Great soccer-related blog for a laugh

Ray Hudson is just about the best soccer commentator in the USA right now, and if you don’t have GolTV, you wouldn’t know it.  Regardless, with gem quotes like this “This ball's played in, it's a good ball. He's got it all to do. He rides Marcelo, and this hit is hotter than a black leather skirt on Sophia Loren.”, you can see why he has a following.

 

Here’s a blog that chronicles his most memorable quotes during every weekend of La Liga action on GolTV.

http://hudsonia.blogspot.com/

There are even audio clips to enhance the experience.

 

I say move over ESPN commentators (Tommy Smythe, Eric Wynalda and crew).  No one matches Ray Hudson’s mixture of zaniness and enthusiasm.  A true original in the American soccer landscape (even if he is actually from England)

 

My favorite quote from him came last year during the Real Madrid-Mallorca match to end the season.  Tom Cruise was in attendance and the television kept showing him, as well as Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal.  Here’s what Ray had to say (Phil Schoen is the play-by-play man).

 

“And that's why you see those beautiful tears of a man whose heart is bursting, Iker Casillas...(other announcer) 'Tom Cruise?' WILL YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT TENNIS PLAYERS AND STUPID HOLLYWOOD ACTORS, PHIL!! IT'S THE GLADIATORS OUT THERE MAN, NOT TENNIS PLAYERS! Tom Cruise! Prick...If he smelt a soccer jockstrap he'd faint dead away”

 

- Jer

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Revs and Dynamo will play for MLS Championship

There's a second championship match on the line: the MLS Cup. It's this Saturday night at RFK. If you don't have your tickets, get them. It's a rematch of last year: New England Revolution versus Houston Dynamo. Kind of like the CCSL 3rd Division, it features the two best teams, other than the DC United. Chivas, which I liken to Far Post, had a great season but didn't yet have the playoff acumen to get to the championship.

Houston is an amazing team. A DC United/Houston match is what should have been. With DeRosario, Davis, Ching (questionable for the final), Clark and others, they are really stacked. They won last year in PKs. We'll have to see what happens. Despite the Revs' repeat appearances deep in the playoffs, they have no MLS Cups to their name.

Red Devils and Celtic to play for 3rd division championship

This Saturday, November 17th, Red Devils and Celtic will play each other for the 3rd Division title. I think they are the two best teams, other than us, of course. Far Post, which did well in points, lost this weekend and will not have a chance for the double-double (first in points, first in playoffs). See the 3rd division playoff bracket here.

Tonight...

Hey, everybody,

I just got the details on a soccer party tonight in Adams Morgan. (I
believe Bourbon is near Tom Tom and Roxanne/Peyote.) I used to play
with one of the hosts in Arlington. If you are looking for a little
action tonight and are in town, here are the details:



Host: Amaryllis Seabrooks, Lauren Perusse, Sarah Pickens, Matt
Deskiewicz and Courtney Sindelar
Location: Bourbon in Adams Morgan
2321 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009 US
View Map | Find a Hotel |
When: Saturday, November 10, 10:00PM

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=SPHVHSLUFLXEXJNLGBZU&inviteId=OOWAWFGEKDHHKYQRIRSY&showResponse=&sortOrder=&responseToExpand=not+yet+replied



The theme is "Teammates' Teammates," and other non-soccer friends are
welcome as well. There are too many invited people now to add more
e-mail addresses. This invite is going to people and teams from
several leagues in the area, so you have a chance to meet all kinds of
soccer people. Hope ta see ya!


Liam

Meet your MVPs

You voted for the MVPs and here they are. Meet Mike and Jackie.

This ain't no surprise. They are outstanding players and we love 'em.

Mike's 1-season resume includes the following bullet points: high-percentage passer, natural leader, versatile defender and midfielder, three assists. Mike, I agree with your teammates - you were solid out there. What accolades in your first season! We can thank Jon for the referral.

Jackie's resume goes on for miles - just this season she notched two assists and played numerous minutes as a key defensive midfielder. We all know how she can take over her space, use excellent vision to move the ball around, execute hard and efficient tackles, and disrupt anyone with the bad judgment to come her way. She's a gamer, she shows up to play and steps up to the competition. What's my favorite memory of Jackie? The completely legit steamroller tackles in the semi final of the 2006 Coed Classic. She went right through about 3 of the other team's best male strikers! It's no secret that your captain is in "soccer love" with this special player. She has an addictive personality, we all know that.

Let's not forget our honorable mentions: Griz, Ally, Chris, Jon, Liam, Heather, and Kara.

Gros is probably done

According to this story, one of my favorite soccer players is seriously considering retirement. Yep, it's Josh Gros, my look-alike on DC United.

After a string of troublesome migraines and head injuries, Gros may hang 'em up. It's sad in many ways, but he accomplished so much in just four years. He started nearly every game with United and earned all-star honors for his playmaking abilities on the wing. He played opposite David Beckham. He earned one cap on the U.S. team versus Mexico (Feb. 19, 2007). He became known in DC as the energizer bunny that can outlast everyone and even fill in at right or left defensive back.

Indoor is dead

We had a dream to form a men's or coed indoor team this Winter - but that dream is dead. We missed the deadline, couldn't find enough interested people, and now the league is creating a new division on Saturday nights, which doesn't work either. Oh well, maybe later this winter or next year.

Charitable program successful

The second go-round of our charitable program was successful! We set a team goal to exceed the $180 contribution we made in the spring. We managed to reach $250.00 this time, with some matching by your captains. We had a modest participation rate of 50%. If we can get that to 75% in the future, we're set. In any case, thanks everyone for giving. We're giving a little back and, in the meantime, establishing a good relationship with the DC United.

Here is the letter to United to DC from the team:

November 6, 2007

Ms. Sara Rabe
Program Manager
United for D.C.
c/o RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol Street S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Sara,

On behalf of 20 recreational soccer players and fans of DC United, I would like to present our second contribution to United for DC. Although it is a modest contribution of $250.00, it represents an increase over our contribution this past spring.

As you may know, the Goleros are an adult, co-ed, recreational soccer team based in Washington, D.C. Founded seven years ago, we play on Sundays in the Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL – http://theccsl.com). We have nominated United for DC as a designated charity for which we reserve a portion of our bi-annual dues. We hope to continue making periodic donations to support your organization’s mission of promoting literacy and healthy living for local children.

On a personal note, thank you for email acknowledgment of our last contribution. I posted it on our blog, which I think helped generate some additional interest in contributing to the charitable program this year. In the future, please feel free to keep us apprised of your organization’s activities by email or snail mail. I hope that the annual charitable dinner was successful; next year, we hope to send some representatives.

Best regards,



Pete & Megan
Captains

cc: Zach Walker

Fall 2007 Outdoor results

The purpose of this post is just to record our record.

Here are the results from our Fall 2007 outdoor campaign in CCSL. Read our season review here. We voted on MVPs here.


Fall 2007 Record: 3-2-3 (.600)
_______________________
Aug. 26th - 3-0 win vs Quicksilver FC
Sept. 9th - 4-0 shorthanded loss to Far Post
Sept. 16th - 5-2 loss versus Red Devils
Sept. 23rd - 2-2 tie vs Capital Crew
Oct. 7th - 2-2 shorthanded tie versus Celtic
Oct. 14th - 2-0 win vs Red Tape
Oct. 21st - 4-2 win vs 2LFeet
Oct. 28th - 1-1 tie versus Tsunami

Green merger

Last week, the innovative car sharing company, Zipcar, announced its plans to acquire its Washington, DC-based rival, Flexcar. These two companies offer flexible, hourly car rentals that are designed for folks living in urban areas who don't have cars.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed, but its strategic purpose is clear: to form a single, more competitive company that can compete with the big rental car companies that may seek to offer the same product.

Why did I put this on the blog? Lots of reasons. First, I work in the antitrust and transportation fields, so I find such things interesting, sadly. Second, Megan and other teammates use Flexcar to get to some games when they are not metro accessible. Let's hope that the merger's promise of creating more options for consumers means that Megan won't be late!

Go back in time to check out these goals

This is a great youtube video of the great goals of the 2006 World Cup. The two candidates from Argentina are impressive. Cambiaso's finish to a 25-pass rally is something to watch, and Maxi Rodriguez's trap is awesome.

The best goal was...? You tell me.

We've surpassed 200 posts

This blog is on the verge of going worldwide. Well, that's not exactly true, but we've exceeded 200 posts. This is the 211th post. In the 9 months that we've run this thing, we've had 408 comments!

DC United and Goleros are brothers in arms

Our outing to the DCU game was a smashing success! And by that I mean a few people got smashed, plus it was really a good time.

DC United suffered the same fate as the Goleros. Their season was ended by a questionable call at the end of the game that resulted in a goal being called back. They're out, we're out.

More later!

Dues

Remember, we still have several folks who haven't paid up. I sent out emails. I've been covering the cost of the team all season so help me out!

Also, dues were high this year. I can never promise that they won't go up. But if the league keeps the fee the same (likely), we keep our new recruits, and add a precious few as needed, I think we can make good progress next year. I hereby announce a goal of $85 or less per person, which would be a significant reduction. Keep your fingers crossed!

Fall 2007

Fall 2007 is behind us. It wasn't impressive statistically, but it was fun. We finished 3-2-3, which is one game over .500 and in 7th place in the division - out of the playoffs. There's a lot behind those numbers though.

First, let's start with the fact that we had to rebuild, despite an extremely successful spring season. We bounced back and added an impressive list of people: Liam, Heather, Ally, Mike, Kate, and Katya. We reinforced the team with help from lots of people - that's why I find it hard to be too disappointed by missing the playoffs. Not me. I'm proud that we came as far as we did. Despite a handicapping forfeit loss and having to integrate new bodies, we almost got 2nd place.

Second, we started off slow. Game 1: forfeit win. Game 2: forfeit loss with only 7 players. Game 3: meltdown versus Red Devils (that was the low point). It was only a 2-game losing streak, but it seemed like an eternity. We tied Capital Crew in Game 4, but since we yielded a goal at the end, it didn't feel like a reason to celebrate. In Game 5, we nearly shot ourselves in the foot by fielding only 10 players, but we got it done anyway versus Celtic and took home a tie. We played really well - an obvious turning point in the season. In Game 6, we finally scored a win versus Red Tape. We followed up with another win versus Two Left Feet in Game 7. We know about Game 8: we tied Tsunami and yet again, that team got off easy. They had a lot of help from the refs, let's put it that way.

Third, despite some turnover, we still have the best roster of women in the league. Jackie, Kristin, Megan, Ally, Kate, Heather, Katya - you guys are awesome. Jen, Kara, Leslie, Julia, Kay, Courtney, Anna, you too. We have some good leads to make this an even more impressive female side in the spring.

Here's my usual bullet points for the season:

• We were 3-2-3, which is a .600 winning percentage. Not bad. We usually tie at least once, but not three times.
• We finished 7th due to tie-breakers (we were tied for 4th in points). If we would have won our last match, we would have finished an impressive 2nd. That's one goal that made the difference.
• We closed the season on a 5-game no-loss streak (tie, tie, win, win, tie). It's not dominant, but it's impressive.
  
• We dealt with the whole probation thing - something that even I will view humorously from this point forward.
• We scored 16 goals, which is low but fair. We left a lot of goals on the table so this is bound to catch back up to us.
  
• 9 players tallied points (2 points for a goal, 1 point for an assist), which is decent. We like to spread the wealth. The list included 2 women, which is good but not our best.
• The points leaders are: Jon (9 with 4 goals), Chris (6 with 3 goals), Adrian (4 with 2 goals), Ally (3 with 1 goal), Jer (3 with 1 goal), Mike (3), Griz (2 with 1 goal), Chip (2 with 1 goal), Jackie (2). This comes with the usual caveat: points don't tell the full story. Certain players - let's use Kristin as an example - play out of their mind and don't get the points.
  
• We only had 1 shut-out. We were in transition for much of the season.
• We have beaten everyone in the division, except Celtic. We have tied them twice by a score of 2-2 each time.
• Liam played in every game - and did an outstanding job. Well done my friend!
• Props to Chris, a legendary Goleros players who treks from Baltimore to run his butt off for the team.
• Thanks to our alternates for coming out. Kara, you saved us $200 by helping us avoid a forfeit (and you played well). Others contributed - Carlos, Jen, Leslie, Kay, Nick, Dianne.
  

The team is in great shape. I love playing with you folks.

We're on for Thursday

The DC United playoff match is this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Let's meet at Capitol Lounge at 5:00 for some drinkin'. If you don't already have your ticket in hand, I'll give it to you there. Let's avoid what happened last time where I had to go in and out of the stadium passing people their tix during the match. We'll probably head to the stadium about 6:30.

DCU plays the Chicago Fire, who routinely kick our butt in the playoffs. DCU is coming fresh off a 1-0 loss in the first game of this round. That means that they must win the game. If they win by 1 goal, there will be a 30-minute overtime followed by PKs if necessary. If they win by 2 or more goals, they'll advance directly on aggregate goals.

The last match was testy. Cuatemoc Blanco is at his best, feigning injury and fouls. DC has several players recovering from injury (Emilio and Moreno). It ain't gonna be easy.

See you at Cap Lounge!

Vote for MVPs!

Team, now that the season is over, it's time to vote for Fall season MVPs. We've got some great players and people on this team. It's time to recognize them! Ideally, I'd like folks to vote on 1 man and 1 woman - and it's all in fun of course. Use whatever criteria you'd like. I believe I was nominated in an earlier post for most prolific blogger that no one reads.

Put your nominations here.

Lost shin guards

Laura from Backdraft sent this note to us. She found some shin guards at Trinity. Did you lose yours?

One of my players found a pair of white and blue adidas shin guards at Trinity yesterday. They are size small. If they belong to you or anyone on your team, please get in touch with me.

Offseason begins!

It is improbable but true. Our offseason begins now because we didn't make the playoffs. In failing to pick up 3 points this week, we left ourselves open to losing out on tie-breakers. Unfortunately, we did. Celtic lost its match versus Quicksilver (improbable, forced us to look to next match), and Two Left Feet lost to Red Devils (probable but disappointing!).

The final standings are:

1. Far Post - 17

2. Quicksilver - 13 (head to head over Celtic)

3. Celtic - 13

4. Red Devils - 12 (goal differential over Cap Crew)

5. Capital Crew - 12 (head to head over Tsunami)

6. Tsunami - 12 (goal differential over Goleros)

7. Goleros - 12

8. Two Left Feet - 4

9. Red Tape - 3


Far Post wins the division. Five teams battled for second place - and their fates were decided on the last day. Four teams finished with 12 points - we lose the first or second tie-breaker to each (loss to Red Devils, worse GD than Capital Crew and Tsunami). A few points and a few goals here and there made the difference.

There's plenty to be proud of this season! More on that later.

Oops, a tie

We played hard and well this morning, seemingly doing enough to get the win. But it was not to be. Instead, we ended with a 1-1 tie against Tsunami Naranja. Hey, cheers, the result keeps our playoffs hope alive (for now) and extends our no-loss streak to 5 games.

The decisive moment of the match came in the 80' on a controversial and late offside call. Jon had received a through ball down the right wing, which he dribbled to the goal line and crossed back for Nathan. Nathan received the ball at the 5 yard line and finished nicely for what should have been our second goal. The line judge raised the flag after the play and the center ref accepted the call. No goal. The diagram above depicts the situation as it should have been viewed by the refs. Oh, well, there's no use crying over spilt milk!

We picked up an early goal when Chris threaded the defense and shot from 15 yards in the 5'. We'll credit Ally for the assist despite what I viewed as a possible deflection before the ball came to Chris' feet. Our initial assaults on goal showed strength and tactical awareness because Tsunami started the game shorthanded. For most of the first half, we controlled the pace.

In the second half, we yielded control for a few minutes, but made satisfactory adjustments. Eventually, though, Tsunami did well to finish a relatively low percentage opportunity in the 87'. The ball bounced to Brian at the top of the box, and he put just enough on the ball to roll it to goal before Mike could retrieve it on the goal line. It's a frustrating goal, but nothing to fret about because we can't stop everything.

We were good in all phases of the game. We should be happy with the game actually. The defense was outstanding, right to left, top to bottom, and especially Liam who broke up a one-on-one well outside the box! Midfielders made the adjustments they needed to in order regain control of the match and impede counterattacks. Yes, finishing was an issue, but the forwards did put the ball in the net twice in the second half, it's just that the goals were called back (foul on Jon; offside). The forwards played well!

Good game everyone! Congratulations to Tsunami on their sportsmanship and performance today.

Notes: 1-1 tie versus Tsunami Naranja, Oct. 28, 2007, Trinity. Goals: Chris (Ally). GK: Liam. Yellow: Jon. Two goals called back!

The waiting...

Here's your real-time CCSL 3rd division playoff update. We must wait to learn our fate. After our tie today, we remain in 5th place (we are tied for third in points, but Cap Crew and Tsunami have us on the second tiebreaker - GD).

Today's other games are Far Post (1) vs Red Tape (9), Celtic (2) vs Quicksilver (6), and Red Devils (7) vs Two Left Feet (8). The key match is Celtic vs. Quicksilver, which was played at 8:00 a.m. If Celtic won or tied, we make the playoffs, because we will finish in 5th or 6th depending on the Red Devils game. The good news is that Celtic should have been motivated. They have a chance to win the Division today if Far Post ties or loses.

Oh Celtic - tell us the result!

If Celtic lost, we have a problem. We will then have to look to the Red Devils/Two Left Feet game (8:30 pm). If Red Devils tie, we're fine. But if they win, they will take the 6th spot and we will drop to 7th. I think it's likely that they'll win.

Weather report

Our game this weekend is looking iffy. Check it out here. It's supposed to stop raining some time on Saturday. It could be the afternoon before that happens. If we don't get some serious sun, Trinity won't be playable. Although we want to play, it would be a shame to tear up the field, as Jer commented.

Make sure to call the inclement weather line before you leave. And don't assume the match is canceled. You gotta get word of the cancelation on the line.

703.229.6997

*** Another update: Game at Trinity at 8:00 a.m. ***

The scheduling and rescheduling continues. The latest, hopefully final, information is:

8:00 a.m. game at Trinity College.

Be there early.

No dogs. No peeing. No speeding on Michigan avenue or you'll get a ticket.

Golero-gram to Far Post

Dear Far Post,

Congratulations, you are undefeated thus far! Apparently, you have two games left including possibly a make-up game. Did you play that game, and if so, what was the result? We must know. Going into the last game of the season, there could be a lot of movement in the standings.

More questions. How did your game against Red Devils go? Did our scounting report help? Did any of their women who play up top score? How did Tsunami look? They are the last thing standing in our way of the playoffs. We need a win on Sunday.

Regards and good luck in the final match(es) and the playoffs. We hope to meet you again.

The big game

I put the details of the big game into my last email:

Sorry folks, our game is going to be at 8:00 a.m. No excuses, we need a full crew for our last regular season match. If we win, we're in. Right now, I am expecting decent numbers but not a lot of subs, so there isn't room for people to miss. See you there at 7:45! Remember a couple of things:

- There are lots of road closures because of the marathon, which starts at the same time. Allow extra time to get there. You can take metro or consult this link for traffic closures: http://www.marinemarathon.com/race_info/course.htm#streetclosings (scroll down).

- Bring a white T-shirt

- Bring your dues (and why don't you just use paypal?)

- Apparently, you can't bring dogs to the field.

See you there!

Now, what does the game mean?

A lot. It's our last regular season game and we don't want to go into our long offseason without a fight. We are facing Tsunami Naranja, a solid team - and one that can surprise. Remember our regular season match at the Marina last Spring? We lost that baby 1-0 on a deflection and a missed PK. I'm sure Tsunami is looking for payback after our playoff victory in the semis.

The path to the playoffs couldn't be more simple. It's win and we're in. According to the standings, we're sitting in 5th place due to goal differential. Our 4-game unbeaten streak has paid dividends. If and when we win, we would leapfrog Tsunami and the Crew to take 3rd place with 14 points. If Quicksilver beats Celtic, that would take us to 2nd since Celtic would only have 13 points. We could even tie for 1st in points if Far Post fails to collect any points in two games (both scheduled this week). But if that occurred, we would finish officially in 2nd on goal differential and head-to-head. We really want that 2nd place finish, in the event that the weather curtails the playoff schedule. In a truncated playoff system, only the 1st and 2nd place teams get to vie for the title.

If we lose this weekend, it gets dicey in terms of making the playoffs. No guarantees. We're not going to focus on that 'cause we want to control our own fate. What I love about this league is that it's competitive. Every game matters. Each week, you have a chance to climb back into the thick of things.

All of this is in fun. Let's go out and have a nice Sunday.