You can stop worrying about me

...I'm not dead.

My bad on not posting this weekend but I have been secluded from computers all weekend, I should have something up 'round 4 o'clock tommorow.

The day soccer history was made

Did you see all that coverage today?

This is what I am talking about.

Beware nay-sayers, soccer has arrived in America.

And ontop of all of the greatness David Beckham is about to bring, now reports that Ronaldo will be announced next week comming from espn radio.

I don't want to jinx it, but if Ronaldo goes through too, and the plethora of other players we are now hearing, this league could take bigger steps than I first thought when the DP came in.

I always used to think about if Becks and Ronaldo signed, and we all said it would probably happen, but today was still a shocl of excitement, still a "no way!" reaction.

I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but I feel there is good reason to. I think this thing is going to turn into an absolute frenzy as January wears on with signing players, and then also bringing another wave in the summer.

I am going to go ahead and call Del Piero for summer signing for Bruce.

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Now, another signature I am hoping for in a different sport.

Chris Webber.

On TNT half-time interview, C-Web specifically mentioned the Nets as the answer to a question about where he would like to go for playing style, he previously said he would want to start...the criteria is matching up well so far.

We could be a bigger player than we thought at first.

Waterreus is official

Ronald Waterreus has officially signed with Red Bull NY.

Nothing new, just posting the offical.

But something that is new is the theory that Claudio Reyna may indeed be a DP.

Reading this interview with Ives, Arena makes it sound by his "expectations" comment that Reyna could indeed be one of our DP's.

Sixers to buy out Webber


hmmm...

We are all thinking the same thing here, so let's just cut to the chase.

Thorn will, with out a doubt, make a phone call C-Web's people. Depending on how great Webber thinks he is, will determine whether the Nets make a serious play at him.

I haven't given enough thought to a possible signing of Webber and what the team would be like, but even on knees made out of lint and tooth picks, C-Web is still a servicable player. His greatest strengths at this point are his passing and shooting the mid-range J.

I think he wuold no doubt help the offense if he accepts his place.

Let's see how this unfolds.

Coughlin re-signed to 1 year deal

Before you projectile vomit all over your computer screen, remember that patience is a good thing to have.

The Giants obviously have a good amount of stock in it anyways, or at least a years worth.

Whil this could mean another year of death and destruction for the Giants, think about the coaching possibilities a year from now.

My favorite is Bill Cowher.

He'll take this year off, then when Coughlin's contract runs out, he's ours.

Or so we hope.

Disregard the beginning of this post being visable from space, this font thing F'd.

No wonder his head is so big...

...it's swollen from all the beatings he gets from mommy.

No this does not explain the mustache though.

Ok, let's get serious.
If you have not heard, Jason Kidd filed grievences of child abuse against his wife Joumana. This looks to be one of the most contributing factors to the Nets lockeroom "soap opera". How this relates to RJ supposedly being gay and VC's divorce I have no idea. Some may not. But how they are connected is that they are all combining to distract the hell out of the team. Chalk up divorce number two as well as supposed child abuse to the growing list of problems for this Nets team as a whole.

Let's see how the guys, especially J, play with this swirling around tonight.

Lot of action taking place in US soccer

Ok, time for a little duel soccer post.

Let's start with some increasing transfer talk with NYRB.

As I have mentioned before, the name Ronald Waterreus has come into the discussion for Red Bull again, this time with quite a bit more force. His agent is claiming (in a somewhet shakey statement where he basically says two different things in the span of a few words) that "the details are settled".

So that about covers that situation, I am confused on how I feel about the signing. Not good to lose an SI spot, but obviously a great keeper. I'l wait for details to overeact, but for now the news is welcome.

Just a couple days after that story broke, Claudio Reyna found his way back into the Red Bull rumor mill (not like he ever left).

I think this makes his January signing almost a deffinate, and I think the head honchos know not to use the "DP" on him or Waterreus.

I am ecstatic about the Reyna signing (if/when it happens). Simply a great influence and a great player to have. I cannot stand it when people complain about possible injuries and that he is over the hill. He is 33 years old, Youri was still preforming at 37. I can't wait to see this guy in uniform (insert "you won't see him in uniform, only in the trainers room" joke here).

Alot of signs point to these deals, or deals of some kind being announced this week.
Just take this quote from Ives...

"but I can tell you things will start to pick up next week as the Red Bulls wake up from their winter slumber to start putting together the 2007 roster."

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Part two of this post is dedicated to the rebirth of US soccer. Ok, let's not go that far, but at least they are starting to kick the ball around again as the January camp for the upcoming friendly vs. Denmark later this month.

I will copy a post I posted on Big Soccer earlier today to give my sentiments.

"This is just exciting. This is the start of the journey. You can't help but get excited thinking that this is the beginning of what will go into the next world cup four years from now. Regardless of how far away they are, this is where it starts.In alot of the traning videos, I like how Bradley runs things.

But I hope behind closed doors he is a good motivator. That is what our guys need. Regardless of our chances, someone needs to install the confidence in them that the goal here is to win a world cup, not just get out of group play. The US soccer team has long had an inferiority complex, and I am afraid this past cup added to it.

I have seen countless interviews where players have just said we want to make advances, "I hope to be alive when we win a world cup", that kind of stuff. It is time to lose that if we ever are going to win one."

I think this upcoming cycle has alot of talent comming from all age groups, and I am very excited to see how guys like Jozy and Freddy and the rest of the prospect U-20's blend in with our Men's pool players by the time qualifying and the actual World Cup come arund.

You want a report on the game?

The Giants suck! They absolutley suck. Eli sucks, Snee sucks, Dheil sucks, Mcquarters sucks, Moss sucks, the whole defense sucks, Coughlin sucks, the red-zone play calling sucks. AHH

I would like to say thank you to Shockey, Plax, and especially Tiki for playing their hearts out. Thanks for being the only one that could make this team matter Tiki.

New York Giants: Season in Review



Today the Giants begin the NFL's "second season" against the hated Beagles. There has never been a term more true than "second season". The thing about the playoffs in any sport, especially the NFL, is that no one can say your team can't win it all. You are in the tournament for the prize and no one can say you don't have a shot.

So as the second season is about to begine let's look back at the top five most important stories of the Giants first season.

5. - Amani Toomer, out for the season. This had the biggest on the field impact as any of the stories you will see later in this list. Amani Toomer was clearly Eli's security blanket, and when he got injured, it was like Eli was thrown out into the real world for the first time. Go get 'em bucko...or not.

4. - The divided lockeroom. This season was all about controversy. One of the bigger ones was the enormous rift in the lockeroom dividing all kinds of different players and coaches. You had Strahan (not in my mind) "calling out" Plax, you had Shockey telling the media they were "out coached", and you had, what seemed to be, lost trust in the quarterback. This was the year of the controversy.

3. - Eli's struggles. For one reason or another, somewhere early in the season, even when the team looked good, Eli lost his confidence. Boom! Shot right in the heart. Soon enough, as would be expected, as the Giants losses piled up, Eli piled up backpage photos of him getting sacked. He has not looked confident to this day.

2. - Coughlin on the hot seat. I say the Giants have to win AT LEAST 2 playoff games for this guy to have a job again. It was getting so bad, fans were chanting "Bring back Fassel!". That is probably the most insulting thing that Giants fans could say to Tom Coughlin.

1. - Tiki's retirement. This was by far the biggest story of the first season. This was all over the papers for the better part of the first half of the season. Former NFL media types calling him dumb, and yet Tiki still rushed his ass off. For a hundred of those former running backs you see who can barley walk these days, we finally have one with a brain (notice the large noggin) and everybody is hating on him.

With all this, Tiki put together possibly his best game ever, in what could have been his last. He ran up and down all night on the Redskins and saved his retirement, and the Giant's season, for a later date.

Let's hope the Giants stay in this thing long enough so I can put together a second season list.

Tick Tock Tick...

You hear that kids, thats the sound of a time bomb about to explode. Ain't it lovely?

Tommorow is not just a playoff game for the Giants, it is more of a "let's try and not get ourselves an offseason full of death threats and tire slashings" event.

Think about it...There are basically three outcomes that could happen.

1. Giants win. This only delays the bomb.

2. Giants lose. BOOM!

3. Giants get blown out. BOOM!

It's actually pretty simple.

I am standing by a statement I made a few weeks ago saying that the only way Coughlin doesn't get fired is if the Giants make it to the NFC championship game. Even then he could still go.

Oh by the way, that boom I mentioned earlier, that was Eli's head blowing off. And not because of the liqour. Let's just put it this way, the kid is toast if they don't win.

Sure he will still have his job as a starting QB, but he will just be a constant target, and no one will get off his case until he wins a superbowl.

So just win.

(Headline)

Can't you tell already this is going to be the greatest piece of writing since the beginning of time?

This is my all inclusive, random thoughts I have not covered in the past couple days post.

Here goes:

-The Nets have life. I know they lost tonight, and Vince Carter looks like he has mono out there, but the team is showing that (let's hope) from now on we will at least see effort put fourth every time they touch the hardwood. We were not seeing that before.

-It is sounding like Red Bull is about to make the signing that will truley bring soccer to America. That's right, according to his agent, Ronald...nope, not Ronaldo, but Ronald Wattereus shuold be announced as a signing in the next couple of days. Wait, who?

Yeah, this looks like a dumb move on a couple of levels. For one he takes up an SI slot, and two he is old. But he is a good goalie, so it is not like he won't produce if he indeed comes, but it is what he may be taking away which would effect the club more.

Then again we don't have bozo the clown running the show anymore and I can trust Bruce Arena's judgment.

If you are looking for signs of a possible bigger signing, soccer has been dead silent today in New York. No updates on any Red Bull sites, nada. This is good news if you are a "quiet before the storm" type person like I (think I) am. To me that signifies something may happen tommorow. I don't know, maybe it is just Steve Jolley memorial day. Did you know that he bled Red Bull, or Metro, instead of blood. How sick is that?