With the games a few days away I should say a few things.
First the excitement is tremendous with my Oranje in Group C and the Socceroos (led by Hiddink) in and 5 new African nations, this is getting pretty crazy.
Top 5 Surprise teams
These teams are the most likely to come out of nowhere in no particular order (as far as the casual fan thinks)
1 - Ivory Coast (Some are picking them to come out instead of Argentina)
2 - Australia (Hiddink led Korea 4 years ago)
3 - Paraguay (I didn't realize they were a surprise team until I saw their odds of winning the group at 9-1)
4 - Ghana (These guys are fast and Essien is a stud)
5 - Switzerland (They have an easy group and are under the radar)
Top 5 picks for the Golden Boot
These guys can fill the net and should make a run at the title
1 - Robben - Holland
2 - Pauletta - Spain
3 - Ronaldo - Portugal
4 - Owen - England (unless Rooney is back, then his name belongs on the list)
5 - Ronaldinho - Brazil
Now these are not necessarily the traditional picks - Van Nistelrooij (Holland), Ronaldo or Adriano (Brazil), Henry (France), Crespo (Argentina) or Toni (Italy) have better odds than some of these, but I like my list.
Top 5 Sleepers for the Boot
These guys are not household names (Robben and Ronaldo might qualify for this list too)
1 - Kuyt - Holland
2 - Baros - Czech
3 - Kaka - Brazil
4 - Crouch - England
5 - Karimi - Iran (Iran is ranked 23rd in the world)
Top 5 teams with question marks
These teams are solid but could have something going against them to prevent serious contention
1 - Czech Republic (Injuries to Smicer and others are keeping them from cracking my top 5)
2 - England (They have a very difficult road, but assuming Rooney is healthy they can make a run at it)
3 - Portugal (The golden generation is too old, but the young Ronaldo is quite the star)
4 - Italy (They are a counter-attack type team but I can't see them making a serious run when I can't see them coming out of the real group of death with the Czechs, Americans and Ghana there as well)
5 - France (They have an easy group so should advance, but they are very old)
Top 5 Favorites to win it all
these teams are the ones that have the best chance to play for the trophy. (Again in no order)
1 - Hup Holland (The Oranje are still the best nation to never have won it, but Van Basten has gone with youth and energy - Kuyt was the captain vs Mexico)
2 - Brazil (They are the reigning kings, have an unusual easy road and Ronaldinho is ridiculous. I hate Brazil but those Joga Bonito ads are fun)
3 - Spain (They are classic underachievers but this could be there year with Pauletta)
4 - Croatia (They breezed through qualifying and are the closest to a silent killer)
5 - Germany (They have a difficult road after the first round, but they are home and have won it at home before - painful memories)
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Women in Sports
Well, I've put it off long enough.
I promised to speak about this so here it is.
First off, I want to say I believe Women can be as good as men and better in some cases in many sports that lend themselves to it.
Recently there's been many cases that have challenged the establishment, so I'll tackle those but first here's the stuff I love.
Tennis. This is clear cut, Women's Tennis is much better. Not just because Martina Hingis makes my heart pitter patter.
I'm so happy she's back, that's awesome and she's played well, winning in Rome recently.
My other faves are Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Maria Sharapova (it's her power, not her looks, just ask my buddy West - I've been a fan since early on).
Smashnova has the best name, but I couldn't pick her out in a lineup.
I also love Women's volleyball, mostly the beach stuff but that's because I've had more exposure to it. I used to watch indoor VB but it doesn't seem to be on anymore. I used to watch when Reece was playing and now May & McPeak are just dominating the circuit. It's a good game and that's how I busted my knee, by diving in the sand and hitting glass under it.
Danica Patrick has challenged the men and is doing great. The chauvinists, see Richard Petty, say she belongs in the kitchen, she's only popular for her looks and she hasn't won anything.
First off, last year she was a rookie. Rookie's don't win. She did very well for herself though and is young enough to improve.
Second, she might be pretty, but what is she supposed to do? Wear a mask? She said on PTI that she has to refuse some stuff because she doesn't want to be overexposed, good for her! She's no Anna K.
Andretti never won on the F1 circuit, does that mean he's a bad driver? Give her time.
Michelle Wie is also trying to play with boys. There a few things here.
First off, the Ladies have their own tour (not an option for Danica) and it's fun. I love watching Pressel and Creamer and seeing Sorenstam dominate is fun.
Annika has earned the right to play on the men's tour, she can use the challenge. Wie on the other hand has not. She is not Tiger, she has never won anything, not the amateur championship, not an LPGA event, even less a major. Her biggest accomplishment is making the cut in a men's Asian Tour event. Not exactly a marquee event.
She needs to prove she can beat the women before she can talk about playing in the Masters!
The WNBA. I have no objection to the league in of itself, but forcing the programming on me is getting on my nerves. Where's the International Football (Soccer), or the rugby scores. I'd prefer seeing Aussie Rules scores than WNBA. Please, no one tell me that they are more technically sound than the men, that's crap. There might be a few stars but for the most part they are just not as good as the NBA, or the NCAA. Last year they made a big fuss about a woman dunking twice and used that as proof of the women being as good. You can't have it both ways, and did you see the dunks? That's called a finger roll and a layup in the men's league, if your hand is under the ball as it goes over the rim, it's not a dunk.
Now the women's soccer league should have been given a better chance, they had stars that people loved and it was growing as much as the WNBA, which is to mean they aren't growing. But I don't think it should go away, some people enjoy it and that's cool. Just like some people like hockey and others don't.
Softball is out of the Olympics and that makes no sense. I only watch the summer Olympics for the softball, men's basketball and some cycling events (the Dutch rule!).
Softball was the most marketable event in the US also, and it would seem they are always catering to the Americans ... I'm clueless.
On to the touchy subject. Title IX.
For the uninitiated, Title IX is the NCAA rule that forces all schools to have a proportional amount of women athletes as the general student population. So if you 60% women student body, you need to have 60% women's athletic participation in NCAA governed sports.
First off the NCAA is insane, the BCS is a mess for one, but they are so rigid it makes no sense. Recently a kid was a champion in the 10000 meters in track. He was going to the Nationals to try to break his record but his coach made a mistake and clicked on 5000 meters on the online form. The next day he noticed the mistake and called the NCAA and the meet organizers who said that although the field was not set, and there were spots open, the rules say he had 12 hours to correct the mistake. This was still almost a week before the race. The kid having never qualified for the 5000 had to stay home and the people at the meet from other schools wore shirts asking where he was and chanted his name in the stands. Yet the NCAA says they can't play favorite. They do of course let basketball and football programs slide.
Anyway, the reason Title IX is a problem is for the smaller schools. They only have money for a few sports and the rule forces them to cut back on many sports because they can't offer as many sports and that hurts the kids because less scholarships mean less opportunity.
Now I'm not saying women are not interested in sports, but am I really going out on a limb by saying that on a whole dudes are more interested in sports than gals?
This means that many young males who can't pay for school are getting less and less opportunities to get an education.
The logical thing to say is that more women are getting the chance, but that's just not the case. Women's programs are not being added to meet a quota, the men's are being cut.
I'm all for equality, but this is hurting the poor, no one else. Forget about the money the big schools make, that's only 100 schools, tops.
Now I'm not advocating a repeal of the rule. It's good to have equality, women were once considered inferior and denied education and that's wrong of course. But a football program has over 100 athletes, and that is a huge chunk, meaning you need many women's sports to compensate. Unfortunately the debate on this has become political with the people against the rule being right-wing lunatics. I feel a little queasy to be even close to the same side as them, but I'm not against the rule in principle, only in it's application. Can reasonable people not decide if a school is being unfair on a case by case basis. So what if 60 percent of the athletes are dudes and only 45% of the students if the women have all the sports they want. I don't want to cut women's programs, and there is a stipulation in the law that says schools must show they are increasing women's sports continually, I just want to see more sports and more scholarships awarded for whoever wants them, men or women. So I say let's see more women in sports and more men too!
Well that's enough of this rant.
I promised to speak about this so here it is.
First off, I want to say I believe Women can be as good as men and better in some cases in many sports that lend themselves to it.
Recently there's been many cases that have challenged the establishment, so I'll tackle those but first here's the stuff I love.
Tennis. This is clear cut, Women's Tennis is much better. Not just because Martina Hingis makes my heart pitter patter.
I'm so happy she's back, that's awesome and she's played well, winning in Rome recently.
My other faves are Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Maria Sharapova (it's her power, not her looks, just ask my buddy West - I've been a fan since early on).
Smashnova has the best name, but I couldn't pick her out in a lineup.
I also love Women's volleyball, mostly the beach stuff but that's because I've had more exposure to it. I used to watch indoor VB but it doesn't seem to be on anymore. I used to watch when Reece was playing and now May & McPeak are just dominating the circuit. It's a good game and that's how I busted my knee, by diving in the sand and hitting glass under it.
Danica Patrick has challenged the men and is doing great. The chauvinists, see Richard Petty, say she belongs in the kitchen, she's only popular for her looks and she hasn't won anything.
First off, last year she was a rookie. Rookie's don't win. She did very well for herself though and is young enough to improve.
Second, she might be pretty, but what is she supposed to do? Wear a mask? She said on PTI that she has to refuse some stuff because she doesn't want to be overexposed, good for her! She's no Anna K.
Andretti never won on the F1 circuit, does that mean he's a bad driver? Give her time.
Michelle Wie is also trying to play with boys. There a few things here.
First off, the Ladies have their own tour (not an option for Danica) and it's fun. I love watching Pressel and Creamer and seeing Sorenstam dominate is fun.
Annika has earned the right to play on the men's tour, she can use the challenge. Wie on the other hand has not. She is not Tiger, she has never won anything, not the amateur championship, not an LPGA event, even less a major. Her biggest accomplishment is making the cut in a men's Asian Tour event. Not exactly a marquee event.
She needs to prove she can beat the women before she can talk about playing in the Masters!
The WNBA. I have no objection to the league in of itself, but forcing the programming on me is getting on my nerves. Where's the International Football (Soccer), or the rugby scores. I'd prefer seeing Aussie Rules scores than WNBA. Please, no one tell me that they are more technically sound than the men, that's crap. There might be a few stars but for the most part they are just not as good as the NBA, or the NCAA. Last year they made a big fuss about a woman dunking twice and used that as proof of the women being as good. You can't have it both ways, and did you see the dunks? That's called a finger roll and a layup in the men's league, if your hand is under the ball as it goes over the rim, it's not a dunk.
Now the women's soccer league should have been given a better chance, they had stars that people loved and it was growing as much as the WNBA, which is to mean they aren't growing. But I don't think it should go away, some people enjoy it and that's cool. Just like some people like hockey and others don't.
Softball is out of the Olympics and that makes no sense. I only watch the summer Olympics for the softball, men's basketball and some cycling events (the Dutch rule!).
Softball was the most marketable event in the US also, and it would seem they are always catering to the Americans ... I'm clueless.
On to the touchy subject. Title IX.
For the uninitiated, Title IX is the NCAA rule that forces all schools to have a proportional amount of women athletes as the general student population. So if you 60% women student body, you need to have 60% women's athletic participation in NCAA governed sports.
First off the NCAA is insane, the BCS is a mess for one, but they are so rigid it makes no sense. Recently a kid was a champion in the 10000 meters in track. He was going to the Nationals to try to break his record but his coach made a mistake and clicked on 5000 meters on the online form. The next day he noticed the mistake and called the NCAA and the meet organizers who said that although the field was not set, and there were spots open, the rules say he had 12 hours to correct the mistake. This was still almost a week before the race. The kid having never qualified for the 5000 had to stay home and the people at the meet from other schools wore shirts asking where he was and chanted his name in the stands. Yet the NCAA says they can't play favorite. They do of course let basketball and football programs slide.
Anyway, the reason Title IX is a problem is for the smaller schools. They only have money for a few sports and the rule forces them to cut back on many sports because they can't offer as many sports and that hurts the kids because less scholarships mean less opportunity.
Now I'm not saying women are not interested in sports, but am I really going out on a limb by saying that on a whole dudes are more interested in sports than gals?
This means that many young males who can't pay for school are getting less and less opportunities to get an education.
The logical thing to say is that more women are getting the chance, but that's just not the case. Women's programs are not being added to meet a quota, the men's are being cut.
I'm all for equality, but this is hurting the poor, no one else. Forget about the money the big schools make, that's only 100 schools, tops.
Now I'm not advocating a repeal of the rule. It's good to have equality, women were once considered inferior and denied education and that's wrong of course. But a football program has over 100 athletes, and that is a huge chunk, meaning you need many women's sports to compensate. Unfortunately the debate on this has become political with the people against the rule being right-wing lunatics. I feel a little queasy to be even close to the same side as them, but I'm not against the rule in principle, only in it's application. Can reasonable people not decide if a school is being unfair on a case by case basis. So what if 60 percent of the athletes are dudes and only 45% of the students if the women have all the sports they want. I don't want to cut women's programs, and there is a stipulation in the law that says schools must show they are increasing women's sports continually, I just want to see more sports and more scholarships awarded for whoever wants them, men or women. So I say let's see more women in sports and more men too!
Well that's enough of this rant.
Imogen Heap
Last week I had the privilege of spending the evening with 3 beautiful women.
2 of them were on a stage, but still.
Barbie accompanied me to the show at the Guvernment where we quickly learned the show needed to be done by 9PM (they had another function), and so it started a little early and we missed the first song.
On stage before Imogen, Immie to friends, was the talented and pretty Zoe Keating and her Cello.
The show was originally scheduled for the Mod Club but it sold out so fast it was moved to the Guvernment where it quickly sold out again. There was a definite buzz in the Air and the place was still intimate.
Zoe was great and her parents were there (she lived here for a while). You might know here from the band Rasputina, the kick-ass Cello group. That might sound weird to you, but check it out, especially if you're into Goth in any way.
After a long delay, unexplainable since there's nothing to set up, Immie showed up in a wonderful gown and her traditional big hair.
Wow! Quite the gal! She started with an acapella song that floored us.
She then introduced her 'band' which consists of an Apple laptop and some keyboards. Also a frisky wind up mouse ...
If you've seen Radiohead, you'll understand the concept where she plays a beat and loops back what she just played, including vocals. She a has a few more complex beats as well on her laptop. She's truly amazing, with the voice of an angel.
Zoe joined her for 3 songs as well.
Imogen might be known to some of you as the lead singer of Frou Frou. They had that great song in the movie Garden State (if you haven't seen that one yet, you need to -> top 20). She actually performed that song as well, which was a big surprise. All in all a great time and a great performance.
She even stuck around in the back lobby after to say hi, take pictures and sign autographs for everyone, despite pissing off the security people.
Holy crap she's tall.
I have to say that on my way to Barb's I was stuck, as we are won't to be, in traffic on the DVP. I was not feeling great and the evening was off to a rocky start. But then I noticed that a car in front of me in the lane to my left, which had four youngsters, flash a sign to the car in front of me. I was naturally curious so I sped up a bit. The cute girl in the back seat (about 20, I'd say) flashed a big smile and held up a sign, like a place mat, that had a big yellow smiley face on it. I couldn't help but giggle and crack a laugh which made them happy.
I've got to say thanks to her. That made a big difference - I had a great evening and that's where it started.
So all in all it was quite special. Thanks Barb!
2 of them were on a stage, but still.
Barbie accompanied me to the show at the Guvernment where we quickly learned the show needed to be done by 9PM (they had another function), and so it started a little early and we missed the first song.
On stage before Imogen, Immie to friends, was the talented and pretty Zoe Keating and her Cello.
The show was originally scheduled for the Mod Club but it sold out so fast it was moved to the Guvernment where it quickly sold out again. There was a definite buzz in the Air and the place was still intimate.
Zoe was great and her parents were there (she lived here for a while). You might know here from the band Rasputina, the kick-ass Cello group. That might sound weird to you, but check it out, especially if you're into Goth in any way.
After a long delay, unexplainable since there's nothing to set up, Immie showed up in a wonderful gown and her traditional big hair.
Wow! Quite the gal! She started with an acapella song that floored us.
She then introduced her 'band' which consists of an Apple laptop and some keyboards. Also a frisky wind up mouse ...
If you've seen Radiohead, you'll understand the concept where she plays a beat and loops back what she just played, including vocals. She a has a few more complex beats as well on her laptop. She's truly amazing, with the voice of an angel.
Zoe joined her for 3 songs as well.
Imogen might be known to some of you as the lead singer of Frou Frou. They had that great song in the movie Garden State (if you haven't seen that one yet, you need to -> top 20). She actually performed that song as well, which was a big surprise. All in all a great time and a great performance.
She even stuck around in the back lobby after to say hi, take pictures and sign autographs for everyone, despite pissing off the security people.
Holy crap she's tall.
I have to say that on my way to Barb's I was stuck, as we are won't to be, in traffic on the DVP. I was not feeling great and the evening was off to a rocky start. But then I noticed that a car in front of me in the lane to my left, which had four youngsters, flash a sign to the car in front of me. I was naturally curious so I sped up a bit. The cute girl in the back seat (about 20, I'd say) flashed a big smile and held up a sign, like a place mat, that had a big yellow smiley face on it. I couldn't help but giggle and crack a laugh which made them happy.
I've got to say thanks to her. That made a big difference - I had a great evening and that's where it started.
So all in all it was quite special. Thanks Barb!
Saturday, June 3, 2006
Pearl Jam
How can I not speak about the Pearl Jam show in early May.
The opening act was My Morning Jacket, they're good, but no Sleater-Kinney.
My tickets were great and we were like 30 feet from Mike McReady, becoming a guitar god!
I thought going to the first show of the tour would make it more special as opposed to the next night. We did get to hear some songs for the first time live (first ever performance of Inside Job), but the second night had an extra half hour.
Oh well, live and learn. And if the only complaint is that the show was "only" 140 minutes, I guess that's alright!
They do seem much happier now that they are free of the label. Great new album, by the way.
It was great to see the fans sing a long to the new stuff, even though the album had only been out one week. Awesome, we are the best fan base, the security guards had nothing to do, we stay in our spots, and are orderly ... Lot's of respect going around, a big contrast to the rest of the city.
That was my 6th time seeing them and the first repeat city (Montreal, Boston, NY & Ottawa are the others).
If you get a chance see them, Sonic Youth is opening for them later on. I'll be seeing them in 2 weeks in Bonnaroo (SY that is).
Enjoy!
The opening act was My Morning Jacket, they're good, but no Sleater-Kinney.
My tickets were great and we were like 30 feet from Mike McReady, becoming a guitar god!
I thought going to the first show of the tour would make it more special as opposed to the next night. We did get to hear some songs for the first time live (first ever performance of Inside Job), but the second night had an extra half hour.
Oh well, live and learn. And if the only complaint is that the show was "only" 140 minutes, I guess that's alright!
They do seem much happier now that they are free of the label. Great new album, by the way.
It was great to see the fans sing a long to the new stuff, even though the album had only been out one week. Awesome, we are the best fan base, the security guards had nothing to do, we stay in our spots, and are orderly ... Lot's of respect going around, a big contrast to the rest of the city.
That was my 6th time seeing them and the first repeat city (Montreal, Boston, NY & Ottawa are the others).
If you get a chance see them, Sonic Youth is opening for them later on. I'll be seeing them in 2 weeks in Bonnaroo (SY that is).
Enjoy!
One Month Later
Wow ... It's been over a month, I'm slipping.
So much has happened.
First off, I was right about Carolina, at least I predicted they would win the cup and now they're in the finals. I've always had a thing for the Oilers after seeing them in the early 80's (on TV) against the Islanders. Plus there is that incident with Gretzky when Sevigny said in the media that Lafleur was going to "put him in his back pocket". Gretzky dropped like 5 points that night on the habs.
If I had to pick another team to root for it would be between Philly & Edmonton.
Still - there's no way Carolina loses this. Weight, Recchi, Brind'Amour is a lot of veteran savvy. And they're not the top players on the team. Edmonton has Pronger though, and I never bet against him.
In the NBA, I had the final 4 down pat. And now Miami is through, as I predicted.
Dallas is up 10 in game 6 and should make me look pretty damn smart.
I know I predicted Dallas to win it all, but Miami (with my favorite players Wade & Shaq) is looking destined.
It would be nice to see Shaq win to enervate Kobe!
Wade is the reason I started paying attention to the NBA 3 years ago, so I have a soft spot for him.
Cuban is my favorite owner in all sports and Boston was the team of my youth. So I don't have a clear cut favorite team yet, it feels kinda weird.
Nash is great and is fun to watch, and I predict this for next year - Phoenix will win it next year. With Amare back, and most guys signed (just need to keep Thomas) ... that's adding an all-star with MVP potential to a final four team, pretty sweet!
At least Nash is still perfect in game 7's.
This is the first finals since the Baltimore/Milwakee '71 series that both teams are there for the first time.
So much has happened.
First off, I was right about Carolina, at least I predicted they would win the cup and now they're in the finals. I've always had a thing for the Oilers after seeing them in the early 80's (on TV) against the Islanders. Plus there is that incident with Gretzky when Sevigny said in the media that Lafleur was going to "put him in his back pocket". Gretzky dropped like 5 points that night on the habs.
If I had to pick another team to root for it would be between Philly & Edmonton.
Still - there's no way Carolina loses this. Weight, Recchi, Brind'Amour is a lot of veteran savvy. And they're not the top players on the team. Edmonton has Pronger though, and I never bet against him.
In the NBA, I had the final 4 down pat. And now Miami is through, as I predicted.
Dallas is up 10 in game 6 and should make me look pretty damn smart.
I know I predicted Dallas to win it all, but Miami (with my favorite players Wade & Shaq) is looking destined.
It would be nice to see Shaq win to enervate Kobe!
Wade is the reason I started paying attention to the NBA 3 years ago, so I have a soft spot for him.
Cuban is my favorite owner in all sports and Boston was the team of my youth. So I don't have a clear cut favorite team yet, it feels kinda weird.
Nash is great and is fun to watch, and I predict this for next year - Phoenix will win it next year. With Amare back, and most guys signed (just need to keep Thomas) ... that's adding an all-star with MVP potential to a final four team, pretty sweet!
At least Nash is still perfect in game 7's.
This is the first finals since the Baltimore/Milwakee '71 series that both teams are there for the first time.
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