Weekly football post #24.

Welcome to the George Washington edition of the weekly football post. Let's get started. 

The Fountain Valley Barons went up against Esperanza for their final match of the year, and it was kind of a microcosm for the season as a whole. The Espy's beat the Barons despite an 8 save effort from Tyler Folkins between the pipes. Eperanza's Michael Hodis nailed the golden goal in the second half to put FVHS away for good here in 2009. With a 6-8-4 finish overall (and a 4-4-1 Sunset record), the Mighty Mighty Barons have plenty of need to grow over the next year. Losing Jordan Gorman (led the team with 7 goals this year) to college won't help, but hopefully Junior Mike Tedesco (a goal scored in three different games this year) will be able to step it up and make a difference. Better luck next year, boys. 

Newcastle got a week off after their 3-2 win against West Brom. I guess that means that the Mags will be well rested for their 2/22 match against the bastards from Everton. Bring it on, Jon. 

Celtic matched up against Rangers in a match that always bring excitement to the world, and the game ended in a 0-0 yawner. It was a scrappy match between the rivals of the Old Firm, but neither team really got a great chance. Scott McDonald has the closest moment of excitement, with a header from 6 yards out, but missed just high and the game would slowly play itself to the nil-nil final. The draw between the Caths and the Protties keeps Celtic 2 points clear of the hated Blue Shirts in the SPL table. The Hoops are 17-3-5 (56 points in 25 matches) so far this campaign, and they look to their next match against #7 Motherwell to try and gain a tad more separation against Andrew's boys. While all of the players and coaches are feeding the fans the BS of being happy with the draw, we as fans obviously wished for more. I do have to, of course, give props to stud Polish man Artur Boruc, for holding strong in the huge battle. 

I actually watched the Chivas match this weekend with a Mexican soccer fan, which was a joy, and Chivas was a disappointment. Nothing until the 88th minute would be something I would call inspired by the Goats. After a 0-0 first half that saw few chances, Santos Laguna came away with goals in the 50th and 59th minute to grab a huge lead. Argentinean legend Daniel Luduena nailed home the first goal for the bad guys with a free kick that got just over the hand of Luis Michel. They must have replayed that shot a million times on Azteca TV, and it just looms in my mind. Even worse, however, was the goal by Carlos "Darwin" Quintero in the 59th minute. A slip by a Red & White defender led to a three on one against Michel. The Chivas pipe man blocked the initial shot, but gave up a fat rebound, which led to the second goal of the game. Not very many chances came for the losing side with the deficit, until the 88th minute when Javier Hernandez Balcazar nailed a nice kick of his own. "El Chicharito" burried the goal on a pretty pass that fooled former Chivas keeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Balcazar picked up the ball, ran it all the way back to the center spot of the field, and clapped his team on in an attempt to tie things up in the final 120 seconds. It wasn't meant to be. Now at 2-1-2, Chivas continues to hold a slight lead in the Clausura Group 2, as they prepare for a home game against Group 3 leader Toluca (3-0-2) on Wednesday and an away game against hot on their tails Morelia (2-2-1) on Saturday. 

Let's not let Ireland's amazing F up of Italy on the 6 Nations rugby pitch go without celebration. The Green & White side trounced the Italians with a 38-9 showing that will help them to remember who rules the roost. Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitgerald, David Wallace, and Brian O'Driscoll all had tries in the match, and the Blue Shirts from Italy went back to their flats drying their eyes. It was an identical Irish side to that which beat up on France last weekend, and it puts Ireland in prime position here in the 6 Nations tourney. Ireland and Wales now sit as the only undefeated teams in the campaign (both at 2-0-0), but the Greens have a significantly better point differential with +38 compared to the Welsh +21. The 6 Nations takes a little time off for now, before getting back to business on 2/28, when the Irish resume their march to the 6 Nations Cup against the hated English. Keep in mind that 3/21 is the biggest battle of the tourney, at least as it stands right now, as the Irish eyes will be ready to battle those amazing Welshers. Game on. 

That seems like enough football for now. Hope you enjoyed the post, and I hope you enjoyed the Canucks gigantic 4-2 win over the Habs last night. GM Place was rocking, and the now 27-21-8 Canucks are sitting in the West's 5th spot with 62 points. Of course, only 2 points separate the fifth spot from the out-of-the-playoffs nine hole. 

I think the people at the Onion hope that this one doesn't come true anytime soon.