Angels getting straight crushed.

I felt so excited about the Angels doing well against the Doyers over the weekend, and was pumped up heading into the series with the White Sox. What a relief to know that I don't have to keep high expectations for my team when it comes to consistency. The Halos opened the series with a 3-17 loss to the Sox where Ervin Santana and company got straight murdered. They followed that up with a tough luck loss last night 2-4. All of the sudden, we're left asking what the heck is going on? 

On Monday night, the Angels had 3 runs on 4 hits. Not too awesome, but good enough, right? Well, not when the opposition puts up 17 runs on 24 hits. Ervin was just straight ugly, and I'm not just talking about what Karen thinks of his face. The damned cheater. Black Magic went 1 inning (1+, really), allowing 7 runs on 9 hits. He tossed 41 pitches, boosting his ERA to a hefty 7.82. Raffy Rodriguez came in to try and do anything to salvage the game, and allowed 6 runs in his 3 innings. No bullpen pitcher shut things out. Awful. Of course, there was brief excitement when the Angels tied the game at 3 after 1 inning with some cool offense, but things pretty much cooled off after that. Offensive props to Torii Hunter, who brought his big game with 2 RBI in the gigantic loss. 

But, whatever, we would get back down to reality on Tuesday night, right? With Joe Saunders on the mound, we were sure to have a loss stopper. Finally, we got the pitching duel that we all love. Both teams were blanked through four innings, with Joe succumbing to a homer by a Nix not named Lance in the fifth and the seventh, as well as a RBI baseknock by Konerko. Saunders finished with a good enough evening, going 6.67 innings of 3 run ball. The V. Tech grad earned 4 punch outs in the loss, which dropped his record to 6-3. He deserved better, but Bartolo Colon was on a mission. Fat Bart went 6.67 innings of 1 run ball after giving up a jack to Bobby Abreu in the seventh. The Angels bullpen was pretty solid, with Shields (0.3 innings of shutout ball), Oliver (1 inning of shutout ball), and Palmer (1 run allowed in his inning). The offense just didn't have it. By the way, what is the deal with Matt Palmer coming out of the bullpen at this point? Kelv still has one more rehab assignment in Rancho, and we're already shifting out fifth starter into the pen? A fifth starter, by the way, who has a 5-0 record as a starter in 2009? Well, we were later informed that he is still going to get a scheduled start, but Scioscia was just pushing him out the bullpen door to get some actual in game work going. Does that usually happen? I don't think so. Odd call, but I guess it didn't matter. 

The offense, as I said, just didn't get the job done. 2 runs on 8 hits, with 5 total dude left on base in a close game, just isn't good enough. The notables were Chone Figgins (2 for 4), Torii "Guess Who?" Hunter (2 for 4, RBI), and BA (1 for 4, with a jack). Outside of that, things were relatively quiet. I have to address a lineup issue, though, that has been bugging me. Granted, my favorite Angel, HK 47, has been having a tough start to the '09 season. In the first 40 games, Howard is stroking .238/4/20. With a .281 OBP, things just haven't been falling for my boy. So, the Angels brass have decided their answer is to drop Howie in the order until he heats up. But, is that really the best choice? Let's take a look at BA by spot in the order to see. When HK has been in his most traditional #2 spot, he hits just .196. In the recently placed 8 hole, he's hitting just .206. So, neither of those answers seems to be good. Where should we put him? The spot with the largest sample outside of those two spots is the #9 slot in the order. Howie is hitting .467 at the bottom of the order, and this may be a great place to stick him for the time being. I mean, I would like to let him settle into the #2 role, but a) it doesn't seem to be working and b) Bobby Abreu seems to fit so well there. Do we think Vlad will heat up now that he's back? 

The loss kind of hurts. At 23-22 (a -10 run differential after that Monday night blow up), the Angels are now 4 games back of the division leading Texas. The Rangers, at 27-18, are still surprising me. Seattle is 6.5 back of the lead, and Oakland is at 8.5 back of the top. The Angels will go up in the final game of the series. Jered "Big Baby" Weaver is going to try and get to 4-0 at home with a win tonight. His 3-2, 2.52 mark shows that he has been a tough luck loser this season (losing a 1-3 no decision to LA and a 0-3 loss to Texas before that). Can he keep the home love going against Annapolis, MD (and probable military brat) Gavin Floyd (3-4, 6.54). If Weaver can keep things going well, you'd have to imagine that this would be our chance to get a win in this series. By the way, Weav is so solid at the Stadium. He is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA, getting a 31-5 strikeout to walk ratio in his 36.67 innings. Keep it up, stud. 

Now, before I sign off and watch the game tonight, I want to explore the issue of bringing Brandon Wood up to the big squad. While driving home from work, I sat in my car listening to "fans" arguing back and forth about the Brandon Wood debate. Let's take a look from my perspective. First off, I've always like Wood and thought he would pull things together. I mean, I've always had fears that he would become another D-Mac (note, Karen has a D-Mac t-shirt jersey), but he hasn't seemed to have a bad back up to this point. But, Brandon Wood has been huge at AAA with the Bees. Wood is hitting .320/10/21 in his 27 games with the Bees this season. However, the more important part is his K-BB ratio. He's sitting at 23-13 in that department. If you know Brandon Wood, you would know that is a crazy improvement. The Austin, TX native may be ready to get a full shot in the bigs, but where would he play. Chone Figgins is doing fairly well this year (.299/0/12/19 stolen bases). Keep in mind, though, that Chone Figgins has his contract expiring after this season. The club knows what they are doing. Brandon Wood will be the Angels starting third baseman in 2010, and Chone Figgins will be moving on. Write it down. So, since he'll have a slot in '10, stop complaining, stop worrying, and we'll see him for a full stint next year. Calm down. 

One more thing before I go. I want to address the DL, which is kind of getting out of control. We're looking at Shields, Esco, Loux, and Moseley all on the injured list. I guess that answers my questions about why they are bringing Palmer out of the pen a couple of days before he starts. Best of luck to the call ups, Raf-Rod and Rich Thompson. We always love to have the wacky Aussie out of the pen. 

Well, Jon, the Hawks and Wings are headed to OT tied at one. Come on Hawks, I believe in you too! 

Am I Freaking Out?

I don't know what I am going to say I will just write.  I'm sure my spelling errors and grammar mistakes will be pointed, which is actually totally appreciated on my end.  

I will start with the team has impacted my emotions the most this year, The Mighty Blackhawks.  There is way too much I have to say about this series that I probably won't mention especially the Havlat hit and how much certain Detroit players suck... but that would be immature and I want to go to bed soon.  Almost everybody including many Hawks fans don't believe that the team can right the ship and take down Red.  But I believe.  I know I have written some posts that are probably 2 positive at times or 2 crazy but not this time.  These young Hawks took down a solid Calgary team and a great Vancouver team which was playing their best hockey up until that series in my opinion.  Don't get me wrong this won't be a cinch, but these young guys can do it.  Announcers want to use stale terminologies and analyze things the way they always have done.  I don't think it is just me but I think there is something really special about this team.  They didn't quit all season in any game and I don't see them stopping now.  They aren't scared, they will take a run at anybody and have. 

 Game 1 was a tough loss but I thought they played Detroit strong and the final score(2-5) wouldn't bother them since it wasn't the entire reflection of how the Hawks played.  They came into game 2 with a determination to hit and they did.  My main man Ben Eager was everywhere and Adam Burish put his shoulder into Lidstrom laying him down to the ice (never highlighted or talked about, thanks Versus).  They ended up losing in OT on a intercepted pass from Campbell at the blue line, it was a 3 on 1 and Samuelsson wristed one in the net 2 end it, 2-3.  To come out of that game with confidence was easy after there solid play in game 2.  Nobody was happy the way it ended on the Hawks side but they knew they were the better team that night and could more than just "play" with The Scum.  Game 3 comes, back in Chicago, a lot of atmosphere so to speak.  The fans were great and the Hawks came out strong.  They went up 3-0 only to have Babcock's Dickless wonders comeback and take it to OT 3-3 (Thanks refs back-to-back-to-back pp's in one period for Detroit made it easy on em to crawl back in).  So Sharp who has played huge all playoffs gets a great pass from Sammy P and takes advantage of a wide open net (Osgood is soooo over-rated) and gives the Hawks a crazy OT win that they deserved Game 4, the Hawks look to deflate Detriot and take all the momentum and even this series 2-2.  The hawks play strong in the 1st period but allow a goal in the last 30 seconds by Johan Franzen to make it 2-0.  This is where the Hawks start to wonder what the fuck happened to this game. At the end of the 1st Walker is charged for a roughing call that Coach Q didnt really like.  The start of the 2nd the Wings score almost immediately.  Then Lebda throws one over the ice and "My Captain My Captian" Jonny Toes backhands one in to make it 3-1, I relax and I guess the Hawks did the same...12 seconds later Hossa ganks a goal pass our backup goalie Huet (oh ya Khabi couldn't play in this one, bad Hammy) 4-1.  Penalties were given to Walker (interference) and Versteeg(cross checking) on the same play a few minutes later and it gives the wings a 5 on 3... they capitalize like any team would. 5-1.  A lot of talk was spewed by NBC saying these Hawks took selfish penalties, they aren't ready, they lost their composure, but if you watched this game it was "Detroit's to win" just like at the beginning of the NBA season 2 weeks, 3 analysts said it was "Just Lebron's year to win a MVP award."  I am sick of this shit.  Lebron is good and might have deserved the award but that is neither here nor there.  I won't get too crazy...all I am saying is the media has an agenda and it pisses me right off when they say shit that shouldn't be said b/c it disrespects the game and all who have played the game, let alone people who watch the game and care about it.  The Hawks fans are also to blame, they go quiet real quick, so fuck you u fuckin bullshit Chicago native with your beer and your girlfriend and your cubbies hat.  Whatever I don't even know if that was the proper diss that has been pent up inside me.  The Hawks gave up another goal late on a PP by Vetterberg.  Hawks bloggers compain about Eager's maturity, and Versteeg's arrogance and Kaner's body language, they don't know shit. Eager and Versteeg were trying to send messages and trying to get something going you don't stop playing Hockey, you don't go half ass cause u know you are going to lose a game.  I am fully committed to the Indian, I am committed to the One Goal (ya I but into the BS slogans).  Beat these Red Wings and prove to at least the Hockey world there is more than the pretty faces of Pitt and Det.   Hawks in 7!! Just focus and believe Hawks.

No proofread.  Dodgers and 49er talk will commence when I get back from a 2 1/2 week roadtrip to see mlb ball parks with my buddy who goes to school in Ohio.  Pitt., Clev., Chicago, Minn., St Louis, Colorado and Phx. will be the games we will attend.. let me know if you want a t-shirt jersey or something from a certain team.  We will also stop by the Grand Canyon and KC but the royals will not be in town...FYI.

P.S.-I miss the Tighe's! So here something fun I found for us Mac users

Weekly football post #37.

It has officially been 21 days in the latest Brandon/Jon/Andrew post strike, which is too bad, because I'd really like to hear about Jon's feelings during this Western Conference Finals. I bet they're sad. 

I kind of feel as though this should officially end my weekly football posts here on the LSF. Could it get any worse? This was far and away the most downtrodden I have felt after a European football weekend. If you're ready to go along suffering with me, keep reading. 

It was supposed to be so easy (yes, Brandon, that is a "The Streets" reference). All that Newcastle needed was a draw against Aston Villa, and we would have headed to the 09/10 season in the EPL ready to turn things around for the franchise. Newcastle had been up in the big leagues for the past 16 years, and Magpie Nation wasn't interested in seeing that run come to an end. 38 minutes into the game, a Damien Duff own goal became a microcosm for the entire season. Duff deflected a shot from Gareth Barry of Aston that went right past Steve Harper to seal our fate. Just like that, the Barcodes were officially relegated. There is so many things to consider as we head down to the English Championship League (ECL, for short). The Mags will be joining the likes of Reading, Preston North End, Cardiff City, Ipswich, Crystal Palance, Nottingham Forest, and even Norwich City! Man, it is going to be a different year next year. Rumors are already circling about the future of Newcastle. Will Michael Owen be off after yet another so so year? Will owner Mike Ashley bring back Alan Shearer despite his inability to rally the troops for a miracle in the last 8 games? Will the team really lose somewhere around 30-60 million pounds just from being sent to the Championship? The post-game quotes were quite gnarly, "We are all hurting, and I feel desperately sorry for everyone associated with Newcastle." Shearer was even worse, "I'm raw, angry, frustrated, disappointed and I am hurting- you can put all those words together and that still doesn't sum it up. The simple fact is that over 38 games, Newcastle United have not been good enough and deserve to go down- and it hurts for me to say that." Oh well, my favorite soccer team from England is no longer among the greats, I guess it is time to move on for now. 

It doesn't get much better for me, as a gaze over to Scotland for my favorite SPL squad. A quiet 0-0 draw against Heart of Midlothian was obviously no enough for the Hoops, leading to being denied their fourth straight SPL title. Andrew's bloody Rangers earned the championship by 4 points, despite the clean sheet from Artur Boruc for Celtic, and we are left wondering what we are going to do in 09/10. Rangers won their game against Dundee, which made the Celtic/Heart match unimportant, but at least we could have gone out in style. And, as if that wasn't enough, Celtic coach and whiz kid Gordon Strachan resigned less than 24 hours after his team failed to retain the title. The rumors have Stacs going to Sunderland, and no matter what happens it leaves Celtic wide open in terms of coaching. You'd think there would have been more for Boruc, McDonald, Gorgeous Georgios, Naka, McGeady, and Vennergoor, but no. I guess it could have been much, much worse. Remembering that we didn't get relegated always helps. Can't wait until next year Celts!

With Pachuca & UNAM making their way to the finals of the FMF Clausura 2009, Chivas has no games to play after a fairly shaky season. Would you believe that Necaxa was relegated to the Primera Division A? Sad. What will the Apertura 2009 hold for the Mexican Goats? Can't wait. 

In a rough football weekend, I couldn't even look toward Chivas USA to make me happy. Chivas drew with the Kansas City Wizard (who may, or may not, be Brandon's favorite MLS squad). I guess after the 1-1 match, the rivalry (again, if there is one) between Brandon and Tommy on the MLS pitch has only intensified. It was a match littered with eight cards and two ejections, and in the end Chivas was able to at least add something to their MLS leading point total with a 1-1 draw. After a quiet 45 minutes, the Wiz's Claudio Lopez netted the game opening goal for KC only to have Chivas' Eduardo Lillingston know things up. Of course, Chivas was able to score the game tying goal thanks in part to KC having two players ejected (Wolff and Hirsig), leaving them with just 9 players for the final 7 minutes. Props to Paulo Nagamura for leading the way with 3 shots for the Goats, and love from my to Maykel Galindo for earning four fouls with a little rough play. Nice work, as usual, by Zach "The Beast" Thorton, who made 3 saves in the near clean sheet. Heading into a Thursday evening game against Chicago (Jon's favorite MLS team?), Chivas USA are rolling their 7-1-3 record (24 points) at the top of the conference. Seattle sits back in the 2 hole with 16 points, and Houston is coming hard. Chicago, the East's top squad, is undefeated at 4-0-6 (18 points) and should present quite a challenge for the Red & White. I guess with Chivas USA being the only football team on my list of favorite squads left playing, it is time to really get into the Goats run at the title. Arriba last Chivas! 

What is going to happen with the Davis family with Chelsea and Everton going head to head in the FA Cup final? Man, that is going to be fun. 

Hunter leads Angels to Freeway glory.

Say what you will about Torii Hunter's amazing catches in the outfield (and we all have during this series), the big one he made on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of the series was pretty damned awesome. He also didn't do to bad with the stick, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and leading the Angels to a 10-7 series winning victory against Brandon and Jon's Doyers. 

Before I get started, I wanted to point out a couple of things. #1) If I would have done a post on the Angels 10 inning loss to the LA Blues yesterday, the title would have been "Arredon-doh!" I mean, with the sacks full, please make the guy hit the freaking ball! #2) I hope you are all excited about the upcoming weekly football post, which we hope will drop on Memorial Day. If you are wondering if a) Celtic pulled off the SPL title with a win or b) if Newcastle avoided relegation, I've give you a little hint: the answer to both of those questions is no. Okay, now back to the Sunday afternoon battle between the Red Hats and the Bad Guys. 

Matt "I don't lose" Palmer took to the hill against the Dodgers (have you heard that he's a 30 year old rookie?!?!) to do battle with beloved future hall of famer and Defiance, OH native Chad Billingsley. The amazing Billingsley (6-1, 2.28 coming in) wasn't, giving up 5 runs in his six innings of pitching. One could argue that Mattie P wasn't much better. But, if you've been paying attention, it was really only the length of time he was out on the mound that made you look twice. Palmer went just 4.67 innings of work against Los Doyers, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits, including a three run bomb to O-Hud assassin Jamie Hoffmann (who hit the huge jack for his first major league hit). ESPN listed Jamie's 2009 salary at "$0", so really the Dodgers got three runs and an injury to their underrated second baseman for nothing! Either way, Palmer was less than stellar in his no decision, but still looks pretty fresh for a 30 year old rookie at 5-0, 4.71. The impressiveness on the mound has to go to Jason Bulger, who has been getting better and better as we move along this season. The Bulge went 1.3 innings of perfect work with 2 Ks, getting 15 strikes on his 19 pitches. In the last 28 days, Jason has given up 0 runs in 7.1 innings (not counting today) and has held down a 0.955 WHIP. Compare that to a 6.57 ERA in his last 24.2 innings pitched and you can see how much he has improved. I'll dish out my red alert of the game: Justin "Not of this world" Speier pitched a shutout inning! No joke! Four batters, one hit, 2 Ks, and no runs! He's dropped his ERA to 5.51, and is turning himself into the old Scot Shields (shout out to Shields for allowing the Doyers to tie the game last night. What's wrong, pal?). While Darren Oliver was shaky at best in the eighth, and Fuentes did his best to put himself in a save situation in the ninth, the Angels held on through the ups and downs of their 2009 bullpen to get that all-important series deciding win.

The bats were straight ferocious in this one for the Angels, as they have been as of late. Mike Napoli was the only "usual" offensive player to go without a hit, and he has watched his batting average plummet back down to earth as only I knew it would have (actually, Nap got an infield single in the ninth, so I'm provided that little update as I write this post "in game"). His recent o'fer stink has sent him down to .287 after wowing bandwagon fans early on with his amazing stick. Even I gave him props at one point! What was I thinking? The "Golden Bat" award has to go to Big Game in this one, finishing with a nice 2 for 4 afternoon with 3 RBI to raise his average to .314 and his team leading RBI mark to 37. Hunt had two singles to drive in his three runs, including a clutch two run single with the sacks full in the Angels half of the seventh. He was joined at the pancake store by Chone Figgins (2 for 4 with 2 runs), BA (2 for 4 with a freaking triple), Juan "Magic Wand" Rivera (3 for 5 with 2 RBI), Kendry Morales (2 for 4 with 2 RBI), Erick "Ugly Ducking" Aybar (2 for 3 with a walk), and Robb "The extra B is for Plan-B" Quinlan (2 for 4 with 2 runs to prove me wrong for doubting him). That's right, I'm here to say "I was wrong." When Scioscia put Quinny in the lineup the other night and he failed to get a hit, I pointed out how dumb it was to have a -.200 hitter in such an important game. Then Q went 3 for 4 on Saturday and 2 for 5 on Sunday to raise his average to around a semi-respectable .250. I've always rooted for Robb, and I'm not sure what led to my temporary lapse in judgment. Sorry, pal. Did anyone know that Brandon Wood's .333 average is the best on the team after just 9 at bats? What ever happened to that guy? 

All in all, it was a nice win up the freeway for the Halos, and quite a nice way to wrap up this roadie. We needed it, too, with the Rangers sweeping in Houston. At 23-20, Los Halos are holding at 3 back of the Rangers and their 26-17 record. With Seattle standing 6 back of Texas and Oakland 9 back, we really need to put the pressure on these guys. Tomorrow night, Black Magic will be in the air for Memorial Day, and I hope it smells like heaven. Ervin "Heartthrob" Santana and his rosary tattooed arm with hurl hard white balls at the Chicago White Sox. Erv is 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA after losing a 0-1 game to Seattle in his last start. He's looked pretty solid since coming off of the DL, especially in that game, where he took the loss despite 6.67 innings of one run ball, getting 3 Ks and allowing just 5 hits. It only gets better, right? The Angels will be swinging their bats against the nasty stuff of Austin, TX native John Danks. JD is 3-3 with a 4.60 ERA this season, and most recently pitched 5.67 innings of 4 run ball (2 earned) against the Twins in a 7-4 Chicago win. However, he is 1-3 in his last 5 starts, so we may be getting him at the right time. I really hate Chicago (the White Sox, not the city), so I'm pulling hard for the holiday win to get this series started. 

I'm going to wrap up with my "MiLB'ers" of note section of the post. Instead of giving you three hitters and three pitchers from each of the Angels big minor league teams, I'm going to focus on just one hitter and one pitcher from each to bring about a little more of a relationship with the guys from the small clubs. Starting with AAA Salt Lake, I'd like to give some love to the free swinging OF Chris Pettit. The Loyola Marymount graduate is one of the more underrated outfielders on the Bees roster. He's currently hitting .376 with 2 jacks and 27 RBI. In a recent game against Omaha, Pettit went 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored, including a 2 run homer to help the Bees triumph. My mound man for the Bees this time around is Mexicali, Mexico native Franciso Rodriguez. No, not #57, #26! This relief pitcher, who can also start on the mound, has put together a 2-1 record and a 1.54 ERA in 12 games for the Bees this year. He has a 16-10 K-BB ratio and hold opponents to a .179 BA. It's not secret why the Bees are 25-17 and just 1 game back of division leading Colorado Springs. Down in AA Arkansas, things aren't quite as great (15-26 and 9 games back of Springfield), but there are still a grip of great players. We'll start with a guy I love, Park Ridge, IL native Peter "Burro" Bourjos. Pete is ripping AA up with his .323 average and 17 RBI in 39 games. His OPS is .838, and he recently has a 4 for 5 night against Tulsa that included a three run bomb and a stolen base. We are outfield deep, aren't we? I'm going to introduce you to reliever Bryan Rembisz for my Travs' hurler of the post. Bryan is rocking a 1-2 record and a 0.00 ERA in 11 games this season. With 13 Ks in his 20.67 innings, Remmie has a BAA of .129 as has dreams of getting to Salt Lake this season. Finally, we head to Rancho, where the squad is 18-25 with an 11 game deficit in the California South Division. They may be the lovable losers, but they've got some studs ready to work their way up. My hitter of the post is Albany, NY native Chris Rosenbaum. The studly Jewish baller is hitting .357 with 4 RBI in just 8 games with the Quakes. With 4 RBI in just 14 ABs, you know that this catcher has some potential. He recently went 2 for 4 against Lancaster with 4 runs scored as he bounces between high-A Rancho and low-A Cedar Rapids. My 91 freeway pitcher of the day is Kelvim Escobar. I know it may sound like kind of a joke, but Esco has been working his way toward getting off the DL and made a stop in Rancho to show his progress. Kelv Daddy pitched 4.67 innings of one run ball (unearned) for the single-A team and got 4 Ks in the process. He held Lake Elsinore hitters to a .067 batting average and gave the Quakes a nice little pick me up in his rehab assignment. Can't wait to see you back on the squad homey. 

I'm not sure how Chicago lost game 4 to the Wings by a score of 1-6, but that just isn't cool. Now we need 3 straight wins from Jon's hockey heroes to avoid suffering through a Detroit/Pitt Stanley Cup Finals. Dear God Hawks, do something! 

Missed opportunities end with Angel win.

What an awful game. I mean, the offense was so piss poor in this game when it came to timing. I guess you could also say that this pitching was tip top in clutch situations (which were created by poor pitching and good offense, oddly enough), but isn't is more fun to talk crap on how there was just no clutch bat in this game for either team? And then, eventually, there was. Chone Figgins made up for a big base running mistake earlier on with a timely two run single in the eighth that led to a fun Red Hat win against the lesser LA team, 3-1. 

It was tough to see the Halos (and the Dodgers!) not coming through on so many chances. The Halos went 2 for 17 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 runners on base. Erick Aybar was a mess with the bat, popping out twice on sac bunt attempts and finishing 0 for 4. It was funny that the announcers said, "Aybar is usually one of the Angels' top bunters." My mind flashes back to the epic fail of a suicide squeeze in the playoffs against Boston. One of our top bunters? Come on! Gary Matthews crushed an infield single to the Dodgers third baseman in the fourth with Torii Hunter cruising home from 90 feet away to open up the scoring, giving our Most Valuable Junior two RBI in two straight games. After the Blue Crew tied things up in the bottom of that inning, both teams failed to push home the go ahead run with too many chances to count. They should somehow keep a stat of scoring chances in baseball. Figgins nailed the game winning hit after another failed sac bunt (this time by HK 47) in the eighth, and it was all Red. Figgins, despite having a pitiful base running mistake getting tagged out at home because he choked and slammed on the breaks, went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and a walk. He was joined in the pancake department by my man Kendry Morales (finally getting respect with a 2 for 4 night and a .280 batting average) and GMJ (2 for 3 with a RBI to raise his BA to .290, making us forget about Vlad?). I would like that complain about Figgins leadoff triple. Not about the hit, actually, but because the Angels weren't able to get him home after that amazing start to the inning. Honestly. Ouch. 

The pitching was top top in this one, really. Jered "Big Baby" Weaver finished 5 innings of 1 run ball, giving up 8 hits. He only went 5 innings because he tossed 101 pitches in that amount of time. This was a slow game in every stretch of the imagination. The first inning took 45 minutes, if that let's you know. Justin Speier went just 0.67 innings of 1 hit ball (which was just enough), and was joined in the pen by the always amazing Darren Oliver (1.3 innings of shutout ball for the win and the super low 1.37 ERA on the year), the "where the heck has he been" Jose Arredondo (1 perfect inning with 2 Ks), and Brian "The Save Machine" Fuentes (1 perfect inning to lower that bloated ERA to 4.02). The hurlers may have allowed the Dodgers to get a ton of chances on the base path, but they also got the hell out of it, which is more than Blue Hat fans can say for the now 0-3 Cory Wade (Kentucky Wesleyan University Sucks!). It wasn't the best pitching effort, but I'll take it. 

Some crazy love needs to be handed out to one of the most important parts of a baseball team, the defense. Torii "Man's Game" Hunter was nuts with the glove in centerfield. Now look, I realize that catches up against the wall get blown way out of proportion, and that kind of happened. But he "crashed into the wall" with his first running catch, and then leapt up to snag a ball that would have gone high off the wall later in the game. The only Angel that bested him was #9 and his wicked glove at the hot corner. Chone made an amazing diving catch toward the line and fired a perfect line drive to Kendry at first to save Weaver with the bases full of Dodgers. Nice, nice glove love. 

The Angels were within 2 of the Rangers at the end of the night, but with a Texas win this afternoon, my boys and their 22-19 record are 2.5 back. A win tonight against Los Angeles would get us back within 2, which would be pretty fun. We've got Seattle 5.5 back of the top and Oakland 8.5 back and falling to round out the AL West. The Angels and Dodgers get it on for game 2 of the Freeway Series tonight as John Lackey (1-0, 7.71) tries to get a little better against Randy Wolf (2-1, 2.61) and company. Here's to the sweep. 

If you are interested in a comic book version of last night's game, please enjoy. And, by the way, I realized that Kendry Morales never tagged Juan Pierre in that pickle. Speaking of Juan Pierre, that reminds me! Why the hell do you Dodger fans always complain about this guy? Honestly. He's hitting .404 in 35 games this season with 12 RBI and a 10-4 BB-K ratio. I know he's probably playing over his head right now, getting some of that Manny Wood rubbing off, but how can you complain about a .992 OPS for a guy like Pierre. I don't care how he does it. 

Ya'll sucka' judges. 

Joe, Angels blank M's.

What a way to leave Seattle. The Angels bats played long ball, Joe Saunders and the bullpen blanked the Mariners, and the Angels earned a much needed three out of four against the AL West foes. What a way to get fired up heading into this weekend's mash up against LAD. 

I can't really say enough about Joey Saunders bouncing back in this game. After getting banged up the last time he took the hill, he was on a mission against Seattle. Joe pitched 7 near-flawless innings of 4 hit ball, punching out three to earn his sixth win of the year (a respectable 6-2 record). The bullpen didn't blow it either. Would you believe Scot Shields and Brian Fuentes both tossed some shutout ball? I wouldn't have believed it if I wouldn't have seen it with my own eyes! In the end, the M's only managed 6 hits in the game, and the hurlers did the job to set the offense up. 

The offense proved that the Angels are a long ball franchise. Solo home runs by Juan Rivera (1st inning), Gary Steroids Jr. (3rd inning), and Howie Kendrick (8th inning) powered the Angels and their mighty five hits to a 3-0 victory. Outside of that, Bedard and company were kind of holding it down against our bros. There were the three jacks, and then hits by Chone Figgins and Erick Aybar (back to back singles after HK's eighth inning bomb), and that was it. The offense was feeling the pain of Abreu being out, and it kind of showed. When BA is out and Torii goes 0 for 4, you know you're in for a long night. Still, large props to my man HK for raising his average to .241 after a slow start. And, interesting eye movements toward Mike Scioscia for starting Robb Quinlan and his .125 BA in the DH spot. I mean, I love the Q, but come on. 

My "other sucka" award goes to Vlad's Wario, Wladimir Balentien. That loser went 0 for 4 in the game, proving that Wario can't hold a candle to the real Red Hatted plumber. I mean, hitter. 

Thanks to the big series win (and the Rangers getting f'd up by the Tigers), the Angels are now just 2 games back with their 21-19 record in the AL West. The M's are trailing back from the top by 5 and the A's are 7 back from the division leading Texas crew. The wins has us back in + territory in the run differentials with a +2 mark, which has me pretty stoked. Things will only get more exciting this weekend when the Angels and Dodgers get it on in the battle for LA. Tonight we have Big Baby Weaver (3-2, 2.59) going toe to toe with Orel Kershaw (is that what you guys call him? 2-3, 4.60). Weav has kind of getting a raw deal lately (losing 0-3 to Texas and 3-4 to Boston in his last 2 games), and hopes to pull things together against the Blue Crew tonight at the "other" stadium. Can't wait. 

Do you think Vin Scully will tell us what Chone Figgins' real name is? 

Lack, Angels working some magic.

Can you believe the LSF has dropped 450 posts? What a trip! Today John Lackey headed to the mound to start his second game in three days. Of course, he only tossed two pitches in his season opener, so he hoped to go a little longer her on Monday Night Baseball. And he did. Keep in mind, I'm posting this with the game in progress, because I won't be up late enough to post after the end of the game. I'll try and make corrections in the comments section if the game dramatically changes, but I think this should be fun. 

John Lackey was pegged to give the Angels his "real" season debut in Seattle tonight, and while he threw more than two pitches, he wasn't really showing #1 material in his lengthier first start. Big John, the Abilene, TX native, went 5 short innings of 5 run ball. While one of the runs was unearned, you can't really over look Lack-Daddy allowing 7 hits to the M's, including the tenth jack of the year by Russ Branyan. Big John got some quality offense backing him up, however, and left the mound with a 6-5 lead. Darren Oliver is hopping onto the mound to start the bullpen work as I type, and the Kansas City native hopes to continue his lights out pitching from this 2009 season. With a 1.10 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, Ollie has punched out 13 in just 10 games, and hopefully he can hang on for the Halos. 

Despite a tough starting pitching outing, the Angels came through with the bats (up to this point) to rack up 8 runs in their first six innings with the stick. In the third inning, the Angels would get their first strike after falling behind 0-3. Chone Figgins fouled off a ball that was dropped, which would have ended the inning, and followed up the Mariner mistake with a RBI double to put us on the board. After Seattle jumped ahead on the Branyan homer, the Halos entered the top of the fifth on a mission. Good ol' JR just ripped a jack to left field to pull the Red Hats within two. It was only Magic Juan's second homer of the year, but at .297, he is really starting to come on. The fifth inning wasn't nearly done. Erick Aybar had Kendry Morales on third and HK 47 on second, and was able to ground an infield single up the middle. After the M's reliever walked Bobby Abreu, Torii "Big Game" Hunter came through with a double into the right center gap over the head of the outfielder. The bases cleared, and the Angels earned the 6-4 lead. After a Griffey single scored Ichiro Suzuki to pull Seattle back within one, it was our seriously underrated first baseman who would put us well ahead (hopefully for good). With Juan Rivera on base after a single to right field, Kendry "Teixiera who?" Morales turned on a fast ball down the middle and jacked his seventh of the year to the deepest part of the part in straight away center. Way to come back with some solid offense after getting shutout yesterday. 

Darren Oliver gave up a run in the sixth on a sac fly, and we head to the seventh with an 8-6 Angel lead. 

As I type, the Angels are 18-18 with a 4.5 game deficit to make up on the illusion known as Texas. With the Rangers sitting idle, and this post being "in game," we can assume the Halos will win tonight and pull within 4 of first place in the AL West. At the very least, we'll make some better headway on our run differential, which is currently running at -5. As much as it pains me to do so, I would like to recognize Mike Napoli and his team leading .324 batting average. With 6 jacks and 17 RBI in a catcher/DH role this season, he is really helping the offense out. He's no Abreu, Morales, or Hunter, but he's doing well for being my most despised Angel. Tomorrow night the Angels and Mariners will be at it again up in Seattle, and the Halos will be throwing their magic man, the 4-0 Memphis, TN native Matt Palmer. After his complete game win, Palmer has earned a lot of cred (currently sitting at 5.3% owned in ESPN fantasy teams, which is a +4.8% jump in the last week-bandwagon bastards). The Missouri State graduate hopes to continue his early season success (3.38 ERA) against Seattle's King Felix Hernandez. Felix has been hurling well, as usual, with a 4-2 record and a 3.53 ERA. The Valencia, Venezuela native with the middle name of Abraham has yet to face the Angels yet this season, but has a somewhat inflated home ERA of 4.26 that we can hopefully exploit. 

Let me just take a quick trip around the minors, mostly for my own enjoyment. Over the past couple of years I let you all know about the best Angels prospects for hitting and pitching, so let's keep that trend alive. Out in AAA, the Salt Lake Bees are off to a 24-14 start, leading their division by 1.5 games. The top hitters include outfielder Chris Pettit (.406/2/26), Brandon "When Will I Come Back to Anaheim" Wood (.347/9/19, with only 15 Ks in 19 games), and third baseman Freddy Sandoval (.316/4/29). On the mound, the Bees have Dan Denham starting well with a 3-0 record and a 4.46 ERA, Mike MacDonald hurling for the Scots at 3-2 with a hefty 6.12 ERA, and the usual big dude Sean "SOS" O'Sullivan doing slightly better at 3-1 and 5.97. The AA Arkansas Travs are sitting at 18-18 (much like their counterparts in LAA) and just 2 games back of first place Springfield. My long time favorite OF Peter "The Burro" Bourjos is hitting .308/1/15, with Hank "HB" Conger going .275/3/16, and 1B Abel Nieves is slugging at .269/0/2 in his brief 8 games. Mounding well are North Hollywood, CA native Trevor Bell (3-2, 2.51), Trevor Recklig (3-0, 1.55..STUD), and Ryan Brasier (2-1, 5.56). Just a little out the road east of here, the Rancho Quakes are sitting in second place (7.5 games back) with their 16-22 record. The single-A bats that are flying high are CF Carlos Colmenares (.356), C Brian Walker (.326), and LF Jeremy Moore (.326/2/15). The RC Hurlers leading the way are Tim Kiely (3-3, 4.07), Esmerlin Jimenez (2-1, 7.36-high ERA with a sweet name to make up for it), and Sammy Leon (again a sweet name at 2-2, 8.22- 8.22?!?!). I love learning about the young minor studs!

The Angels are still up 8-6 in the top of the 8th, so let's hope DO and the rest of the pen can keep the lead for Lackey's first win. 

Weekly football post #36.

Two things I'd like to point out before getting into the football action. #1) The Celtics got straight up destroyed in game 7 of their series with the Magic, 82-101. They are out of the playoffs, and that much closer to my heart. #2) The Angels got straight swept by the first place Rangers (8-10, 3-5, and 0-3) to drop to 4.5 games back of the top of the division. John Lackey will be starting tomorrow night's game after only getting off two pitches on Saturday after being ejected. Fastest turn around for a starter in recent memory? On to the bigger round ball!

It's back to the relegation zone for the lovely Magpies from Newcastle. A 0-1 loss to Fulham at home has put the squad's future in a very uncertain position. It was Diomansy Kamara getting the golden goal in the first half. 'Catle's Michael Viduka put the ball in the twine in the second half, only to have the goal unfairly taken away because of "obstruction" with the Fullie goalie. Alan Shearer was not stoked on the call, as seen above, but in the end it was another poor 90 for my Boys in Bars. It all comes down to the final game of the season against Aston Villa next weekend. Can we over take Hull City? Sitting in the #18 spot with 34 points in 37 games, Newcastle are looking up at Hull City's 35 points in the #17 spot (getting the extra leg up after a draw). Good news is that Hull are going to play Man U this upcoming weekend (come on Andrew!), and all Newcastle would need in combination with a Hull loss is a draw with #6 Aston Villa. A loss, however, would completely send Newcastle down a level. It's at the very least "draw or be relegated!" How exciting. 

Celtic didn't really do well enough in their penultimate game either. A 0-0 draw with the Hibs leaves Celtic with a game against Heart in the final weekend to try and overtake Andrew's Rangers. It was a defensive masterpiece by both the Hoops and the Hibs in the game for the Green & White this weekend, and now that Rangers has a 2 point lead heading into the final game, we are getting intense. Andrew's Blue Shirts play Dundee in their final game, and a win would give them their first SPL title in three years (all Celtic victories). However, a loss by the Protties accompanied by a win for the Celts would secure the fourth Green & White SPL title in as many years. No matter what happens, we are going to have some action on the side bar of the LSF, because we're getting some titles handed down. Actually, I guess I can hand the Man U 2009 title right now!

Out in Mexico, Chivas de Guadalajara took the weekend off after their embarrassing 1-3 loss to Indios last weekend. Their next match is set against Sao Paulo on Wednesday in the Copa Libertadores. Best of luck, Goats. 

In the MLS'  battle of two first place teams, Chivas USA was unable to come away with the giant win against DC United. Lucky for fans of the Goats, they didn't lost either. A 2-2 draw with the Beast from the East has to keep most of Chivas Nation proud after our amazing stomping of the Westerners over this season. The way that the draw went down, however, kind of takes the pride of the situation away. Chivas held a 2-0 draw up until the final 15 minutes when DC came storming back. It was LSF favorite Maykel Galindo and Eduardo Lillingston getting first half markers for the Red & White, but DC countered late in the game with goals from EMilio and Quaranta to earn the draw against the MLS' top squad. How great was it to see Maykel back in action and flying around the pitch? He is such a stud. The draw has Chivas at 7-1-2 (23 points) for the season, streaking ahead in the west (up 8 on second place Seattle), and they lead any MLS squad in the whole damned thing by 8 (add in Chicago and DC). They are clearly off to their best start of the year, and the get ready for a huge (possible) LSF battle against Kansas City this weekend in Kansas (or, possibly Missouri). Brandon, you had better get on board officially with Kansas City (aka, confirm that you want them up on the board) before the game on Saturday so we can talk mad MLS "ish" to each other. ChivaZ4LIFE!

Here's to Chicago make a strong charge in game 2 against the Wings to even it back up. 

Jeff Mathis, Angels earn the walk off.

First off, the Magic bested the C's in game 7 to send the series back to Austin for a decisive final game. Exciting stuff. 

Meanwhile, the Angels took to the field for a day game, looking to earn a series win against the Boston Red Sox. I wish I could have blogged last night after Matt Palmer performed well enough to make my Facebook status. The Angels 30 year old rookie earned his fourth win in just twenty one days with a complete game against the Red Sox. Things were shaky early on, giving up four runs in the first two innings, but he more than came around by retiring 19 straight batters to end the game with nine innings of amazingness (word?). You know how much I love quotes, and Matt "Arnold" Palmer really showed how down to earth he is, "It's amazing. The story writes itself. But I don't have a chance to pinch myself. I don't have a chance to sit here and relax. I've got to pitch hard every game. If I don't, then I'm out. That's just the way it is. So I'll keep going hard as long as I can and try to impress and try to keep my team where they need to be." The Memphis, TN native is 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, and is totally getting some love from the LSF. Today it was a fantastic extra inning battle that ended with a 5-4 Halo win, and my man Jeff Mathis was the hero. 

Ervin "Black Magic" Santana made his first appearance back from injury, and the first thing I think is "work in progress." The Big E went just 5 innings of work, giving up 7 hits and three runs. He did punch out 5 with his 92 pitches, but you'd have to hope he'll be moving along a little better here in the next couple of days. With that type of starting outing, you'd have to imagine that the bullpen would have blown this one. But, you'd be wrong, ESPN. The combo of Darren Oliver, Scot Shields, Brian Fuentes (who pitched well in a tie game!), Jose Arredondo, and Jason Bulger only allowed one run (Shields, of course) and did well enough to hold down the fort to await the Angels comeback. Jason Bulger was the winning pitcher out of the bullpen (the third win of the season for the late inning homies!), and it was Bulger's first win since 2005. Atlanta is so proud. It gets better for the hurlers, with John Lackey scheduled to make his season debut on Saturday. Poor Loux, Ortega, and Palmer. You've got to keep Palmer, though, right? Maybe move Esco into the pen when he returns in June? Decisions, decisions. 

With five runs on eleven hits, you know that the bats were in motion in this late inning win. Torii "As Usual" Hunter led the squad with a thrilling 3 for 5 afternoon, knocking in three runs for a bang up day. T-Hunt laced a triple in the opening frame, and followed that up with a two run double in the third. He's hitting freaking .325 right now man. Jeff Mathis went 2 for 4 with two really clutch RBI. The Mathematician nailed down a thrilling sac fly in the seventh, and come away with a huge gapper to score Reggie Willits in inning number twelve. I love when my favs blow up. Speaking of that, good ol' JR also earned the pancake at 2 for 5 along with Bobby A's 2 for 5 game as well. Notable sucka? Mike Napoli wins that award today, going 0 for 5 in series deciding game. Somehow he's still hitting .300, so I'll lay off if...for now (Ma$e and Kendry went 0'fer as well, but I like them...so...). 

The "Otha' Sucka'" (my award for the largest moron from the opposing team) of today's game has to be David Ortiz. Ortiz went 0 for 7, leaving 12 runners on base. Read that again, it's incredible. Take a hike, Ortiz. 

At 18-15 (+2 run differential), the Angels continue to hold 1.5 games back of Texas, with a 3 game lead on Seattle and 4 on Oakland. This brings us to a big time battle for first place weekend series with the Texas Rangers. With four following against Seattle, this is a gigantic next seven days for the Red Hats. At 5-1 (2.66), Joe Saunders will take the ball to try and toss gain some more ground on the Rangers, who counter with Kevin Millwood (3-3, 2.92). Joey has been dominant on the road here in '09, going 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA, and he doesn't take shit from the Rangers. 7 of the 9 Texas players who have faced him have under a .250 average (Blalock hits .143, Saltamacchia hits .167, and Byrd hits .091). Meanwhile, some of the Halos just love to mash up on Millie. Torii Hunter goes big game with his .433 mark, with HK-47 going .400, GMJ going .318, and Mike Ravioli ripping at .444. I'm feeling good about taking over first place within the next 3 days. 

Celts stun magic for 3-2 lead.

Damn. That is the kind of game that gets me pumped up about being a fan of the World Champion Austin Celtics. My C's were down by 14 points with seemingly not enough time left on the clock, when they staged a magical comeback to take the lead with 1:20 left and hold on for a huge game 5 victory. Austin held Orlando to just one field goal in the final 6:06 of the game, and my boy Glen "Adequate Sized Baby" Davis and Stephon "I Finally Decided to Start Playing" Marbury combined for 22 of the C's 33 points final quarter, in a game that finally ended 92-88 in favor of the good guys. 

Brandon knows I like to make a big deal of quotes, so let's see what the Star-bury had to say, "I'm playing basketball this year. For me, that was enough." What the hell does that mean? Really weird. Austin trailed the entire game, 22-16 after 1, 45-37 after 2, and 67-59 after 3, before making their amazing race in the fourth (finishing +8) to steal the game. Glen Davis was the man with the plan, yet again, making me proud that he won the tournament to become my favorite Green & White player. GD finished with 22 points and 7 boards on a +16 night, and truly was the most underrated player in the match with all the love for the backup point guard. Other big stars for the C's were Paulie with 19/9/8 and Ray Ray with 13/3/3 (and 2 for 5 from 3). It goes without saying, most because ESPN said it too much, that Steph has his best game in a Celtic uniform since coming over, finishing with 12 points (all in the final quarter), but he still was a sour note on the floor for me at -6. My main man, Brian "The Wrecking Ball" Scalabrine finished as the biggest liability in this one, with a -11 night and only 6 points in 18 minutes. I don't really care that he has the flu, either. Lucky for us, we overcame that. The really big story on the other side of the ball was the night that "superstar" and Atlanta, GA native Dwight Howard had. The Big D (and I'm not talking about Dallas) finished with just 12 points and 1 assist (let's not discuss the 17 rebounds), and only ended up taking 10 shots. 10 shots for Dwight Howard? I guess I can thank Orlando for allowing this comeback to happen! Hedo Turkoglu (who could have ended up in Anaheim if he would have stayed with the Kings) had a great take on what the Magic could have done, "We were up all night, but the last two minutes we just stopped. We shouldn't even be in that situation because we could have won this game easily." No comment. 

Game 6 in Orlando is scheduled for this Thursday at 4 pm, and it is a huge chance for my boys to close out the series and head on to meet their match against the Cavs. I sure hope the C's beat the Magic, because it'll probably be the last taste of winning on the hardwood that I'll get until next October. Wait, wait; got to stay confident. 

By the way, I was able to watch my first Angels game since the season actually started (with the Canucks bowing out of the playoffs), and I think I'm picking up right where I left off. We're losing to the Red Sox! The worst bullpen in the Major League was able to show its ugly head with Darren Oliver beaning Ortiz with the bases loaded and Scot "Karen's Favorite/Gas Can" Shields blew the whole damn thing in the ninth. Did you know: The Angels bullpen have been scored on in 20 of their 29 appearances this season? With 5 blown saves, a 2-9 record, and a 6.90 ERA, it is clearly our liability (as I've talked about before). Weaver, Saunders, and the young guys have done a great job starting, and no one is there to finish things up. Should Scioscia adjust, and let the starters rock and roll a tad longer than usual? With only 98 pitches in his seven innings, couldn't he go another one? Get it to Fuentes (who, I know, has also been shaky) to reduce the chance of blowing it? I don't know. I'm just glad that I can start getting into baseball with hockey season over, and that I can jump right into the suffering with the Red Hats. 

A caller on AM 830 summed things up perfectly for this 16-15 team that is just 1.5 games back from the division lead, "I don't know what they need to change, but something needs to be done immediately. Or sooner, if possible."

Shameful 3rd period ends series, season.

If you read the LSF, you know that I'm not very long winded when it comes to posts regarding my teams being eliminated from the playoffs. I'm reminded of a "Fire Mike Scioscia" post after the Angels were beat by the Sox a couple of years ago. Losing in the playoffs isn't getting any easier, as we continue to suffer along with our teams, and tonight was no exception. 

After the first forty minutes, the Canucks and Blackhawks were all tied up at 3. Jon and I were both full of hope with 20 to play in game 6. Sadly, for me, the Vannies played a back and fourth third period that ended in a Chicago explosion that finished off the season for the Blue & Green. You don't really win a game when you give up 7 goals, and you really don't go around giving up 7 goals in a game with your (literal) lives on the line. I believe I made the comment, "Who is that in goal tonight?" I mean, Lu got some tough breaks (see Alex Edler's own goal that gave Chicago the late lead), but he really could have played better out there, right? 

In the end, the Hawks were the better team and move on to the Western Conference Finals. Meanwhile, Vancouver heads back to B.C. to start the offseason (a big one at that, with the possible departure of Ohlund, Hank, and Danny), and I enjoy suffering for one more year. Ah well. It really was a great season. See you in 2010 (but, actually, just later in 2009), Canucks.

Baseball season, currently 30 games in, officially starts tomorrow. 

Weekly football post #35.

Son of a bitch. Andrew's text message of "RANGERS!!!!", which I only now returned, really sent a send of impending doom through my bones while weekend number three of painting the outside of my lovely home. That wasn't the only upset of the weekend for my footballers. 

It was the biggest game of the SPL fixture this weekend, as I foreshadowed, and my boys from Celtic were not up to the task. Steven Davis scored for the hated Rangers in the 37th minute, and that was plenty to beat my boys in the Old Firm battle. Artur Boruc was totally helpless on the save attempt, and the 1-0 lead by the Blue Shirts helped them to pass the Hoops in the SPL table...for now. It was an intense pace, and I'm just plain shocked that the home side took this one. Big up, Do. After 35 games, Rangers has 79 points with Celtic trailing at 77. With three games a piece remaining on the schedule, the Hoops will need to sweep a trio against Dundee, the Hibs, and Heart to really put the pressure on the Protties. Can they do it? We'll find out in just 3 days, as the battle with Dundee is coming early in the week. Congrats for now, Andrew. 

Once again, Newcastle didn't lose this weekend! Their really huge match against bottom of the table (aka, equal) Middlesbrough is a Monday Night Football EPL battle with staving off relegation pretty much on the line. One week after a 0-3 loss to Liverpool, however, doesn't really have fans of the Mags excited about the Monday Night clash to save their lives. Rumors are circling that several players may not be fit in time for the match tomorrow, but the Boys in Bars are going to have to suck things up and get a much needed win. After 35 games, the Magpies have 31 points, along with Middles and West Brom (all three teams at 31 points fill out the relegation zone of 18-19-20). It's win or die tomorrow night. 

Chivas de Guadalajara fans are realizing that changing coaches over and over again really doesn't make a difference on the score sheet. This weekend it was a 1-3 loss to Indio de Ciudad Juarez (who, in case you haven't read previous posts, have the coolest logo in the FMF) that pained Goat Nation. A 44th minute strike from Alberto Medina opened the game, but it was all that Chivas would get in this one, as goals from Indios at 67, 87, and 90 sealed the deal. Only 5 shots on goal despite having 6 corner kick opportunities? What the heck is up with that? At 5-6-6 (21 points in 17 games), Chivas has now been passed by America in the table and only leads last place Cruz Azul by 8 points (which, is actually a lot). 7 points back of group leading UNAM shows that the Red & White really need to shake off this swine flu and push things forward. They'll try and do that with a mid week match against Sao Paulo in the Copa Libertadores before getting back to FMF play next weekend. 

One team that didn't disappoint was Chivas USA, who exacted revenge on rivals Real Salt Lake in a 1-0 win at the HDC this weekend. Chivas remembered that RSL was the squad knocking them out of the MLS Cup chase last season, and they were out for blood. They really didn't have to do much thanks to Zach "The Beast" Thorton. If you read the weekly football posts around here on LSF, you know that ZT gets love every single week. This time around it was his league leading sixth clean sheet that helped carry the Red & White to victory. This guy is a bear, and is simply insane at keeping the ball out of the net. LSF fav Paulo Nagamura stepped it up with his third goal of the season to carry the offense. Chivas is now sitting at a staggering 7-1-1 record and has avoided upset at home all season long. They are now the first team to break the 20 point mark, and lead second place Seattle by a ridiculous 9 points in the Western Conference table. Is this the season? Was losing Guzan to Eurpoe a dream come true that we were all worried about? We'll see if Chivas can continue their magic at home against DC United next weekend . DC are the top Eastern club, so it should be a knock down drag out. Then in two weeks, it is Chivas against KC. So, Brandon, if you really want to rep the Wizards on the side bar, confirm it with me and it will be game on May 23rd. 

Meanwhile, a four game winning streak for the Angels (although the baseball season doesn't officially start until the end of Vancouver's post season hockey experience) has the Red Hats feeling great. After the sweep of Kansas City, the Halos are now 16-14, and trail first place Texas (that's right, Seattle is falling while we're not paying attention) by just 0.5 games. Monday is an off day before the Red Sox come into town for three starting on Tuesday. 

Best of luck to my 'Nucks tomorrow night. I'll be the loudest 7th Canuck in Fullerton, CA. 

'Nucks pushed to brink.

What a game. Like I said to Jon as he walked victoriously out of my house, the loss in game 5 was a lot better than the loss in game 4. With fairly even play through the first two periods, the Blachawks got the better of the third thanks to a Kevin Bieksa high stick, and Vancouver dropped a really important game by the score of 2-4. 

I gained a new respect for Dustin Black-Fuglien in this one, as he scored Chicago's first game opening goal at 15:27 of the first period. Can you say, "Roberto's weakness is a fat rebound?" The Canucks would even things up just about 2:30 later on a wacky play that earned Ryan Kesler his second goal of the post season. Kyle Wellwood received a pass from Mats "Bald Eagle" Sundin and tried to send a long pass across the ice. Luckily for Dub Dub, his pass deflected off of a Hawk player's skate right to the waiting Ryan Kesler right in front of the net. Kes buried the puck, and we were headed to the second period all knotted up. 

The second period had a lot of funny business after the whistle. Tons of rough stuff going on when the play was over, including the above backbreaker by Sami Salo. The penalties were fairly down the line, but even as a fan of the Orca I can admit that the calls were kind of going our way in terms of the post whistle tough stuff. At 11:16, Mats Sundin would grace the score sheet again. H-Bomb sent a pass to Mats, who flung the puck toward the net at a tough angle, and Khabibulin must have been watching the big screen above the ice because the puck just blew past him. In reality, the Mats shot was tipped and sent beyond Khabi's grasp to put my boys temporarily ahead. But, damned if Byfuglien wouldn't get us back again. On an assist from Brian Campbell, Buff got a goal at 18:22 to send us to the final period all knotted up at a deuce. 

In the third period, there was a complete sense of impending doom, right? Time was ticking and ticking away, and both Jon and I were getting nervous. We looked at each other and realized that it would be a big mistake by one of the teams that would lead to the game winning tally. At 13:16, the mistake happened. Kevin Bieksa completely got a stick up high on Patrick Sharp as he sent him down with a check, and earned 2 minutes in the sin bin. Patrick Kane would be the hero of the power play goal at 14:55, when he sent an amazing pass across to Dave "Canuck Killer" Bolland. Roberto Luongo dove back to try and make the stop, but Bolland easily sent the puck into the empty net to take the lead. Things, all of the sudden, got really nuts. Vancouver tried to push things forward and get the game tying mark, only to see Ryan Kesler take a really bad penalty against Brian Campbell. Kesler grabbed Campbell by the arm and flung him into a complete 360 fall, and earned 2 minutes for holding. The power play amounted to nothing, except 2 minutes off of Vancouver's offense push. With just under two minutes to roll, Van-Ca-Tesh pulled Bobby Lu to try and make anything happen. Ryan Kesler would kill us again. While setting up a play, a pass came to Ryan Kesler at the point, Kesler promptly fell down (or "blew a tire"), and Martin Havlat was off to the races toward the empty net. The simple empty netter ended the game, and sent us back to Chicago with the Hawks holding the chance to close things out. 

Keys to the game? Most will probably talk about the 30-21 shot advantage for the Hawks, but that really wasn't that big of a deal to me. 5 shots in period #2 and 5 shots in period #3 is a bit appalling after an 11 shot opening frame, but if Vancouver would have won no one would have cared about shots on goal. Penalty minutes played a big part (with the 'Nucks taking 22 stupid minutes compared to the Hawks 16, and the game winning goal coming on the Chicago advantage), as did Vancouver's unusually high 6 giveaways. What the hell was with the ice? I've never seen a playoff game where so many players simply fell down. Falling down. That was a big problem. Right, Kes? 

There isn't much else to say. Game six is do or die for the Vannies. 6 pm at Jon's house. Be there, and don't get eliminated. 

'Nucks blow it in the end; we're even.

The trap defense works to defend a lead. However, it isn't really advisable to throw up the trap to try and hold a lead when you're only up by one goal in the Western Conference Semifinals. Vancouver scored a goal in the second period and tried to carry that to a win. In the end, the Blackhawks came away with a late third period marker and a difficult to watch overtime goal to cap another comeback in a 1-2 game against my mighty 'Nucks. 

The first period was a highly energetic back and forth battle. Each time earned a power play, and each team came away with nothing to show. The Hawks doubled up Vancouver on the shot chart, and finished with the 8-4 lead, but it was all tied at zero after 20 minutes. Fun stuff, though. The second period would see an exciting fourth line goal for the Vannies that would almost get me out of my seat in Fullerton. At 8:32 of the middle frame, Blue & Green magic was ready to occur. Ryan Johnson dove down and blocked a Chicago shot that bounced the puck out and starting an Orca run. Rick Rypien took the puck into the zone, did a spin-a-rooni pass to a streaking Darcy Hordichuk, and Hordie buried the puck for the 1-0 lead. It was a sweet goal from the fourth line, Darcy's first ever playoff goal, and the Canucks were well on their way. The Canucks and Hawks would trade off power plays in the rest of the second period, and the energy would kind of dwindle as we worked toward the 40 minute mark, as we walked off the ice with a 1-0 lead after 2. I

n the third period, I obviously would have wanted Vancouver to press a little harder, but AV decided to send the boys into a dump and protect style of defense. The Canucks left four in the zone to try and stop the Chicago onslaught, and it worked. However, like I said, you should really only be playing that passive style when you're up by at least two. At 17:16 of the final frame, the trap defense would bite my boys in the ass. The Hawks had something working, when Andrew Ladd sent a no look pass to Martin Havlat. Havs practically walked in on Bobby Lu, and put the puck in between his arm and body to tie the game. The United Center crowd went nuts, and overtime was guaranteed. 

In the extra period, Vancouver really opened up with a totally solid chance, but Jon's Khabibulin was on point to deny their efforts. With the Hawks attacking, Dave Bolland skated to the puck along the boards and simply hucked the puck toward the net. Andrew Ladd was there to deflect the blind shot, and the Hawks beat Luongo to win the game just 2:52 into the extra frame. It wasn't the greatest goal to end a game, but the Hawks will take it, and we're all tied at 2 heading back to Vancouver. 

I'm not interested in arguing about the three stars (Ladd, Havlat, and Hordichuk) this time around, but let's get to the keys to the game. Shots. Shots. Shots. Chicago outshot the Canucks 28-15 (by period 8-4, 9-6, 7-4, and 4-1 in the OT), and that is not the way for it to go down in the playoffs. Put the freaking puck on net you guys! 14 shots through three periods is not going to earn a win in the Western Conference Semifinals. Damnit. My 'Nuck of the game award goes to Ryan Johson (1 assist, +1, 2 blocked shots, and 10:41 TOI). He is a serious underrated stud. 

After the loss, Coachie V put it into perspective, "We were a couple of minutes away from winning this game. It happened. We've got to deal with it and get ready for the next game." Regarding the last shot, Bobby Lu expressed his feelings, "It was a shot from the half wall. Ladd was right in front of me. It was coming fast from the outside of the net. I extended my lef and he tipped it in the five hole, so it was a good play by him." No worries for Lu, who really put forth his best possible effort (26 saves), but it puts pressure on my boys to win at home on Saturday night. Getting Salo back in the next period would be crucial for our defense (and offense). 

While a 3-1 lead would have been nice, we have all always known that this series would go to 7 games, so this might has well have been expected (Brandon called it?). The battle continues on Saturday evening as the 'Nucks and Hawkies get together back at the Garage for game 5. I think Brandon thinks Vancouver will win the next one, so being that he is the NHL expert, I'm crazy confident. This is a fun series, eh? Can't wait for the weekend. 

Living large on the road.

Vancouver jumped out to an early lead that made me nervous based on the last two matches, but held on for a complete 60 minutes (thanks to the advice of Brandon) and a gigantic 3-1 win in game three of the Western Conference Semifinals. It was the first home loss for the Hawkies in the playoffs thus far, and it was quite a statement game for the Blue & Green. According to Karen, I did a pretty good job subduing my elation at the three Vannie goals (in response to Brandon's post), and I'm quite proud with that. 

Evidently, we were all surprised by the Ma$on Raymond goal at 15:34 of the first period. Ma$e Dawg nailed down 11 goals and 12 assists in his 72 regular season games, making me pretty aware of his goal scoring prowess, and I think anyone in a jersey could have scored that game opening beauty. Kevin Bieksa passed the puck to Kesler, who fed the puck to Mason, and Ma$e buried the puck into the net with Khabibulin diving back in an attempt. It was a solid first goal, and we were well on his way. Ryan Kesler really has to be given much of the credit for the goal, as he really worked to muscle the puck away from the red shirt defenders. Not much in terms of the penalties to talk about, other than an iffy goalie interference on Dustin Black-fuglien. Right Jon? Chicago also nabbed the first delay of game penalty, which the Canucks would eventually match and blow out of the water in the third. Special love out to Vantaa, Finland native Ossi Vaananen, making an appearance to cover for the injured Salo. He went 8 minutes with one blocked shot and one penalty. 

The second period was really when the party started (unless you count the party starting when I took that first sip of Bohemia). Just 1 minute into the middle frame, the 'Nucks were living large on a penalty from the first on Patrick Kane. It was a really young, dumb, and full of cum penalty, and the Canucks would make 88 and company pay for it. Alex Edler took a shot that led to a fatty rebound, and Karen (and Brandon's) favorite Canuck Stevie Bernier smashed home the board to increase the lead to 2 goals. This is where I had game 2 flashbacks. Lucky for me, H-Bomb Sedin changed that flashback into a flashforward. Alex Edler, at it again, was down at the crease with Hank, and a garbage goal was what they were looking for. Henrik smashed away until the slowest puck you've ever seen squeaked through Khabi and barely made its way across the goal line. For Henrik's fourth playoff goal, it was pretty weak, but I'll take a three goal lead half way through the game any way I can. Brian Campbell added his wicked blaster from the high circle on the power play at 11:09 to make it a game, and we were on to period number three. 

The third period featured two delay of game penalties on the 'Nucks (Edler and Raymond) as well as the good ol' fashioned Alain Vigneault trap scenario to keep the game where it was at. The Canucks really squeezed the life out of the Hawks in the final twenty. The United Center was fairly quiet, as Jon told me it would be in this case, and even with an extra attacked for 2+ minutes the Hawks couldn't get closer than 1-3. That's the way it ended, Jon and I gave each other daps, and the Vannies were up 2-1 after a sweet road victory in the Windy City. 

Concerning the game plan with the lead this time around, Coach AV went on the record with, "One thing we don't want to do against this team is play chance-for-chance. There is too much skill and speed. We're going to keep it high percentage. I think if we do that and play a good puck possession game, we give ourselves a better chance to win." Indeed, and of course, if you don't carry out that plan, there is always Luongo. AV added, "When we did make a few mistakes in the third period, Roberto made the saves he had to make." Chicago's Duncan Keith summed it up the best way he could, "I just think we came out flat." Again, indeed. By the way, huge props to Taylor Pyatt for making it back out on the ice. Good for you man. 7th Canucks everywhere are glad to have you back, and wish you the best. 

What kind of bone can I pick with the "real" media's three stars? A big way. They role out as 1) H-Bomb (1 goal), 2) Troy Brouwer (a Vannie native, by the way), and 3) Mats Sundin (just for being a tall, bald guy). I have to admit, that is one of the worst three stars list I've seen in a while. The LSF underrated three stars are 1) Alex Edler (2 assists in 21+ minutes to pick up the slack for missing Salo), 2) Mattias Ohlund (a +2 rating and a thrilling 5 blocked shots in his 23+ minutes on the ice to pick up the slack for missing Salo), and 3) Taylor Pyatt (3 blocked shots, 4 shots on goal, and 12:38 of the most emotional ice time we've seen this year). There they are, a very underrated bunch. 

Can I just give love to the United Center crowd? I mean, the arena was at 110.5% capacity, and I've never seen that in a box score. Talk about a whole city turning out. 

It gets back under way on Thursday afternoon as the Hawks host the Vannies for game four. Don't forget Jon, I do not have game 6 in my calendar yet. That is confidence. 

Big ups to Brandon for busting the LSF post strike at 69 days. Are you really ready to rep the Wiz? 

It's Always Been My Favorite Number

Right, bro? [Insert stoner laugh] I mean you always have to play that hand at a poker table, man. It's just too wicked sweet to flip it over sporting my tilted trucker and throw up the shocker in some faggot's face!!1!

So sports. They are fun to watch. And also talk about. I have not posted since wrecking everyone's face at the All-Star Game and taking over the NHL Expert title. I have also not posted since I got this sweet laptop up and running. I have also not posted since I moved to Costa Mesa. So get ready for a brand new me. My style has changed, my teams have changed (Go KC Wizards! Put it on the Big Board, Triggs.), I now misspell words, I don't even really care about things some times and am super edgy. You just wait! It's a sight to behold.

Well, uh, actually no. Nothing's really changed, only now I get to post while sitting on the couch and watching the Dodgers never lose at home. It's just so clear that we are going to the World Series this year, that it is ridiculous. I mean, we so have the pitching to back up our power guys. Our rotation is solid from top to bottom. We have Bills and Kershaw, who I think just called Zach Grienke bitch-made; Randy Wolf is leading the league in K's, and red pubes; we somehow got that one good Weaver from the Angels (I guess they had a surplus at starter), not that one doosh brother that pitched for us a few years ago and is now out of the league; and some other guy, who I'm sure is good or something.

But enough about baseball. Tommy assures me that the season hasn't actually started. Let's switch to the game everyone's anticipating. Who does everyone think is coming away with the W at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, huh? Good match by Le Bleu in the first leg, scoreless draw away. Especially after everyone picked Barca to win by two goals. Take that George! George is a Risk-playing, Bar-failing, Henry-loving friend of mine, who is the smartest person I know. So now you're up to speed. I don't know, I just feel that it's going to end up in PKs. Bleh.

So Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin had hat tricks in a Capitol W (pun!). So I guess Crosby must be the real deal, right? I still call bullshit. The third goal, one I saw, was a clear high stick that brought back bitter mid-season memories of him versus my Sabres. I am going out on a limb and declaring that not only were all three of his goals tonight on high sticks, but every goal this season and that upon off-season review will be overturned. Fuck that guy. Take a guess how many hits he had tonight. Well, Ovechkin had four and that was only four more than Crosby. Seriously, fuck that guy.

I don't know what I did, but apparently I rubbed Tomas the wrong way. I haven't attended either Game in THE series, but I think he thinks I'm a red face. Was the game the type to make you doubt everything? Were not your beloveds from Canada West the team that re-sparked my interest in hockey? I have not forgotten the face of my father, sir. I know Chicago is in the running for the Olympics in '16 (J, get on the black polo hunt) and that ups their stock, but Vancouver is way ahead of the game, they have it just next year! (By the way, Karen, are we all doing that? I'm sure you're reading. Just text me.) Chicago is also home to the Cubs and White Sox, who really don't bring anything to the table, plus the Fire, who I just don't like in the least. Granted, Chi-town is home to Steve Ayers, and Gaurav Bharadwaj, but I'm sure they'd love the Couv if they visited. I don't want to jump to conclusions mat, but I think it just comes down to the fact that I'm J's brother. I'd probably hate me right now if I was a Tighe.

In all honesty, I was hoping originally for each team to sweep at home, leading to a T-J strangle-fest of a Game 7. Now, I want the Canucks to win tomorrow, the Blackhawks in Game 4. Then we can get back to the home team winning situation, with incredibly exciting Games 5 and 6 to come. Seriously, though, have you guys looked up airfare yet? I kind of want to provoke you by saying if you go, I'll buy the tickets, but I have no idea how much I'd have to fork out for them. Probably more that $3.50. I feel that the Canucks will win the games with a conservative flow, so long as they put together a solid sixty minutes. The Blackhawks just seem to know how to go on crazy runs. It's been happenning all season with them, I feel. Well, not the games we went to, huh J?

I'll leave you all with something I saw on a shirt worn by my friend Lesser Kyle. In case you were wondering, Lots of Big Words was written by Knowitall McSmartypants. It's just kind of hard to see. Well, I can't wait to have you guys here tomorrow for the game (I'm calling you out, Do! School's out so I know you have nothing to.....do.) It should be really fun. Unless the Canucks lose and J has to be all solemnly stoked with Tommy around. I'm predicting a 4OT Luongo shutout.

C's lack that special magic.

After a straight thrilling game 7 victory, the Austin Celtics came into the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic with a grip of hope. After a 90-95 home loss, however, the C's need to regroup to get things going. This LSF writer is hoping that he can bring the Green & White the same magic he brought in the first round after only posting about the game 1 loss. Oh, oh, it's magic. You know. 

It was pretty much Dwight Howard's show, as he went for 16 points and 22 (count 'em) 22 boards. That's a lot, right? The Magic were large and in charge in this one, opening up an impressive 28 point lead early in the second half, with all the media outlets practically giving the Magic the series outright. There was quite a nice charge back by the C's toward the end, going on a nice 36-19 run in the third and fourth, but in the end it wouldn't be enough. Despite Paul Pierce draining a 3 with 6.6 seconds to go (making it a three point game), the Magic held on thanks to J.J. "Tiny Dick" Redick nailing four free throws in the final 14 seconds to deny the Celts the chance. Paulie finished with 23 (including 16 in the second half), Rondo nailed down 14/10/8, and Perk Daddy finished with a large 16 boards in the loss. All in all, the comeback made us all excited, only to disappoint in the end. 

Outside of the aforementioned Celtics, there were two other Celtics who have to be mentioned in this playoff loss for their above average performance. Glen "I'm Not a Baby" Davis scored 12 points in the game with 5 boards, and was the leading scorer for the most part of the early game. The second, Brian Scalabrine, has really been impressive me in the playoffs. He was injured for so long, I almost forgot he was even on the team. Tonight, the Long Beach native finished with 10 points and an extremely impressive +22 rating. Not only did he lead all Austin players in the +/- category (the second being Eddie House's +4), but he led ALL players in the +/- category (the second being Orlando's Rashard Lewis at +14). Are you kidding me? Scallie went totally nuts off the bench. Trade KG now, and just live off the Davis/Scallie combo!

Despite all the fun we're having, it is a Celtic loss that brings up together, so let's focus on that. Down 0-1 in the second round series, Austin battles with the Magic against at home on Wednesday, and they really need to steal a win. Is there actually any honest chance that the C's will knock the Magic out? The ESPN experts are completely split, with 5 in favor of Orlando and 5 in favor of Austin. So, who do we trust more? Adande or Rose? Abbott or Stein? Thorpe or Legler? I hope you went with the latter in each of those, because those are the lovely knuckleheads that picked my Green & White. Really, though, game 2 will tell the whole story as far as I'm concerned. 

Meanwhile, the Angels are beating up on the A's 5-2 in the ninth. Stars include Joe Saunders (6.67 innings of 2 run 7 punch out ball), Leary, GA native Chone Figgins (3 for 4 with 2 runs), the Abreu/Hunter connection (4 for 8, 1 run, and 3 RBI), and Mike "Ravioli" Napoli (4 for freaking 4 with 2 RBI for this jerk). Beating the A's is just plain fun to watch. 

The Vannies and Blackies get back to it tomorrow night for game three. I can't freaking wait. 

Weekly football post #34.

The European football season is working its way toward winding down. Things aren't looking any better for one of Tommy's team, and they're talking championships over in Scotland. 

Can the Newcastle season get any worse? Manager Alan Shearer was all talk before the big match against Liverpool, stating that his Magpies were going to be feeding off of the "underdog" role. Well, after a 0-3 loss to 'Pool, things are getting pretty damned bleak. That's not even to mention the horrible tackle that Joey Barton threw down in game that got him ejected, and continue to crank up the embarrassment for Toon Nation. Newcastle is going to add a fine to Barton's penalty and red card, but what is the difference when you have 3 games remaining on the fixture and you're three points back from safety. At 6-16-13 (31 points in 35 games), Newcastle are looking to their final three tests for salvation. For some reason, Coach Shearer seems to be playing it cool (especially after having Michael Owen as a healthy scratch in the Liverpool game), and he is ready to focus on a team who is somehow lower in the table next Monday. A match against Middlesbrough has to be a victory, there is no doubt about it. The season finishes with Fulham and Aston Villa. 

Meanwhile, Celtic are rocking and rolling after finishing the sweep of Aberdeen with a really fun 3-1 win over the weekend. My boy and Melbourne, Australia native Scott McDonald nailed a double to lead the Celts to the big win. Both Mac D goals came in the second half after a 1-1 first half thanks to two Aberdeen goals. One, a Chris Maguire header gave Aberdeen the early lead. The other, an own goal by Andrew Considine that tied it up for the Green & White. Boruc settled down for the final 45, and the Bhoys triumphed to hold onto their slim SPL lead. With 77 points in 34 games, Celtic lead Rangers for the SPL crown by just 1 point. There are four games left on the Celts' fixture, but all eyes are focused on next weekend when the two top teams match up for an Old Firm clash that will practically decide who wins the crown. Celtic and Rangers will battle on Saturday, and the title is on the line!

After earning a draw with Everton mid-week (and I think that Everton CD is actually a football team from Chile, not the Everton that Jon is in love with), Chivas finished with a 0-0 draw with Puebla in their return to FMF play. On interesting thing is that Chivas de Guadalajara have changed coaches twice in the last two weeks. On March 24, Efrain Flores was given the axe after three straight losses, and then on April 17 Omar Arellano was tossed to the side in favor of Francisco Ramirez. Will all the changes finally right the ship? One can only hope, as the 5-5-6 (21 points) Goats are now 4 points back in the group of the FMF table. The only consolation is that we still lead America by 1 point. Next weekend, Chivas will battle their swine flu counterparts from Indios de Ciudad Juarez. ICJ are 4-4-8 on the year (20 points), and hopefully should provide Chivas with a chance to pick things up in the right direction for (yet another) new coach. 

How much love have I given to Zach "The Beast" Thorton on this blog during the new MLS season? Chivas USA's goalkeeper continued his incredible run of clean sheets in a sweet 1-0 shutout on the road against Karen's San Jose Earthquakes. It was The Beast's league leading fifth shutout of the season, and it was joined with a goal from Salt Lake City, UT native Justin Braun getting the golden goal. Chivas' head coach said after the game, "Defense wins championships," and he couldn't be more right. Chivas have only allowed the ball to tickle their twine three times in their eight MLS matches thus far. That is flat incredible. The 6-1-1 record is far and away the best in the league. The Braun goal came down in the 53rd minute, and there was no looking back, as Chivas denied San Jose yet again (the Quakes are just 1-4-2 on the year). With 19 points in their first 8 games, Chivas lead second place Seattle by 6 points. By the way, is Seattle the greatest expansion team in sports history? Next weekend, Thorton and the Goats will bring their sold start to the HDC to battle Real Salt Lake. Will Justin Braun get back at his home town team? RSL is 3-3-0 thus far here in '09, and their rivalry against Chivas will nearly reach the boiling point this upcoming weekend. Arriba las Chivas!

In other sports news, the Celtics tip off against the Magic tonight after their epic seven game against the Bulls (which would have gotten way more play if it wasn't for the NHL playoffs). This second round is going to be a tad more difficult, eh? Meanwhile, the Angels rained out in game four of their series with the Yankees, and match up against the hated A's in Oakland as Joe Saunders takes on Brett "Arthur" Anderson. Can the Halos get to 11-13? 

Tomorrow is a really big game between the 'Nucks and the Hawks. See you then.