Well, here we are. Five regular season games away from the NHL Playoffs, and we've never been in a better position. The Canucks are already the 2011 Northwest Division Champions and the 2011 Western Conference Regular Season Champions, and they have a chance to clinch the President's Trophy with a win tonight and a little help from the Atlanta Thrashers. Yes, things have never been better for the Orca, and the fans of said squad. Of course, anyone who even knows a Canuck fan in passing knows that none of this will mean anything without a good postseason run.
Well, that's not exactly true. This season will always be remembered as the best season in franchise history, the best season of Roberto Luongo's career as a member of this team, the season that Daniel Sedin won the Art Ross Trophy the season after Hank won it, and the season when Alain Vigneault proved that he can coach the heck out of a team riddled with injuries. This will always be known as the greatest regular season in the 40 year history of this club. But, as Canuck fans, we want something more. Our team has never won Lord's Stanley Cup, as supporters of other Canadian squads love to remind us. Will this be the season? Can we continue to rise above our injuries, especially those newest injuries to Manny Malhotra and Dan Hamhuis, and make this season even more special?
Only time will tell. What we do know, however, is that the final five regular season games on our schedule should help us to continue our nice little roll heading into the second season. Let's take a look at what we've got coming.
Tonight: at home versus Los Angeles-
This is the last difficult game on our schedule, and a win here would kind of be a big deal. The Kings, who are 44-26-6 with 94 points, are a hot team, even with Anze Kopitar on the shelf. Every game on the rest of the schedule is a big one for LA, as they sit in the #5 spot in the table, but are just 4 points up on the #8 Blackhawks. They are a team, unlike the Canucks, who need to keep on winning for their own playoff life. However, the Canucks quite simply are an amazing team, as we've talked about, and I would love to watch my boys (especially because they'll be on TV down here in Orange County) win their final tough test of the year.
Saturday: at home versus Edmonton-
I guess the Oilers are a team with nothing to lose, but who cares? I will suggest two things about this game. First, there is no chance that the Oilers really stand a chance against the complete power of the Vancouver Canucks. Second, though, the Canucks probably aren't going to be throwing their full fire power at the Oil in this game, as they very well may have already clinced the President's Trophy by the time this one comes around. And why should they? Sure, I want my guys to be ready and rolling coming into the second season, but I'm tired of guys getting hurt, and I kind of want them to just take it easy on their way out.
Tuesday: on road versus Edmonton-
See above. Home and road doesn't matter against a team as bad as Edmonton.
Next Thursday: at home versus Minnesota-
At 36-32-8, the Wild haven't really been that bad this season. They've had some bright spots and some dull moments. Some highs and some lows. This game will be the last game where I see the Canucks taking it really easy on the ice, as again, this game doesn't mean much. However, it is the final road game of the regular season, and I'm sure the home fans want their boys to go out with a bang. Either way, the result of this one doesn't mean much.
Next Saturday: on road versus Calgary-
Now, this final game of the regular season seems a little different to me. A CBC Hockey Night in Canada clash against one of our more bitter divisional rivals. Right now, the Flames are 3 points out of the playoffs, and a lot of things would have to go right for them to get much closer than that. That being said, I'd love to have them coming into this game needing a win to finish eighth, playing just to get a chance to be the team eliminated by the Orca in the first round of the playoffs. Then, with no mercy, we could bust them, end their season, and get that coveted first round clash with the Blackhawks locked up. Look, I'm a serious Flame hater, and I would hope that Alain Vigneault would roll out the full squad at full ice time for this one. Getting back to normal ice time levels on the final game of the season, and doing so to crush Calgary, would do a lot to boost playoff confidence heading into that first round, especially for us fans.
So, I think the Vannies will finish 3-2 on the way out, beating LA, Edmonton once, and Calgary, and that would finish us up at a very impressive 54-19-9 record with 117 points. If that happened, we'd be the only team in the entire NHL to lose less than 20 games, and would become just the third team in the last 11 years to finish with 117+. It'd be an impressive end to an impressive season.
And then, the real fun starts. At that point, we'll be 16 wins away from hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup high above the Rogers Arena ice. Just as a reminder, the last President's Trophy winning team to win the Stanley Cup was the '07/'08 Detroit Red Wings, and since they've been handing the trophy out, 29% of the trophy winners have gone on to win the NHL's biggest and most desired piece of hardware. Hopefully we can be the squad to bump that percentage up to 32.
We'll conclude by taking another look at the battle for the 8 spot, to try and determine who we'll face in the opening round.
5. Kings (94)
6. Ducks (93)
7. Preds (92)
8. Blackhawks (90)
9. Stars (87)
10. Flames (87)
It's looking more and more like the Stars and Flames have both faded too much to climb back into things. And, if you go by the schedules, Chicago may have the most difficult run in their final games between all of the 5-6-7-8 squads. They play Detroit twice, Tampa, Montreal, the Blues, and Columbus on their way to the playoffs. Does this suggest that I might get my wish of the Canucks being able to get a shot to vanquish their Chicago demons en route to their first ever Stanley Cup title? Man, that sure would be the way to do it.
So, as baseball season starts, and as college basketball crowns a champion, let's focus and enjoy the final week of what has been an awesome and exciting NHL regular season, as we prepare for the most exciting time in all of sports, the NHL Playoffs.
There's a good chance that three of the four LSF teams will be in the postseason this time around, so let's all make sure to really, really enjoy it. As for Andrew, how about those Blue Jays?
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Pretty soon, the Angels may be sharing their city with a professional sports team called the Royals (Anaheim just approved $75 million in loans to upgrade the Honda Center for the possible move for the '11/'12 season). Good thing it isn't these guys! Can you guys believe that baseball season is actually here? The Spring seemed long and drawn out, but we've finally made it. The first of 162 beautiful games that will dominate our life and our attention from now until October happens today. And then, if we're lucky, October will see it continue.
This was an up and down Spring for the Angels. Kendry Morales announced his name is actually "Kendrys," but made bigger news by planning to start the season on the DL. Scott Kazmir looked awful all Spring...until he beat the Doyers on the last day of the preseason. Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos made us look ridiculously smart for saving the farm and not dumping our prospects. HK-47 belted the ball with batting champion-like authority. Heck, even Jeff Mathis surprised us by figuring out how to put the bat on the ball when it didn't matter. The bullpen looked solid in general, with Richie Thompson and Jordan Walden doing the most to impress me, but Bulger and Rodney looked pretty off at times.
With all that being said, the Halos announced their opening day roster yesterday, and there were a couple of surprises. It looks like this:
1B- Mark Trumbo
2B- Howie Kendrick
3B- Maicer Izturis
SS- Erick Aybar
C- Jeff Mathis
LF- Vernon Wells
CF- Peter Bourjos
RF- Torii Hunter
DH- Bobby Abreu
Bench- Alberto Callaspo, Brandon Wood, Hank Conger, Bobby Wilson, and Chris Pettit.
SP- Jered Weaver
SP- Dan Haren
SP- Ervin Santana
SP- Scott Kazmir
SP- Joel Piñero (DL until 4/8)
RP- Hisanori Takahashi
RP- Fernando Rodney
RP- Jason Bulger
RP- Kevin Jepsen
RP- Rich Thompson
RP- Michael Kohn
RP- Jordan Walden
DL- Piñero, Scott Downs, Kendrys Morales, Reggie Willits, Freddy Sandoval, Bobby Cassevah.
Bubble players dropped to SLC- Trevor Bell, Matt Palmer, Francisco Rodriguez, and Andrew Romine.
I'm surprised about a couple of things. First is that the Angels actually listened to me and put Pettit on the 25-man, though I'm guessing they'd say it's because of Willits' "left calf strain." Second is that Izzy got the starting nod over AC at thirdbase, especially after the off Spring Ma$e had. I'm surprised, slightly, that Brandon Wood made the bench, with how horrible he is. I'm shocked that Kazmir is in the rotation, even though we didn't really have any other good options. I'm slightly surprised about Hank Conger being up, but when Kendrys comes back, he'll probably go down (unless Trumbo sucks, which he won't). And finally, I'm shocked that 'Cisco Kid is off to be a Bee again. When you look at the bullpen, it's hard to pick who he'd beat out, but I'd have him up instead of Bulger, at least right now. What's going to happen when Downs heals that pinky toe?
Despite, or maybe because of, all the surprises, I'm feeling pretty good about this initial 25-man roster, especially against the Royals. So, despite the fact that not a single meaningful game has been played, let's preview this weekend's season opening four game series with Kansas City.
Thursday- Weaver v Hochevar
Most see the opening day start for Hochevar as a sign that the Royals aren't going anywhere this season. Greinke is off to Milwaukee, and despite manager Ned Yost saying that he feels the Royals have "the right mix of players to take Kansas City to the World Series," I don't think there is much for Kansas City fans to look forward to (Yost doesn't really believe that, right?). Are Billy Butler, Kila Ka'aihue, and their friends really going to run this team to the top of the Central Division table? Short answer is no. Meanwhile, Jered Weaver is getting his third opening day start in his career, and sure hopes that the offense can finally back him up. Mike Avila and Alex Gordon are the only hitters on the Royals to hit higher than .250 against Weaver over the last 5 seasons. Meanwhile, the Angels have three players on the squad (Kendrick, Abreu, and Aybar) who have hit higher than .333 against Hochevar over the last 5.
Prediction- I'm not sure about how the offense is going to come out of the gates, but surely Weaver will be spot on in this one. Halos win the opener.
Friday- Haren v Francis
I really, really want to see Danny Boy open this season up with a big win, and I guess my prediction would be worth a little more if I made it after the game this afternoon. Just because I want Haren to be successful this year, I've got to give the Halos this one.
Prediction- Win or lose on day one, the Halos will come up big in this one, with Trumbo hitting a jack, and Haren carrying the team to the victory.
Saturday- Santana v Davies
Am I a jerk (or not an actual baseball fan) because I haven't heard of the last two KC pitchers? I hope not. And I hope I'm not a jerk for thinking that the Angels will win three out of four against the Royals this weekend. Three guys have somehow hit .333+ against this pitcher I've never heard of, and I'm glad that we're opening up against the Royals to try and get this offense on a roll before we actually have to play some good teams.
Prediction- As you know, I'm the guy who originated the idea that Ervin Santana is an every-other-season kind of starter. Since 2006, these are his numbers: 16-8 with a 4.28, 7-14 with a 5.76, 16-7 with a 3.49, 8-8 with a 5.03, 17-10 with a 3.92. And now we're back to a probable bad season, if he keeps this up. And yet, I'm going with a win in his opener, though a reliever will get the actual W.
Sunday- Kazmir v Chen
Uh oh. This is a game between a Royal pitcher I actually have heard of, and the worst Halo pitcher on the roster. There is NO WAY that I'm going to give the Angels the win in this one. I'm sorry Kaz, but I have to say that you lost something last year. Maybe it was that game where you allowed like 13 earned runs. Maybe it was that "injury" last season. Or, maybe it's just the fact that you have less velocity that my fifteen month old son running downhill. Who knows? I mean, I'll support you like the true fan I am, but you really, really suck.
Prediction- After three wins for the Angels, the Royals will blow us up with a 9-2 win in this one.
So, it all starts in about 2.5 hours. The start of a new baseball season. Anything is possible. Hopefully we start 3-1 and get things going before our test against the Ray Sox of Tampa Bay early next week.
Go Angels Go!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Sorry about the lack of posting yesterday, but my work is finally starting to pick up. We had an all-day training yesterday and the new program I'm working on starts in seven days. So, you can probably expect a dwindling post frequency from that day forward. I'll try my best, though. If I would have been able to post yesterday, you would have read about the Angels/Dodgers freeway series, Chivas' humiliating Open Cup qualifying defeat at the hands of Portland, and the Canucks big win over Nashville. Aren't you upset about missing all that?
What's on tap for our favorite teams this weekend?
Thursday-
Angels (T) v Kansas City
The LSF Game of the Day: Dodgers (B, J) v San Francisco
Celtics (T) v San Antonio
Lakers (A, J) v Dallas
Maple Leafs (A) v Boston
Canucks (T) v Los Angeles
Friday-
Blue Jays (A) v Minnesota
Angels (T) V Kansas City
Dodgers (B, J) v San Francisco
The LSF Game of the Day: Celtics (T) v Atlanta
Clippers (B) v Phoenix
Lakers (A, J) v Utah
Blackhawks (J) v Columbus
Chivas de Guadalajara (T) v Necaxa
Saturday-
Blue Jays (A) v Minnesota
Angels (T) v Kansas City
Dodgers (B, J) v San Francisco
Clippers (B) v Okalahoma City
Maple Leafs (A) v Ottawa
The LSF Game of the Day: Sabres (B) v Washington
Canucks (T) v Edmonton
Man Utd (A) v West Ham
Everton (J) v Villa
Newcastle (T) v Wolves
Chelsea (B) v Stoke City
Celtic (T) v Inverness
Rangers (A) v Dundee Utd
Chivas USA (T) v Toronto FC
Sunday-
Blue Jays (A) v Minnesota
Angels (T) v Kansas City
Dodgers (B, J) v San Francisco
Lakers (A, J) v Denver
Celtics (T) v Detroit
Sabres (B) v Carolina
The LSF Game of the Day: Blackhawks (J) v Tampa Bay
It's shaping up to be a pretty exciting sports weekend, and I hope it goes well for all our long suffering squads.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
When the rumors about the Sacramento Kings moving to Anaheim started to swirl, I made a bold decision. I decided that if the move happened, I would officially defect from a basketball team I have followed for my entire life, and throw my support between the brand new franchise in my hometown (or, home-county, I guess). With the way the Celtics were playing, I was thinking about how great it'd be for the C's to send me off with a Championship. As the rumors of the move have intensified, however, the Green Army have completely stalled out, and now look like a team primed to get upset in the opening round of the playoffs.
Last night's game against the Pacers is just another example of how something seems to be seriously wrong with this squad. It was a tale of two teams in this one. The Celtics dominated early, with Rondo dumping lay up after lay up to prove the fitness of his pinky. After building up a 33-27 lead, the Celtics collapsed in the second, allowing the Pacers to climb back and take the lead. I wasn't happy, but the C's bounced back strong, having another big effort in the odd numbered quarters. Glen Davis powered home a crazy reverse slam right along the baseline, Ray Allen hooked up some beyond the arc action, and Popeye Pierce jamed home an insane dunk before gesturing a "suck it" motion to the crowd.
We had an 85-81 lead heading into the final period. Usually that means something good, but in this case it was the start of something bad. The Pacers stepped it up and played some solid defense, grabbing steals, hooking up their big man, and just dominated the C's in the final frame to pull off the upset, 107-100. Disgusting.
It came down to this: we had no answer for Queens native and Georgetown grad Roy Hibbert. The Pacers' 5 scored 26 on us and shot 12 of 17 from the field. He was only fouled once, and was single teamed the whole night. Just no answer. The C's shot 55% as a team and got handed 14 more free throws, but nothing was happening. Paulie led the team with 23, while Rondo knocked back 22, and Big Baby spiked for 20 off the bench. Krstic and Garnett just didn't do enough. KG pulled down 6 and 6, which surely isn't a big time stat line, and Nenad got just 7 and 2, as he got straight outplayed by his Indianapolis counterpart.
For me, I'd suggest giving Ray Allen a little more to work with. Ray Ray shot 4 for 8 in the game, and went just 1 for 3 from beyond the arc. How is Allen getting just 8 shots? This guy deserves to get the ball more often, because he has the ability to put more points onto the board than Rondo or Davis. Rondo took 13 shots, Davis 11. These two guys cannot be shooting more than Jesus Shuttlesworth if we want to win. It doesn't take a math wiz, and yet, Doc Rivers is still so beloved. It has always boggled my mind.
Now, keep in mind that I'm doing all this complaining even though my team is 51-22, 2 games back from the top spot in the East. However, we once had a small cushion atop the conference, and now we're sitting tied with the Heat (not in the mood for a cute band nickname) in the 2/3 slot, looking up at the red hot Bulls. As we go forward, it's looking less and less like we're going to finish anything better than the 3 spot in the East. What a fall at the end of the regular season! If the season ended today, we'd face the 76'ers, and while I'm not worred about them, I'm getting more and more worried about round two.
I should just focus all my worry on Thursday's TNT clash with the 57-17 San Antonio Spurs. Is there any realistic Celtics fan who thinks we stand a chance in this one? You're crazy! Let's just toss this game aside, and Friday's test with Atlanta for that matter, and look to Sunday's game against Detroit for our next big win.
Just so we can stay somewhat on top of things, our possibly future Anaheim Royals beat the Sixers 114-111 in OT on Sunday. LSU stud Marcus Thornton led the team with 32 and 7, but Haitian-Canadian Sammy Dalembert impressed the most with his 13 and 19 game. 19 boards! Off the bench, Rider University alumn Jason Thompson added 15 and 11. The Anaheim City Council votes today for bonds that would help upgrade the Honda Center, which would only push these rumors that much further along.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
With International duty calling players from leagues around the world, my boys from Newcastle, Celtic, and Chivas de Guadalajara all took the weekend off from their domestic battles. Fear not, though, dear soccer fans. One brave top flight soccer league decided to rage on. The MLS saw their teams battling second week tests with many players off to represent their native lands, and that is part of the reason Chivas looked somwhat lost in their 0-1 defeat at the hands of the champs from Colorado.
We've spoken at length about how Umaña, Valentin, Moreno, and Boyens were all off for International play. This led Robin Fraser to plug holes by shifting Ben Zemanski to the back line and slot Michael Lahoud into the midfield. He also had to shift Victor Estupiñán into the starting eleven, at forward, with Alejandro Moreno gone as well. The result? Well, the back line looked like they didn't have good communication going, again. The midfield looked to have met their match against the Rapids middies, and the forwards failed to make any big advances when given space. Chivas had just 2 shots on goal in the match, and only one had a serious chance of crossing the goal line.
And despite all the communication problems and all the passivity on offense, I feel encouraged. We played the champs in week two of a rebuilding year (if the front office will admit it, or not), and we only lost 0-1. And, the goal came when we were shorthanded. Blair Gavin stretched for a ball, re-injured his hamstring, and fell to the pitch in the 28th. It's really bad news for Gavin, who showed so much promise prior to this injury when it occurred last year. Before Mariano Trujillo could get onto the pitch to replace Gavin, the ten man Chivas side gave up the golden goal to the Rapids.
I don't know how you can fault them on the goal. Zach Thornton charged Amarikwa, and the Rapids' attacker chipped it over Thornton to make for an easy netter. I guess you can say that ZTB should have held his ground and stayed back between the pipes, but he made his choice and it just didn't work out. We were down a man, end of story. The real issue with this game is the lack of offensive aggression. At times, Colorado gave Chivas all kind of room. We had multiple free kick and set piece chances. And yet, we never connected. Every set piece ended with a kick that was too short, sent right to the maroon shirted defenders. We've got to get better at those kicks, my goodness.
We dominated possession, looked flashy at times while getting into the right side of the field, but we just couldn't make it happen when it mattered most. Marcos Mondaini, who showed tons of promise in the opener against Sporting, was like a ghost out there. He was marked all night, and failed to make a difference. SLC native Justin Braun had the best chance of the night, as his shot was deflected into the crossbar by the Rapids' keeper. Estupiñán had moments where he looked like something special, but the 23 year old Ecuadorian didn't show that killer instinct that we're looking for. He talked a big game in the preseason, and now he's going to need to back it up.
Let's look at how Robin Fraser used his men, and how it worked out. I know he uses that wacky formation of his, but I'm going to group the 11 as I see fit:
G- Zach Thornton: The former student of Tony Meola did a serviceable job stopping three shots on goal. Even though it's not his fault, you'd have to wonder if Fraser is considering a switch to get this team going.
D- Jimmy Conrad, Ante Jaziç (Tristan Bowen 76), Heath Pearce, and Ben Zemanski: The back line looked lost again, and it's kind of a joke to say that it's because of International duty, really. Three of our four backline guys were in there, and Zemanski is a really good player (isn't everyone who went to Akron?). But, like I said, I think the defense actually did well. Well enough to get a win, if the offense would have scored, at least. We're all waiting for Van Nuys homeschooler Tristan Bowen to make his mark on this team. Will his offensive abilities help us find our "team image?" We'll have to wait and see.
M- Nick LaBrocca, Francisco Mendoza, Blair Gavin (Mariano Trujillo 32), and Marcos Mondaini: If Blair Gavin wouldn't have pulled up lame with the hammy, we may be telling a totally different tale today. Out of this group, LaBrocca definitely did the most to make me think more of him. After he came over via the Alex Gordon deal, I started off on the wrong foot in my relationsip with him as a fan. I really grew to like Flash, but the way Nick played in this game showed me that I'm probably going to like the Rutgers alumn a lot as well.
F- Justin Braun and Victor Estupiñán: VE was playing the main forward role, while Braunie played sort of a forward playing middie position. After seeing the first two weeks of the season, I'm starting to question this whole 4-1-4-1 formation that Fraser has brought to town. Wouldn't it have made more sense to send Braun and Estupiñán up together, making it clear which player should be rushing up from the midfield, and who should be hanging back? I'm not sure the players are even too sure at this point.
According to my "FIFA Standings" app on my cell phone, Chivas USA are 0-2-0 with a -2 goal differential. We are one of just two teams without a single point through two weeks of MLS play, the other being the Timbers, who sit at -4 in the goal differential category. Robin Fraser keeps saying that this team needs to find their image, find what kind of team they are going to be like. Fraser is a defensive minded coach, and he's always been of the mindset that good positioning and good formation can help a team overcome a superior team. Well, the defense may need more time, and the Rojiblancos may require a little more time getting used to his formation, but time is running out. It's early, but we're running out of time to "find our image."
If we are ever going to find our image, our best chance to do so may be tonight. We open US Open Cup qualifying play against the aforementioned Portland Timbers, and this non-league game is more important than most people realize. With the Timbers' home field still being worked on, the game is going to be played at the University of Portland, which is Heath Pearce's alma mater. Hopefully he can make a big impact for his homecoming. Super Kiwi Andrew Boyens will also be back with the squad to help out the backline. Just remember, neither of these teams have a result this season, and even though this match isn't a league match, the result tonight will go a long way to lead the winning team to greater success in MLS play. And, if we happen to b the team that gets the win, it'll put us on a nice roll heading into Saturday morning's task against the iffy Toronto FC.
Time to get to roster guessing for tonight's game in Portlandia:
G- Zach Thornton: Although, this could be a time when Dan Kennedy or Sergio Arias may see action since ZTB played just three days ago.
D- Jimmy Conrad, Ante Jaziç, Heath Pearce, and Andrew Boyens: Big game for Pearce, but the defense is still not the "normal" crew, with Valentin still off. Boyens' addition needs to solidify this back line, and Conrad needs to take control and bolster this squad like the captain he is.
M- Ben Zemanski, Nick LaBrocca, Francisco Mendoza, and Marcos Mondaini: I wish Gavin was feeling alright, but since he's still hampered by his hammy, Panchito will try and provide the help. This midline is the key to the win against Portland tonight. Zemanski, LaBrocca, and Mondaini are going to be huge. I don't think the Timbers have the stuff to stop Marcos, and that has me excited.
F- Justin Braun and Victor Estupiñán: I really believe that if Braun and #99 get sloted up front together, and get some time to gel, they could do big things. We've also got Tristan Bowen waiting to come in later in the game. With the young talent that we have at the forward slot on this squad, we have to get aggressive, and take some risks.
Tonight's game against Portland is being streamed live on Chivas' website, so I hope you can all find time to put it on alongside the Freeway Series clash tonight.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
That was a pretty exciting clash in the Freeway Series last night, eh? Well, Dodger fans can be sure that they'll get the win tonight at The Stadium, as Kaz has been handed the start (and the #4 spot in the rotation, set to start Sunday against KC, by the way).
Forget all that Kaz talk! What's on tap for our boys today?
Blue Jays (A) v Baltimore
The LSF Game of the Day: Angels (T) v Dodgers (B, J)
Sabres (B) v Maple Leafs (A)
Blackhawks (J) v Boston
Canucks (T) v Nashville
While I may have picked the final Spring Training game of the year as the game of the day, we sure do have some intense on ice matchups today. Thanks to the Hawks, the Canucks clinched the West last night. Man, this season's NHL playoffs are going to be pretty darn awesome.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Chivas USA dropped their second game of the season on Saturday, falling 0-1 to the champs from Colorado at the HDC. While I will bring a full recap of the game tomorrow morning in the "weekly" football post, I figured I'd toss some rapid reaction after watching the entire game this weekend via KDOC, along with some other thoughts about the big MLS weekend.
+ While most people will be way down on the squad for their play this weekend, how can you fault them for losing the way they did? Sure, they didn't push hard enough when they were given space, they obviously didn't put enough shots on goal, but they played a hard fought match, and lost by a single goal to the MLS Champs with a couple key players off for International duty. As I said before the game, this result needed to be taken with a grain of salt.
+ The goal by Quincy Amarikwa also has to be taken with a grain of salt. I mean, Blair Gavin went down with a reinjury to his lame hamstring, and Amarikwa scored the goal before Chivas could get Mariano Trujillo onto the pitch to replace him. So, we gave up a single goal, with just ten men on the pitch, to the MLS Champions. That's a pretty good game, outside of the offensive problems. But, you have to admit that the defense looked good despite missing Zarek.
+ I will admit that my positive outlook probably wouldn't exist if it weren't for Wake Forest alumn Michael Lahoud. The midfielder saw some action thanks to Fraser slotting Zemanski to the backline, and made a huge play right on the goal line to save a goal. Colorado got a chance to make a meaningful play on a free kick, Lahoud took his spot standing near the post on the goal line, and he was in the perfect spot to make the "save" after Colorado busted a shot in. Nice positioning, dude. By the way, Colorado calling for a hand ball after the save was really weak. Chest all the way, you maroon morons.
+ Our new #99, Victor Estupiñán looked promissing, but was never able to make that breakthrough impact. His speed and agility, though, make me think that he'll be a serious goal scorer for the Rojiblancos.
+ Marcos Mondaini, on the other hand, looked well marked in the game, and the defensive matchup by Colorado basically cancelled Mondaini out. He's going to need to find a way to rise above if other teams are going to defend him the same way.
+ How about Heath Pearce? I'm out to lunch on this guy right now. Sometimes he looked good, especially on his throw-ins. But sometimes he looked either like he didn't care because he felt Chivas sucked, or as if he sucks more than he thinks. I'm not exactly sure, but I'd hoped for more from him, especially when he crept up forward.
+ I couldn't believe how Justin Braun almost scored. It was a shot from an impossible angle, and the Rap's goalie deflected it into the crossbar. We were that close. Boy, that would have completely changed how the majority of the fans feel about the start of the season, eh?
+ I'll tell you this: We play Portland tomorrow in the opening round of the US Open Cup. It's been widely known that we've been roughed up in Open Cup play before, but I see this midweek game against the Timbers as a chance to completely turn this team around. Can we find our image as a team in a non-league game against a subpar league sqaud before our next MLS game against the so-so TFC? Man, I'd be stoked if we can.
+ Elsewhere in the league, the Whitecaps fell 0-1 to Philly, and the Union now have two shutouts, which equals their total from last season. Fans from Vancouver are still buzzing about their franchise opening win against Toronto, and they're excited to welcome Sporting next week, especially with Omar Bravo suspended. A win for them next week would be huge.
+ RSL routed the Galaxy, which is great to see, with a 4-1 game. Real has now won sixteen straight games, which is three shy of the league record set by FC Dallas last year and Columbus in '04. Beckham did have an assist, though, so you lame Riot Squad members can at least take some pride in that.
+ Red Bull and Columbus drew at nillers, which was big for NY/NJ, as they were missing five of their starters.
+ New England beat DC United 2-1 thanks to a penalty kick goal after a so-so call in the box. Anytime a team plays at Foxborro, you just have to hate them, right? Especially when their supporters go by the name "Midnight Riders."
+ Toronto beating Portland 2-0 is also giving me hope that our US Open match against the Timbers tomorrow may be a turning point for Chivas this year. Everyone knows that TFC is having a down year, and if they can beat Port by 2, we can surely beat them as well. Let's hope the curse of Lamar Hunt won't hold us back.
+ Chicago and Sporting had one of the more exciting games of the weekend, with La Maquina Roja getting the better of things, 3-2. Chiva-killer Omar Bravo got the red for Sporting KC, which led to Chicago getting the upper hand.
+ San Jose got the 2-0 win over FC Dallas, as Chris Wondolowski tallied the brace. That guy is a knock down drag out stud, and he's been a huge impact player for Los Terremotos de San José.
+ So, after the second week, Philadelphia is shocking the league by leading the Eastern Conference outright, while RSL and Colorado share that 6 point top spot via their ranking in the West. Chivas and Portland, who meet tomorrow in non-league action, are the only MLS teams without a point so far.
I know I always say this, but I'll say it again: Support the MLS!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Please note that my headline is for comedy's sake only, and not an endorsement of polytheism.
But seriously, who is pushing the pins into the voodoo doll that is the Vancouver Canucks (not that I'm endorsing voodoo)? We've all seen what has happened to my beloved Orca this season. Injury upon injury upon injury. It started with Alex Burrows and Sami Salo before the season started. It continued with the likes of Andrew Alberts, Kevin Bieksa, Keith Ballard, Aaron Rome, Dan Hamhuis, and most recently Manny Malhotra. Now, The Hammer is back in the news. Just 6 minutes into the game against the Blue Jackets yesterday, Kevin Bieksa blasted Rick Nash into Hamhuis, and Hammer collapsed to the ice. He didn't return, and after the game it was announced that he suffered his second concussion in less than two months.
The word out today is that Hamhuis, who hit his head on the ice as he came down, is suffering only mild concussion symptoms, but you'd have to imagine that the Canucks are going to try and play this one safe. Rushing Hammer back quickly could be a horrible idea. This is the fourth concussion for the Smithers, BC native in his career. Coming home to Vancouver was kind of a big deal, but these two big head injuries have us fans (and probably his family)a little worried. The last thing we want is for Hamhuis to come back to BC, only to end up like Eric Lindros (or for a newer reference, Marc Savard). I'd have to guess that the 28 year old 6'1 defender is going to be missed at least until the playoffs. And, even bringing him back then has to raise questions. Do we want to ruin this guy's life, like his post-hockey life? I don't know if it's worth it. Malhotra already may have suffered a career ending injury, let's not see Hamhuis go down the same way.
That being said, we are now down our best defensive defender, after losing the guy who has been called our second and a half line center, in Malhotra. Thus, you can expect that most fans around Orca Nation are concerned about our chances, at this point, for making a deep playoff run. Sure, we won two games over the weekend (and thank you to NHL Network for televising the Atlanta game), but we're seemingly falling apart! Yesterday, we beat Columbus 4-1. We made it to fifty wins for the first time in the history of this team. Chris Higgins finally showed how good he's been playing by putting something on the score sheet. And yet, fans aren't feeling too confident thanks to the continued injuries.
Just as an update, Steve Nash, who is Manny Malhotra's brother in law, tweeted that Malhotra is undegoing eye surgery tomorrow in order to "save his eye and save his vision." Manny's injury is so much worse than we know, you can just feel it. Best of luck, M-Squared.
At 7:52 of the first, Christian Ehrhoff scored on a wrister after a pass from Ma$e, pictured above. Columbus, however, was pushing hard for that equalizer. The Jacks outshot the Canucks 25-12 after 40 minutes, and it would get worse, yet we somehow held the lead. At 3:36 of the final frame, Ryan Kesler fed Henrik for a backhand goal to double the lead. After Schneider and the Vannies held strong in over one minute of a 5-on-3 disadvantage, Kesler hit a streaking Higgins for his first goal as a Canuck. Columbus finally scored on a flukie goal after an Umberger shot. The puck hit Schneider, hit the post, hit Schneider's head, and just crossed the goal line. Luckily, he wouldn't allow another lucky goal to the Blue Bugs, Higgins scored again on the power play, and the Vannies walked off with a nice taking-care-of-business kind of win.
Good to see our PK boys holding the Blue Jackets on all five of their PP chances, as they've now gone 0 for 30 in their most recent opportunities. It's also nice to see the Canucks win so mightily, despite getting outshot 40-24 in the game. Of course, a lot of that thanks needs to be pointed toward Cory. Schneider stopped 39 of 40, and was the brick wall the team needed, especially in those first two periods. Mason Raymond continued to show signs of getting better as we near the playoffs, earning three assists in the game, matching Higgy's three point effort (from two goals and an assist). Sami Salo was the only minus player, in his 14+ of ice time, and he's going to need to pick it up for the missing Hammer over the remainder of the season.
Now 50-17-9, the Canucks continue to set frachise records in wins, road wins, and points, and we still have six games to go. Our 109 points grant us a 22 point lead in the division, a 12 point lead over Detroit and San Jose (tied for second) in the conference, and a 9 point lead in the President's Trophy race over the East's #1 from Philadelphia. Amazing.
Quickly, we'll look at the battle for that all-important eight spot:
4. Phoenix (93)
5. LA (92)
6. Nashville (92)
7. Anaheim (89)
8 Chicago (88)
9. Calgary (87)
10. Dallas (86)
Chicago plays Detroit tonight, and if they win, they could do a lot. Not just by pushing themselves up to sole possession of the 7 spot, but also because it would secure the Western Conference regular season title for the Canucks (for the first time in our team's history). For the last time this season, good luck Blackhawks.
Tomorrow night the Canucks and the Predators face off in Nashville. It's set to be a nice clash between two teams that have a chance to meet in the opening round of the playoffs (or further down the road, possibly), and it sure would be nice to put a stamp on this season series before it's all said and done. However, with injuries building and ice time dropping for the big shots, it's clearly not a must win situation.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Well, the Celtics beat the Timberwolves on their ugly two-toned hardwood, and that's not really news. Even the final tally of 85-82 doesn't really raise very many eyebrows. However, when you watch the game and see that we had a commanding lead at one point, the game provides more questions than answers. The Green Army went up 32-13 after one, and walked off that stupid looking court at the half up 47-34. And yet, a third quarter collapse allowed the Wolves to jump back in and even take the lead. What can we learn from this tight victory?
This, of course, was without Kevin Love on the court for Minnie. Should we be worried? Speaking of injuries, we played this game without the ever-worsening Rajon Rondo, who got hurt in practice on Saturday. Delonte West filled in, and nabbed 8 points and 5 assists, but it was Paul Pierce who carried this team in the tight win yesterday. Popeye, looking more and more like his youthful self, went hard to the basket multiple times. Pierce slammed home a huge dunk in the final quarter, as he put an exclamation point on his 23 and 7 effort. KG picked up a big double double (with extra cheese) with 13 and 13, while Nenad and Ray Ray grabbed 11 each. Good for Krstic to have a solid night, as he added 6 to his 11 in a good comeback from his recent poor play.
The bench, though, didn't do very much. While Jeff Green may have slammed a dunk that made the highlight reel, he finished with just 9. It stinks because he went 4 for 5, and seems to be showing that we need to get him more shots when he's on the floor. I was hard on Greenie when he first came aboard, but he's slowly been getting better and better. He's becoming the class of the bench mob. It's hard for me to admit this, but my boy Glen Davis was one of the big reasons that the Wolves were able to get back into the game. Big Baby got 8 and 6, but his shooting was straight up sad, as he finished the game 4 for 15. Come on, Glen! When you come on the floor at the 4 spot (or the 5, for that matter), you need to be a guy who helps us keep a lead, not blow it by putting up a house full of bricks. You need to be huge come playoff time, and you're not making us feel that confident.
So, should we be worried? Is the clear lack of killer instinct by this version of the Green Army going to harm us in the playoffs. Is our dip here at the end of the regular season a sign of bad things to come? Yesterday, we shot just 40% from the floor. Are we going to win a playoff series with that kind of shooting? No. Sitting at the two seed, we're looking at the Knicks in the opening round so far. While that would be an easy win, of course, we're not going to get very deep with this kind of play against the likes of Chicago and (gulp) Miami. Hopefully Doc can light a little more of a fire under this squad.
At 51-21, we are still a full 2 games back of the hard charging Bullies, and we only lead Heat-retha Franklin by 0.5. Things are getting a little tight, and I'm getting a little nervous. Tonight we get the 32-42 Pacers, the #8 team in the East, and we have to build a couple of wins here if we want to get on a roll heading into the playoffs.
Come on, Doc. If you're as good a coach as people pretend, you'll get this team going.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
How many people are going to pretend they had VCU and Butler in the Final Four?
What's on tap around LSF Nation today?
Celtics (T) v Indianapolis
Blue Jays (A) v Boston
The LSF Game of the Day: Angels (T) v Dodgers (B, J)
Blackhawks (J) v Detroit
No disrespect to the huge game between Chicago and Detroit (which is on the seemingly Red Wings owned Versus Network) but any time a LSF rivalry match is on, even if it's preseason, it grabs game of the day honors.
Time to claim the freeway, boys.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
How awesome was that game last night? After watching the entire TSN broadcast via Versus, I'm actually kind of glad that I don't have Center Ice to watch every single Canucks game. It's just too intense. With as good as this team has been, and as high as expectations are, this playoff season is going to be a wild ride.
Last night, following a 0-0 first period, Daniel Sedin turned it on, picked up two goals, and the Vannies road a solid effort from El Roberto en route to a thrilling 2-1 victory. This game really felt like a playoff game. It was intense from first puck drop to the final horn. Everything from the 'Nucks getting outplayed in the opening 20 to the thrilling finish was heart pumping.
Daniel Sedin flew in after spending time with his third baby, who was just born earlier in the week, and started us off 6:31 into the second. He tried to pass the puck across the crease to his brother, but the puck deflected off of Howard's leg and went into the net. Bingo. Midway through the third, Sedin sent off a perfect one timer from the top of the circle on the power play to beat Howard for the temporary 2 goal lead.
Roberto Luongo stood on his head in the game, making unbelievable stop after unbelievable stop. Jiri Hudler scored with 8:22 to go in the game on a rebound, and outside of that Lu was perfect. I thought it was interesting that the "Hockey Town" crowd was completely quiet until the Red Wings finally scored. Best fans in hockey? Give me a break. Bobby stopped 39 shots, and stepped it up even more once the Wings went up a man in the final minute with their goalie pulled. If there was ever a reason to have confidence in Roberto having a strong playoff run, this regular season has been it.
A couple of things stood out to me watching this game. First was the play of Ryan Kesler. He picked up an assist, but he really performed well in the faceoff circle. At one point he was 17 for 19, and that really helps to make up for the missing Manny Malhotra. Second was the play of Chris Higgins. Higgy played just over 16 minutes on the ice, and while he didn't get on the score sheet in any way, his play made a huge difference. I thought he looked like a somewhat trustworthy guy on the wing.
Finally, I'd like to point out the amazing thing that is getting pulled off by the Twins. Last season, Henrik Sedin proved to all the haters that he's an elite player, by winning the Art Ross and the Hart Memorial trophies. He led the league in points and finished as the NHL MVP. This season, Daniel and Henrik are sitting 1 and 2 in the race for the Art Ross. Daniel has 95 points after scoring his 40th goal last night, Henrik has 88, and third place (and fading) Stamkos sits on 86. Not only is it looking like the Canucks will have two straight Art Ross winners, but they are brothers, and more than that, they are Twins. Could you imagine if twins from the same baseball team led the MLB in homeruns in back to back years? Hopefully that gives some kind of indication of how crazy this is. And yet, no one is talking about it outside of Orca Nation. You may not want to admit it, but I feel like the Twins are making a strong case for being the two best players in the NHL, hands down.
At 48-17-9, the Orca have 105 points, which is good enough for a 10 point lead over said Wings in the West, and an 8 point lead over the Flyers as we race for our first President's Trophy. We're still talking about the President's Trophy with 8 games to go? Things could not be any cooler.
So, as the season winds down, and the Canucks look more and more like a team that is going to finish first in the West, it's time to start thinking about who the Canucks want to face in the opening round of the playoffs. Here's a run down of the most likely options to fill in that eighth spot.
4. Phoenix (91)
5. Chicago (88)
6. Los Angeles (88)
7. Nashville (88)
8. Anaheim (87)
9. Dallas (86)
10. Calgary (85)
Isn't it crazy that teams ranging from 4-10 all have a legit shot at finishing 8th? I mean, that's really crazy. Equally insane is that it's looking like the Canucks may be the ONLY Northwest team to make the playoffs, unless the Flamers pick it up at the end (however, they've played more games than anyone else in the NHL). Who would have guessed that in a year where the Vannies are putting together their best season in franchise history, the rest of our division are a complete joke?
First I'll start with who I don't want to face out of those seven aforementioned teams.
Anaheim: I don't know why I fear them. Maybe it's because the only Canucks playoff game I've been to was when we got knocked out of the playoffs by the Ducks back in 2006 (if memory serves). Maybe it's because of their size. They seem like a big team that we would have trouble matching up with. It just seems like a tricky on.
Next, the teams I wouldn't mind facing.
Nashville: It feels like Shane O'Brien and the Preds have had our number this season, but actually it's been more equal than you might think. While the Preds seem to be a team that could shock us, I would feel pretty confident winning in 6.
Phoenix: They almost made my list of teams I don't want to face. You don't want to face a renegade team looking to make a deep run on possibly their final season in Glendale, Arizona. Could this team be so motivated by all their problems off the ice, that they can make a serious push prior to packing up for sunny Winnipeg? It's just a little scary.
Finally, the teams who I would prefer to finish eighth because it would either be an easy win or an awesome matchup.
Chicago: Bring it! I know there are some (okay, a lot) Vannie fans out there who don't want anything to do with the Blackhawks this postseason, but to me, it would be just what this team needs to show that they are serious about winning the whole thing this time around. Nothing better than having the greatest season in franchise history, vanquishing your most hated playoff rivals in the first round, and then rolling off that all the way to the first Stanley Cup win in team history. Nothing better. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. My friendship with Jon would go on hold, indeed.
Los Angeles: Been there, done that. I don't see anyway that LA could beat the Canucks in a seven game playoff series. If we faced them, and beat them again, we would become their Blackhawks. Plus, I'd have a (small) chance to snag tickets.
Dallas: Talk about a team that I'm not scared of. The Stars started out looking like an amazing top three team this season, only to crap out and now look like they're struggling to just make the top eight. We smoked Dallas over and over again, especially when the game was pumped up as a "big time event." They suck, and we'd crush them.
Calgary: This would be an awesome first round clash because a) we would crush the Flames (possibly in four games) and b) playing the rival Flamers in the opening round of the playoffs would be amazing. How exciting would it be to face our division rivals? Plus, it keeps the traveling light. Sadly, I don't see a chance that they'll make it.
So, that's what I think about our options. We're about 8 games away from finding out our answer. The fight to the finish continues tomorrow night against the Atlanta Thrashers (aka, the old Blackhawks).
Death to Byfuglien, Ladd, and Kane! Evander Kane, that is.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Whenever former players return home, there is always something special in the air. The Memphis Grizzlies came to Massachusetts last night to face the Green Army, and Leon Powe and Tony Allen were pumped up to go against their former team. Powe and Allen were key pieces to the 2008 NBA title run, and last night they were key pieces for the bad guys in an 87-90 Celtic loss.
Glad to see the former Cs getting a warm welcome from the crowd, but in hindsight, maybe it would have been more effective to boo them. Allen finished with 8 and 7, Powe with a tied-for-team-high 13, as they both sent a brutal reminder about how this version of the bench mob isn't quite what it used to be. In our defense, the C's bench added 29, but only three players scored (West with 7, Green with 10, and Big Baby with 12), and that is nothing like what the bench from back in the day could pull off.
The Celtic starters looked pretty good, finally, with Popeye leading the way with 22, KG getting 10 and 6, Rondo impressing with 11 assists and 11 boards (if you can believe that), and Ray Ray nailing 14 despite his huge eye bandage. On the flip side, Krstic's 6 and 2 continue to make me realize that I jumped the gun on him just a little bit when he started his Green Army career hot. Don't get me wrong, I still love the guy, but he's just not looking as consistent as I had hoped.
I'd like to address the way this game ended, because I think the C's really played it wrong. First, with 18 seconds left, I watch as Rondo drives to the hoop to throw up a floater that he bricks, giving possession back to Memphis. Shouldn't he have called a timeout so we could set a play up down the court? Doc Rivers said, "I didn't call a timeout because I thought Rajon would pass it to Pierce." Well, either Rondo needs to know that's the plan, or a timeout needs to be called. You scored 6 points, and went 2 for 12 from the floor. You've been as cold as a fish in the Pacific lately. Pass the ball, that's what you're paid to do.
Next, we cruise down the floor after falling down by 3, with less than 14 seconds left, and Glen Davis gets the three? Memphis didn't care to give him the deep semi-open look, even though it would have tied the game, because they (and all of us) knew he'd toss up a brick. I don't care if you're wide open, which you weren't, you (of all people!) aren't taking the shot from beyond the arc with the clock nearing single digits in the seconds slot. Are you kidding me?
After Memphis' version of a dirty Spaniard bricked both of his free throws, the C's called a timeout (way to go!), trailed by three, and had a chance to set up a last chance shot to tie the game. The best they could do was get Pierce a way deep, double covered, off balance three point attempt, and he missed it to end the game.
Now, I'm not a basketball coach, and I'm not an expert of the game by any stretch of the imagination (although, maybe we should have a NBA All-Star party next year to pick an actual expert), but I could have managed the end of the game better than this with the given situation. First, call a timeout on the Rondo play. It's always better to set up a play at the half court than to try and run in with 18 seconds left. Next, Big Baby has no business standing out in three point land, unless he's providing a pick. Move him inside the arc. I'm alright if he takes a two, because he'll probably make it, otherwise he needs to dish to Allen or Pierce. Finally, I guess there isn't much you can do about the last play. You get the ball in the hands of your 3, and just let him see what kind of shot he can create. That's what we did, and it just didn't work out. That's fine, but there is no excuse for the first two.
The C's lost for the fifth time in nine games, and fell a full game back of conference leading Chicago. What a bad time to collapse! At 50-20, we need to put a serious charge into these next 12 games to finish strong and go for that one spot. Tomorrow we welcome the 28-42 Charlotte Robert-Cats to the Garden, and we sure as heck better beat those jokers.
Just as a quick side note, the Sacramento Kings (18-52) lost by 7 to Milwaukee last night. LSU alumn Marcus Thornton scored 27, while Beno "The Ragin' Yugo" Udrih scored 25. The resident Haitian/Canadian from Seton Hall, Sammy Dalembert earned the team's lone double double (with a strawberry shake) with 11 and 12. Just thought I'd spend a little bit of time getting to know the future long suffering squad. It looks like I'll have a lot of suffering ahead if this actually happens. Can't wait.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Since I'm taking the day off work tomorrow to celebrate César Chávez, it's time to bring you the LSF agenda for the weekend.
Thursday-
Blue Jays (A) v Atlanta
Angels (T) v Milwaukee
Dodgers (B, J) v Colorado
The LSF Game of the Day: Maple Leafs (A) v Colorado
Friday-
Celtics (T) v Charlotte
The LSF Game of the Weekend: Clippers (B) v Lakers (A, J)
Angels (T) v Oakland
Dodgers (B, J) v Arizona
Blue Jays (A) v Boston
Dodgers (B, J) v Seattle
Sabres (B) v Florida
Canucks (T) v Atlanta
Saturday-
Clippers (B) v Toronto
Blue Jays (A) v Philadelphia
Angels (T) v Chicago Sox
Dodgers (B, J) v San Diego
Sabres (B) v New Jersey
Maple Leafs (A) v Detroit
The LSF Game of the Day: Blackhawks (J) v Anaheim
Chivas USA (T) v Colorado
Sunday-
Celtics (T) v Minnesota
The LSF Game of the Day: Lakers (A, J) v New Orleans
Blue Jays (A) v Baltimore
Dodgers (B, J) v Cleveland
Angels (T) v San Diego
Canucks (T) v Columbus
It's kind of a light weekend with soccer going to international play, but that Clippers/Lakers game promises to be a fun one. Best of luck to all of our long suffering squads this weekend.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
There has never been a picture on this blog that has called more for a caption contest than the above shot of Scioscia. I'll start:
"Who? Mickey Hatcher? He's not a hitting coach, he's just a practical joke we've been playing on players and fans for the last 10 years."
Submit your captions, which are hopefully funnier than mine, in the comments section.
Game Twenty Six- 14-6 W vs KC
1. Nothing like routing your Opening Day foe one last time on the way out of Spring.
2. Yes, we impressed with 14 runs on 15 hits, but we also gladly accepted those 5 Kansas City errors. Thanks guys, but save some errors for that first series.
3. St. Peter blasted his first and only bomb of the Spring on a 2 for 3 effort. He's now hitting .375 with 7 RBI during the preseason.
4. How about Hank Conger blasting a jack as well? "The Conger Need Food" went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI. Do you think he feels free to succeed because the pressure is off now that he knows he won't make the team out of Spring? Whatever it is, yesterday's effort is at least going a little ways to salvaging his numbers. Too little, too late.
5. Chris Pettit, my constant selection to beat out Reggie Willits for the fourth outfielder slot, went 2 for 5 with his third stolen base of the preseason. He also had 3 RBI, bringing him to 8 this Spring, and is hitting .303. Sorry, Reggie, you don't stand a chance.
6. Alberto Callaspo went 2 for 3, and is still hitting .333 this Spring. Will he be able to produce around the .300 level when it counts? One can hope.
7. Surprise, surprise. Ma$e was 0 for 4 in the leadoff spot. He's in a dead heat with Hank Conger for most disappointing Spring on the team.
8. Mark "I'm The New Kendrys" Trumbo went 0'fer, but is still hitting .314 this preseason. What happens if he just goes nuts while Kendrys sits on the DL? Does he have a legitimate shot to steal Kendrys' job? Probably not, but maybe a hot start will make the organization come around to my idea of moving Trumbo to third once Morales is actually ready. By the way, how long is that going to take? Probably at least a month, would be my guess.
9. Starter Tyler Chatwood didn't pitch very well, finishing 5 innings of 3 run ball (Spring ERA: 7.36), but he still did well enough for a win thanks to the sad, sad Royals.
10. The relievers impressed, initially. Mike "Wrath of" Kohn pitched a shutout inning to drop his Spring ERA to 1.00. Jason Bulger, despite walking two, also got out with a scoreless inning. Bulger has been real shaky this Spring.
11. How about Francisco Rodriguez? 1 inning of 3 hit/3 run ball? Those jacks will kill you, man. I'm not worried about him, though, he'll be alright. Maybe the bill of his hat was riding a little too high.
12. Sure, you can be a Halo pessimist and say 6 of our runs were unearned, but let's just be positive and say that a run is a run is a run.
Today the Angels got a pregame clubhouse visit from Muhammed Ali prior to their match against the World Champion San Francisco Giants. Muhammed freaking Ali! Hopefully his visit can spark our own Championship run. So far, we're beating the Giants 5-0 in the fourth thanks to a Bobby Abreu three run jack, so I guess using Ali as a motivator is working.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
It was a soccer weekend of highs and lows, and I've been itching to talk about it for quite a while.
Headline #1- Chivas USA falls to Sporting on stupid early mistakes.
When I watched this game, I was initially angry about Chivas' performance. The defense was mistake prone in the opening half, and it seemed as though Omar Bravo was left to do what he wanted with the ball, even though we all knew that he was going to be the main threat (sorry, Kai Kamara). After letting the game sit in my brain for a couple more days, however, I have jumped on board with how Robin Fraser characterized the match.
The defensive mistakes were the result of a back line (Jaziç-Conrad-Valentin-Pierce) that hasn't played much together (only twice in the preseason). The talent of those four guys is pretty obvious, but their inability to communicate effecitvely in this first game was equally clear. A misunderstanding of a clearance situation led to CJ Sapong's goal just 1:45 into the test (the fastest a MLS rookie has ever scored their first career goal). That kind of goal can break the back of a team. Omar Bravo's goal in the first half's extra time, the result of another poor defensive effort, positively should have broken our back. A goal early and a goal late, it was almost enough to get me to change the station.
But the positive side of things is that Chivas didn't give up. Just about 10 minutes into the second half, captain Jimmy Conrad made amends for the poor defensive play with a smashing goal on a corner kick. The team started pushing forward after getting on the score sheet, as Marcos Mondaini and Nick LaBrocca helped out as attacking middies in the new 4-1-4-1 formation. Bravo would score again, however, on a strong counterattack that let him get in on goal alone. He's not going to screw that up. However, Chivas fought back again, much to the delight of the HDC crowd.
On another corner kick, Nick LaBrocca cleared the ball over the defense, allowing Ben Zemanski to get in close and score in the 84th. It was the Zip star's first career MLS goal, and it gave us a chance. A small chance, but a chance indeed. Unfortunately, Chivas was unable to find the equalizer, and just couldn't make up for a poor opening 45. Sporting KC walked off the pitch with the narrow 3-2 win, as Chivas continues to search for win number one.
We'll look at the lineup for the first match of the year:
G- Zach Thorton: I'll admit that I was surprised to see ZTB out there, and can only assume that Guadalajara loaner Sergio Arias doesn't have his paperwork together yet. However, the Beast can't be blamed for any of the goals, and chances that he should have stopped, he stopped.
D- Jaziç (Estupiñán 86), Valentin, Pearce, and Conrad: As stated, these guys have the talent, but just need more time together to work as a team. I'm confident they'll figure it out.
M- LaBrocca, Mendoza (Gavin 62), Zemanski, Braun, and Mondaini (Bowen 70): This includes the rear midfielder and the four main middies in Fraser's 4-1-4-1. I'll admit that it's a little weird to get used to. You have one striker, but really the more forward of the midfielders were coming up all the time. While LaBrocaa, Zemanski, and Mondaini looked great and all made an impact, Braun and Panchito both struggled to get anything going. Hopefully it's all just new season growing pains. It should be noted that Chivas' play and attack picked up around the time that Blair Gavin was inserted in the lineup.
F- Alejandro Moreno: The Venezuelan and MLS veteran who scored 21 goals with Columbus from '07-'09 came up empty. Chivas fans are scratching our heads and hoping that he'll find his groove. He even got a full 90 to make something happen!
Subs not used- Dan Kenney, Michael Lahoud, Mariano Trujillo, and Michael Umaña: It sucks because Lahoud, Trujillo, and Umaña were all huge parts of this team last year, and now they all seem like odd men out. Gaucho Dan too, for that matter.
Let's not all get expecting of a win this weekend either. We'll be facing the 2010 MLS Champion Colorado Rapids, and we'll be missing some key players due to International duties. Zarek Valentin (US U-20), Michael Umaña (Costa Rica), Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela), and Andrew Boyens (New Zealand) will all be playing for their native lands, and that leaves us at least a little short handed against the champs.
So, what will the starting eleven look like?
G: Zach Thorton- Only because we don't know Arias' status, I'll say the Beast finds his place between the pipes yet again.
D: Ante Jaziç, Heath Pearce, Jimmy Conrad, and Mariano Trujillo- With Valentin off for International play, the defense still won't get their much needed time together. However, "The Trujth" got it done when he needed to last season, and this lineup with give Captain Conrad and Pearce time to emerge as back line leaders.
M: Nick LaBrocca, Francisco Mendoza, Ben Zemanski, and Marcos Mondaini- All hope is on board that Panchito will get to form quickly, and we all look for LaBrocca and Mondaini to continue their parternship. Zemanski gets the nod over Gavin thanks to his big goal, but Gavin will obviously get in there.
F: Justin Braun and Victor Estupiñán- This is a big one. Obviously Braun gets the nod, but how about our new 23 year old from Ecuador? With Moreno off for a couple games, will Robin Fraser give the 14th overall pick from the 2011 MLS Super Draft a chance to earn a spot? Estupiñán scored three goals in a 5-0 win yesterday in a scrimage with Loyola Marymount University. That game also featured head coach Robin Fraser suiting up and playing defense for 20 minutes. Are you kidding me? This team is so rad.
Chivas (0-1-0, -1 GD) and Colorado (1-0-0, +2 GD) face off on Saturday night at the HDC. The game will air locally on KDOC (56 on DirecTV, I think), and we'll see how well Chivas can step to the challenge.
Headline #2- Guadalajara gets a much needed win.
If you read the soccer weekend quick reaction post from earlier in the week, you know that I was watching Chivas de Guadalajara battle Querétaro at Casa Franco Mexican Restaurant on Saturday, which boasts a Club América supporting waiter. After being told, by him, that in Mexico, América is considered the team for the "gays" while Chivas is considered the team for the "construction workers," my FMF support was well renewed. I'm guessing that the translation failed a little bit, though, and he more meant that fans of América are rich, well dressed city folk, while fans of Chivas are blue collar, hard working middle class people. Does that sound about right?
Well, the construction workers had reason to rejoice this weekend, as Chivas de Guadalajara picked up a clutch win against Querétaro 2-0. Erick Torres scored two goals, one in the 5th and one in the 71st, both from in close on goal. Torres has 5 goals in FMF play this season over just 10 appearances. This is a guy who is a Guadalajara native, and he just turned 18 years old back in mid-January. Are you kidding me? What a story! Known as "El Cubo", Erick is a huge story down in Jalisco, as well as north of the boarder. Nothing like a brace against the Gallos Blancos to help make you a household name.
Just think about this: the last Chivas Guadalajara striker to post such impressive numbers was Javier Hernandez. That's right. Man U's "El Chicharito" was the last time we had such a promissing youngster. Could "El Cubo" become that great? If so, I hope we don't let him leave.
The 2011 FMF Clausura standings have the Goats sitting third in the six-team first group. At 3-2-6, this hasn't been the best start we've ever had to be sure, but we're only 5 points back of UANL for the top of the group. Next up is an April Fool's Day match against Necaxa. The Hidro-Rayos sit fifth in our group at 3-6-2, and this is just another really big win that Chivas needs. Let's take care of these lowly electricians.
Headline #3- The Magpies get blown out by Stoke.
The tough times continue for Newcastle, as Stoke City busted us for their first ever four goal outburst in EPL play. Not good, Mr. Pardew, not good. Losing 0-4 just doesn't make Mag supporters comfortable as we look to just 8 games left to try and stay afloat. Newcastle have now earned just one point in their previous three games, and now have just a four point barrier between them and the relegation zone. Dangerous.
It started out well enough, as Shola Ameobi stormed out with a couple of chances. That was nearly it. Stoke scored on a corner in the 27th and the floodgates opened up. Despite being down by one, the Magpies tried to level it. Barton just missed a free kick, Nolan just missed a goal himself, but nothing came of it. Down 0-1 at the break doesn't mean much, and the supporters felt sure we'd get something. The second half, though, ended that dream. Stoke scored twice within the first four minutes of the second half, and the spirit of the Magpies was gone.
After the game, Pardew commented that he felt the team played pretty well in the first half "but the first five minutes of the second half cost us the game." It sure did, and just like we pointed out with Chivas USA earlier, teams need to be their strongest at the start and the finish of each half. No excuses. Despite sitting #11 in the table, the 9-12-9 Magpies are in a bit of trouble. They have 36 points, while the #18 Wolves have 32. Newcastle welcomes those very same Wolves at the SJP on April second, and it's a must win. Lose to a team in the relegation zone when you're just 4 up on it, and you're in deep, deep trouble.
Headline #4- Celtic fall, allow Rangers to grab the trophy.
It was an extra time tally from Nikica Jelavic that ended the Scottish Cup tournament in favor of the hated Protties from Rangers. Steve Davis opened the scoring in the 23rd only to have Joe Ledley bring the teams level 7 minutes later. Then it was a bunch of chances, a bunch of defense, and a bunch of scrappy play, en route to Rangers' extra time win.
There was plenty of controversy in this game, with the refs ignoring a couple of clear calls, only to finally take action against Emilio Izaguirre by handing him the red for a rough challenge. That will draw some criticism from us Celtic fans, but the game should be remembered for the long amount of scoreless battling in the trenches. Of course, this all comes with Neil Lennon still serving an unfair touchline ban. That clearly had an impact on the Bhoys, as Gary Hooper, Georgios Samaras, and Paddy McCourt all came up empty and uninspired.
Nothing to get your mind off that loss like pretending that the Scottish Cup doesn't mean anything, as we turn our focus to the remainder of the SPL season. Right? So, Rangers beat us in the Cup, who cares? We're still leading them by two points in the SPL table. Wait, it's just two points? Oh man, the end of this Euro soccer season is making me quite nervous. Celtic has just three games remaining, and they'll need to make them all count. Next up is a clash against Inverness, and if we want the title, every game from here on out is a must win.
Turn on your TVs and support the MLS this weekend, my friends.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The Canucks are actually getting televised on Versus tonight? Outside of the playoffs, I think that's a first. I'm so glad to see that they are finally getting the respect they deserve. Oh wait, it's only because they're playing Detroit? Forget it.
What's on the LSF's agenda today?
Celtics (T) v Memphis
Clippers (B) v Washington
Angels (T) v San Francisco
Dodgers (B, J) v Chicago Sox
Blue Jays (A) v New York Yankees
The LSF Game of the Day: Canucks (T) v Detroit
Blackhawks (J) v Florida
A lot of great action across the three major sports. Best of luck to all the long suffering squads today.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
It was a potential playoff preview between the C's and the Knicks last night at the MSG, and once again, my Green Army came out horribly slow. Left behind 51-37 at the end of the first half, the Celtics got called out by Doc Rivers, and came out fighting in the second. A 59-35 response in the second half helped erase the deficit, and carried the Celtics to a nice 96-86 (I'm sure you could have handled the addition on your own) win over 'Melo and his bright orange sleeves.
These bad starts just drive me crazy. The Celts finished just 1 for 10 from beyond the arc, but the starters were able to fix the mess they created in this one. At the half, Doc Rivers told the team that they looked "soft," and that seemed to light a fire under them. The Celtics came out strong, and the numbers show their response. Instead of five guys with single digits in the point column, the big four stepped it up. KG got 24 and 11, Popeye got 21, Ray Ray got 15, and Rajon Rondo finally came back to life with 13 points and 12 assists (welcome back, buddy). Paul Pierce played big, drilling a deep three late to inspire the troops. The bench added just 16 this time around, as Big Baby got 8 with 9, Green got 7, and Delonte got 1. Garnett may have impressed me the most, though, as he shot 10 for 15 from the field and a perfect 4 for 4 from the charity stripe. However, I was a little miffed to see him basically just standing there while Carmello walked in and dunked a ball late in the first half. Take a charge, big boy.
It wasn't what anyone would call a "pretty" game. The C's shot 46% from the floor, the aforementioned 10% from deep, and actually got out-assisted by New York. In fact, the Knicks had 7 players with at least 2 assists, while the C's just had 3. Besides the poor skills performance, it was also kind of an ugly game thanks to the physical mash up. Glen Davis faked getting an elbow to the face by Carmello early on. He barely, barely got touched by 'Melo's elbow (let's be real, C fans), and violently collapsed to the floor, as he looked like he started crying. It was weak stuff from one if my favorite players, and I'll be the first to admit it.
Real blood flowed in addition to the fake though, as the Green Army was out to show Doc that they weren't as soft as they looked in the first half. Ray Allen got elbowed on the head by Jared Jeffries going up for a rebound, and blood flowed from his dome. His mom stood up in the crowd in her bedazzled #20 jersey, as he walked off the floor and into the locker room. He returned with a big bandage. Troy Murphy also got busted up, as he left the game due to a bloody nose after a nasty collision. The Knicks got theirs as well. After Rajon Rondo dropped in the go ahead layup with 3 minutes to go, he raced to steal an inbound pass and clipped Carmello, cutting him open above the eye. 'Melo fell to the floor, allowing Rondo to feed Big Baby for a layup and a four point lead.
Talk about a game that looked like two teams playing at a playoff level. This would be an awesome playoff series in the first round. Awesome because there is a little rivalry going, a lot of physical bang bang play potential, a history, and most importantly because the Celtics would definitely win (in four, by the way). I'd welcome the Knicks as a first round team with wide open arms. The two teams meet next in the regular season finale on April 13.
At 50-19, the 2011 Atlantic Division Champions have matched their win total from last season with 13 games left to go. We remain deadlocked with the Bulls on top of the Eastern Conference, as we fight for that homecourt advantage we're told to desire. The Clippers trail the C's by 31 games in the chase for the LSF Cup, in case you are keeping track.
Next up for the Massachusetts Supermen is a test against the no longer Gay Memphis Grizzlies. Rudy Gay is out for the remainder of the season, and I don't see this #8 team from the West standing a chance against my boys on Wednesday afternoon.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
Just to show how serious I am about getting everyone on board with the MLS, I'm bringing you the first in hopefully many posts helping you to get to know the Goats even better. When I say that the MLS and it's 18 teams (19, if you count Montreal's addition next year) have finally become an elite league, I mean it. The game has gained in talent, picked up in performance, and is just a league of pure excitement right now. Trust me when I say that you'll have a blast if you jump on board.
With Robin Fraser coming on board as our new head coach, Chivas USA's roster has undergone a drastic change. Even the most die hard fans of the Rojiblancos were trying to figure out just who was on the pitch for the Goats against Sporting Kansas City for this weekend's 2-3 loss. If you believe the Chivas front office, and I really want to, this game gave us something to build on, and it was a big step toward figuring out the identity of this squad.
So, to help us all get to know this new look Chivas USA squad that much better, I bring you the first installment of "Get to Know a Goat." Today we'll get to know our new Argentine midfielder Marcos Mondaini.
Name: Marcos Mondaini
Nickname: "El Diablo" according to Wikipedia (although the obvious "Mondo" may catch on as well)
Position: MF/F
Number: 23
Age: 26
Height: 5'10
Weight: 160
Native of: Sáenz Peña, Argentina
Acquired: On loan from Centro Atlético Fénix (Uruguay)
Teams: Boca Juniors, Emelec, Barcelona SC, Nacional, Atlético Nacional, Centro Atlético Fénix, and now Chivas USA
Career Stats: 23 goals in 106 matches
Chivas Stats: 70 minutes, 1 shot
The LSF's Take: Marcos became the first Argentinean player to ever suit up for Chivas USA after being acquired this offseason. He started in soccer as a product of the youth system of the world famous Boca Juniors squad. Since coming up with Boca, he spent most of his time on loan to various squads across South American professional soccer. Now that he's come to Chivas USA as an attacking midfielder, a lot is riding on his ability to create chances with his speed and quickness.
What Fraser thinks: Our new coach seems to think Mondaini will be a hugely important talent, "He's an intelligent, crafty, quick player, who has been in a number of big games."
So far, so good: After playing just 70 minutes in his first game, Mondaini has been the most talked about player since the final whistle in Saturday's game. He created a number of chances in the loss to Sporting, and even put a nice shot on goal that caused some problems for KC's goalie. Playing near the front in Chivas' new 4-1-4-1 formation, Mondaini was frequently going on the attack with fellow newbie midfielder Nick LaBrocca. They worked well with Justin Braun and Alejandro Moreno to try and keep the pressure on. He looked lively on the left side, and if he builds on that, it could mean big things for us.
Marcos' own words: Following the game, Mondaini showed that he's also good at saying the right things, "It's a little bit weird because I'm happy to play my first game for Chivas, but I'm sad about the result. We need to keep our heads up and keep working. It was an open game especially for us, and unfortunately we allowed some unfortunate goals, so we have to fix our mistakes."
If you look at the entire Chivas roster, we are a team that is talent heavy at the midfield, and Marcos Mondaini is trying to rise to the top of that crop of talent. After his first test, he seems fit and determined to do it. Let's hope that El Diablo can make some magic happen against Colorado this weekend, because a bounce back win against the Champs would do a lot to give this fan base something to get excited about.
¡Arriba las Chivas!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
The news out of Angels Spring Training Camp hasn't been very good lately. First, newbie reliever Scott Downs injured himself while playing with his kids at home. He won't be fit come opening day. Next, the Halos front office announced that Kendrys Morales will start the season on the DL. So much for getting that big bat back in the lineup. Then, Joel Piñero left his start over the weekend with tightness in his back and shoulder. While initially it was said that he'd miss one to two starts in the regular season, Joel is now saying that he feels fine and expects to be fit to go. Well, at least that last bit of bad news turned out okay. But are these preseason injuries trying to warn us of the impending 162 games of doom that may lie ahead?
Game Twenty Three- 7-10 L vs CLE
1. Howard "The Duck" Kendrick continued his completely lights out Spring. HK 47 went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI in the game. He's now hitting .372 with 8 RBI during the preseason. Are people starting to take notice? No. But my prediction of this being the year he challenges for the batting title may be picking up a little steam.
2. Alberto Callaspo knows just what to do to help us feel a little better about our situation at the hot corner. A pinch hit, RBI triple is just the latest in his fairly decent Spring. His .297 average will make it hard for Scioscia to pick Ma$e or Woody over AC/DV come opening day.
3. Speaking of Izturis, my original choice for 2011 leadoff man went 1 for 2 with a punch out, improving his sorry Spring BA to .229. It just hasn't been there yet, but hopefully he can perform come April.
4. And speaking of pinch hitting, how about Brandon Wood? If you hadn't seen him play or heard about his play prior to this game, you'd be impressed. Woody went 2 for 2 with a walk and scored twice. He's now hitting .255 this Spring, as he makes his late push for a spot. Yeah, that's right, he walked!
5. Peter Bourjos picked up another hit, and is rocking the .343 preseason average. Hope. Hope. Hope.
6. Hank Conger flubbed it again, getting another 0'fer. Would anyone have believed pre-Spring that he'd be hitting just .143 this close to Opening Day? Worse than Mathis or Wilson? Not a chance. He also had a throwing error, but at least it was only his first.
7. It's good news that Piñero is feeling better than we all initially thought, because the book has officially closed on Scott Kazmir. His latest assault on the game was a 4.3 inning effort of 4 run ball, walking 4. His Spring ERA is 5.11. Relegating this guy to the bullpen may not be enough, he just needs to be handed his walking papers. Stop it Scioscia, it's over.
8. It's finally happened to Mike Kohn. He allowed a run to cross the plate. Despite taking the loss, his 1.13 Spring ERA assures him a big role in this big bullpen.
9. On the other hand, Jason Bulger didn't look good, and has kind of been either strikes or gutters this Spring (possibly the LSF's first bowling reference). I don't know what to make of it.
10. Just because it made me laugh out loud, here are the post game comments from Scott Kazmir (remember, this is after he walked 4 and allowed 4 runs in 4.3 innings, just over a week away from the regular season), "I feel good about that outing. I thought I was very close to where I want to be." Hopefully he means he was very close to his recently purchased Arizona retirement home, and that he's going to quit the team before March 30. Is this guy, and this team if they believe him, completely delusional?
Game Twenty Four- 6-6 T vs COL
11. Hasn't the MLB learned anything from letting games end in a draw?
12. Much like in the case of Scott Kazmir, it's time for Matt Palmer to hang up his spikes. Sorry, buddy, but this has been a theme all Spring. I don't want you anywhere near this team come the regular season. 10 hits and 6 runs allowed in 4 innings inflates his ERA to 7.62. I liked you, Matt, just check the blog from way back when. But please, please, walk away.
13. Fernando Rodney pitched a shutout inning! Call the press, the real press, I mean! This is insane!
14. Hizzy Takahashi (good nickname?) pitched 2 shutout innings with 2 Ks, and has gone through this entire preseason without giving up a run. He also expertly picked off Fowler at first base during his inning of relief. His future may be in question, however, as the Angels decide whether to use him in the pen, or pencil him in as the fifth starter. He seems like a quality arm, and I just hope we don't screw this up.
15. Future 2011 closer Jordan Walden pitched another fireball shutout inning to keep his 0.00 Spring ERA intact.
16. Vernon Wells punked Spilborghs at second base for a big outfield assist. We pay a lot for that arm.
17. Torii "Big Game" Hunter blasted his third jack of the preseason in a 3 for 4 game. In the spirit of making bold predictions, I'm going to say that Hunter is going to set a new career high for homeruns this season. Wouldn't that be a nice way for him to help out?
18. Has anyone noticed that Bobby Abreu (1 for 3) is hitting .371 this Spring? That kind of wood work earned him his own picture atop the post. It's probably his greatest honor. Will he be our best DH since Chatsworth, CA native Brad Fullmer?
19. Besides getting that outfield assist, the Big V went 2 for 4 with a RBI and 2 runs scored. He and Torii seem to be cold and hot at the exact same time. Is that a good thing, or a really bad thing?
20. Speedy Pete went 1 for 2 again. He's now hitting .351 with 6 RBI this Spring. Is everyone ready to say that he'll be at least a very good major leaguer? I think people were down on him solely because they wanted to see Trout sooner rather than later. Pete's earned his spot, let's enjoy the ride.
21. I've been talking about Howie Kendrick's speed game all Spring thanks to his huge basket full of stolen bags, but now he added a triple to the mix. I hope this hot play carries over.
Game Twenty Five: 4-7 POST vs CC
22. This game got cancelled due to rain and crazy wind gusts, but the Angels were trailing 4-7 in the fourth when it did. Oddly enough, they don't post the box scores from rained out games, I guess.
23. With the rain looming, the Halos smartly sent Jered Weaver to minor league camp to make sure he got his scheduled work in, earlier in the day. Boy did he. Weav punched out 11 in his outing, as you'd expect him to do against MiLB talent. I'll bet the Single-A Inland Empir 66'ers wish they had that guy moving forward.
24. Jeff Mathis went with Weaver, and he hit 2 jacks in a three hit day. Maybe he's found is niché. A long career as a Single-A catcher out in the Inland Empire doesn't sound too bad, right? He could be like the real life Crash Davis!
This afternoon, the Halos travel to Surprise, AZ for a clash against their opening day foes, the Kansas City Royals. A win would get us back to .500, which, while it doesn't mean anything, would still be nice.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
I know, I know. I keep changing the look of the blog. But, I have to admit, this is easily my favorite "look" we've ever had, and I think it'll stay for a while.
What's on tap around LSF Nation today?
Lakers (A, J) v Phoenix
Blue Jays (A) v Philadelphia
Dodgers (B, J) v Chicago Cubs
Angels (T) v Kansas City
The LSF Game of the Day: Sabres (B) v Montreal
Maple Leafs (A) v Minnesota
While that may seem like a small schedule, Andrew and I can also appreciate that our shared soccer love, U. Católica, are in action against Caraças in the Copa Libertadores this morning as well. Does that jersey still fit?
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
