach of the Blue Jackets.  That report was incorrect.  Boucher became the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Manitoba Moose coach Scott Arniel was hired as the new bench boss of the CBJ (right).  Long-time Jackets assistants Gord Murphy and Gary Agnew were fired yesterday, clearing the way for Arniel to bring in his own staff.  I approve of these decisions.  More on the Jackets as we move closer to the draft in the coming weeks.  


Finally, I'll leave you with my favorite Wooden-ism.  John Wooden, the greatest basketball coach in the history of the game, passed away on June 4th.

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

Major Shifts in the College Sports Landscape

 Here's four little snippets to begin my post today:

1.  The Big 12 announced today that Nebraska and Missouri have until Friday afternoon to state whether or not they intend to stay in the Big 12, or move to the Big 10. 


2.  The PAC-10 chancellors and presidents have given PAC-10 commissioner Larry Scott "all the authority he needs to expand the PAC-10."

3.  The maelstrom of speculation on whether or not Texas will join the Big 10 hit a high point. 
4.  The SEC has flexed its muscles and said that "will not allow ourselves in any way, shape or form to be anything less than we are now."


What does this mean?


Money is king.  It's all about the Benjamins. 


Pretty soon, we're going to have a 16-team super league out west (The Sunny 16), a colossus conference in the midwest (The Big and Beefy 14), and a southern faction of heavyweights (The Even-Bigger-Yet-Ridiculously-Speedy 14) that will dominate the college sports landscape. 


This will leave the Big East, ACC, Conference USA, Mountain West scrambling to keep up as the other four major conferences that make up the "BCS" schools. 


In the wake of those other four filling vacancies and adding their own firepower, mid-major conferences such as the Mid-American, Western Athletic, and Sun Belt will be left in the dust, and an even bigger separation will occur between the BCS and the Best-of-the-Rest. 


This isn't the first time that expansion has happened, but its the first time I can think of that such a large-scale, money-driven poaching has occurred.  This undoubtedly will add firepower to the argument that the BCS has a monopoly over college sports.


How will smaller conference schools, such as Ohio, ever be able to catch up at this point?  Will they ever be able to challenge for a national championship in the next 10 years?  20?  100? 


The answer, unfortunately, is no. 


Granted, there may be an opportunity for Ohio to move up to, say, the Big East, but will the Big East be relevant in 5 years?  How about Conference USA?


This whole situation spells doom for small conferences, since the rich will only become richer. 


I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that it can't be good.  Not good, at all. 

Jackets Offer Boucher Head Coaching Position

News leaked yesterday that the Columbus Blue Jackets have offered Guy Boucher their open head coaching position, despite no official word from general manager Scott Howson or the Montreal Canadiens, Boucher's parent club.  

Boucher, currently the head coach of the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs, is one of the hottest coaching commodities in all of hockey.  He lead the Bulldogs to a 52-17-3-8 record, best in the AHL Western Conference.  Hamilton made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they fell in seven games to the Texas Stars.

This offseason has been accepted by all Jackets fans and analysts alike as the most important in franchise history. 

When former coach Ken Hitchcock was fired in February, only ten months removed from taking the team to the playoffs for the first time, it sent a message that mediocrity was no longer acceptable in Columbus.

Howson's decision to offer to Boucher is not surprising to anyone who has followed the Jackets' coaching search the last couple of months.  What is relatively unfortunate, however, is that this news was leaked before a coach actually signed a contract.  

Blue Jackets beat writer TOm Reed mentioned in his latest blog post, and I agree, that Boucher's decision will make or break the franchise.  The embarrassment of Boucher turning down the job could cripple the credibility of the franchise for years.  While there are plenty of capable alternatives, like Scott Arniel of the Manitoba Moose, Kevin Dineen of the Portland Pirates, and associate head coach Claude Noel, Howson's decision to go with Boucher signifies a leap of faith.

Boucher is unproven at the NHL level, and his 1-3-1 forecheck and powerplay system would be highly experimental at the NHL level as well.  There's worry it may not even work.

But, a pick like Boucher would send a message to the fans that the youth movement in Columbus will carry the franchise for the next five to ten years.  Boucher, at 38, would be the youngest coach in the NHL, and he would carry a lot of weight with the younger guys in the locker room like Nikita Filatov and Derick Brassard.

Boucher is expected to let the team know of his decision by next week, so this weekend will be, with all certainty, the end of the Doug McClain era in Columbus, because the new coach, whoever it may be, will most likely clean house, and with that, all of the remains of the decisions of the man that hindered the Jackets' ability to be successful.