Ode to the beautiful game... (Soccer)

[Buzz]

More noise from FIFA and Blatter about the 2022 WC being moved away from summer. It seems to be inevitable. You gotta give it to them, they are a smart bunch. First give the tournament to Qatar, and then slowly bit by bit introduce the idea of a change of date. That way both Qatar and FIFA are clear of any liability and to hell with the fans, pro leagues, rules, promises etc. Ba$tard$

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...rld-cup-in-qatar-from-summer/article13944526/
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/sto...r-fifa-world-cup-2022-qatar-sepp-blatter.html

 

[Buzz]

And just because I know you all are dying for all things Mario like I am here is a link to a cutesy article in SI. He was also on the cover recently and the accompanying article makes for a good read so check them out.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20130822/mario-balotelli-sports-illustrated/index.html

 

[Buzz]

Oh yeah and Landon Donovan has extended his contract with the LA Galaxy for about $5m a year. Meanwhile Clint Dempsey has signed with the Seattle Sounders (what kind of name is the "Sounders" anyway) for about $24m over the next 3.5 years. LOL Nice chunk of change eh?!

 

[Buzz]

Congrats to Bayern M on winning the UEFA Supercup! Loved the match and I feel for Chelsea but the season is young so they are gonna have plenty of opportunities to win other titles.

Hey if this new upcoming NYC futbol club builds it's stadium in the Bronx, could they then call themselves the "Bronx Bombers"?! (never mind that boxer fellow or those baseball folks )

 

[Buzz]

Here are the CL groupings, and Chelsea have a sweet group whose members are; Basel, Schalke, Bucharest.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/aug/30/champions-league-group-analysis

 

[Buzz]

Rooney has been injured in a trainng accident and will be out for a while. But I am sure England will do just fine in their WC qualifying matches.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/englands-world-cup-wayne-rooney-2242498

 

[Lara]

Buzz, I'm trying to find out what TV stations are broadcasting what WC qualifying matches and getting nowhere. Is Canada even airing anything given that we're not in contention? This site has nothing listed:
http://www.canadasoccertv.ca/

I have VPN, but it won't do much good if BeIN Sports is the main US broadcaster since like Universal Sports they require cable authorization.

 

[Buzz]

CONCACAF qualifying matches are usually either on TSN or Sportsnet (I'm in Toronto ) while TLN will show Italian qualifying matches. I believe you can also use the links below to watch matches, for a fee of course. LOL There is also a list of soccer channels available for a premium price each. But I only have basic cable so I watch what is available. LOL

http://www.livesoccertv.com/competitions/international/world-cup-2014-qualifying/

 

[Buzz]

Michel Platini has said that the English Premier League and the Bundesliga will jst have to "get use to" the idea of a Winter WC. And he prefers this tournament to be held in January and Feburary which will bring it into conflict with the Winter Olympics.

http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-cup/13166-platini-pushes-for-jan-feb-dates-for-qatar-2022

 

[Buzz]

Usain Bolt once again contemplates a career in footie once his T&F career is over. Good luck to him.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b6AIOZpkZX4&desktop_uri=/watch?v=b6AIOZpkZX4

 

[Lara]

Sportsnet's schedule for next week finally came out and looks ok - bring on USA-Mexico! Very glad they didn't put too much on Sportsnet World which is $$$.

 

[Buzz]

GOOD LUCK TOMORROW USA!!!

 

[Aceon6]

Buzz, I'm curious as to which team you consider to be the hard workers of the Premier League? Which club is exceeding its expectations?

 

[Lara]

Arrgh - Sportsnet One will air USA-Mexico next week, but I didn't realize they were playing Costa Rica tonight and it's nowhere to be found.

I should be used to it from skating but hate having to resort to illicit streams.

 

[alexikeguchi]

Whoa, s**t hitting the fan in CONCACAF!

 

[oleada]

Colombia is basically qualified after beating Ecuador!
We haven't been to a World Cup since France, wheeeee

 

[Buzz]

Aceon6
Overall in terms of results? Then it is Manchester City without question. A few years ago they were bouncing around near the bottom of the table; then they got a new owner with a fat wallet and now they are constantly challenging for the title. They won in 2012. In terms of transfers this season that I guess would be Spurs. I guess they have brought in a lot of new blood in an attempt to shake up the usual suspects. But lost to Arsenal recently so for now all those transfers have yet to pay off.

((((((Lara)))))))
I was wondering how come you weren't interested in USA v Costa Rica. Now hindsight being what it is I can now see why you weren't.

As for me I watched England v Moldova and the result never looked in danger. Poor Venezuela! I was so routing for them but now it does not look likely that they will make the cut. . In Europe the Dutch tied 2-2 with Estonia and France tied 0-0 with Georgia.

 

[Buzz]

Sorry Aceon6 I thnk I misunderstood your question a tad bit. That comment above was referring to most improved clubs. As to the hardest working club I will give that to the newly promoted Swansea City. It had to take a lot for that little club to make it to the big leagues, so I will give them that title and they are certainly off to a good start by beating West Brom 2-0 last weekend. (never mind their previous loses. )

 

[Buzz]

Do I even need to say it?! But I will anyway, Mexico as of this morning has a new coach! Northern Ireland has quite a bit to be proud of; by first beating Russia and yesterday giving the Portugese a run for their money. Well done! Most of the qualifiers today were in Africa and there seems to have been no big surprises except Cape Verde beat Tunisia 2:0.

 

[NeilJLeonard]

Oh yeah and Landon Donovan has extended his contract with the LA Galaxy for about $5m a year. Meanwhile Clint Dempsey has signed with the Seattle Sounders (what kind of name is the "Sounders" anyway) for about $24m over the next 3.5 years. LOL Nice chunk of change eh?!

Sounders = Puget Sound. A small, obscure body of water nearby. The league & the FO wanted a different name, if memory serves, but the fans demanded Sounders since the soccer teams from Seattle have been named that since the days of the original NASL at least.

Plus, the NY Yankees, part owners of NYCFC and owners of the stadium - Yankee stadium - that NYCFC will play in are the "Bronx Bombers". Maybe they'll be willing to let their less well known acquisition share the name with them. Maybe not...

The boxer, Joe Louis, was from Detroit, I believe, and was known as the "Brown Bomber".

NJL

 

[Buzz]

Sounders = Puget Sound. A small, obscure body of water nearby. The league & the FO wanted a different name, if memory serves, but the fans demanded Sounders since the soccer teams from Seattle have been named that since the days of the original NASL at least.

Plus, the NY Yankees, part owners of NYCFC and owners of the stadium - Yankee stadium - that NYCFC will play in are the "Bronx Bombers". Maybe they'll be willing to let their less well known acquisition share the name with them. Maybe not...

The boxer, Joe Louis, was from Detroit, I believe, and was known as the "Brown Bomber".

NJL

Oh poop... you are right, Louis was nicknamed the BROWN Bomber. LOL I always for some reason thought it was the Bronx Bomber. Shows you how much I know...

 

[Buzz]

Germany at half time leads Faroe Islands by 1-0, and Belarus leads France 1-0.

 

[Buzz]

Ok, Balance has been restored to the world. Germany beat Faroe Island 4-2 and France beat Belarus 4-2. While England drew 0-0 against Ukraine which means England has yet to impress at this stage. In group E Iceland is 2nd (?!) to Switzerland, and wouldn't it be interesting if they made it to the WC?

P.S.
Italy is going to Brazil thanks in part to a PK from Super Mario. When was the last time Mario missed a PK?!

 

[Buzz]

I am stuck following the USA v Mexico game online and as of now the score is 1-0 USA with about 30 minutes left to go.

 

[Buzz]

2-0 USA!

 

[Buzz]

Final result USA 2-0 Mexico. Wish I could have watched!

 

[Buzz]

Congrats to Uncle Sam's boys on becoming the latest team to qualify for Bazil 2014. The Dutch also booked their place in Brazil today. Iran, Austalia, Japan, South Korea and of course Brazil are the other countries already assured places in the WC.

 

[Buzz]

Highlights of USA v Mexico. Check it out before YouTube takes it down.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OH53kB-_2oA

 

[KHenry14]

yowza!! Dos a Cero Again! Men did an excellent job withstanding the early Mexican push, and took the game over in the second half. So proud of the USMNT tonight

 

[Lara]

Great job coming back from the Costa Rica loss. I wonder how much better they'd have performed there if Bradley had been injured several days prior and not right before the match?

Meanwhile, Mexico. Pretty stunning how poor they've performed in qualifyings, would not have thought they'd be in 5th atm. And Costa Rica must be shocked to have let Jamaica equalize.

Still rooting for Venezuela to pull off the qualification somehow, but they'll probably just miss out. Shame Commebol can't have more spots.