A new era in watching sports

My favorite sports writer (perhaps my favorite columnist period), Bill Simmons (aka The Sports Guy) wrote an article which I believe perfectly describes the new dynamics that are present in American sports viewing. These dynamics are driven by the huge growth of Fantasy Football over thelast few years as now it seems EVERYONE is playing (just ask my wife about the growth of fantasy football in our home!). This growth resulted in the fact that last Monday’s (9/15) NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles was the most viewed event in cable history! I was shocked at this fact but can totally see how it happened as the Cowboys and Eagles contain some of the most popular fantasy players in the game.

Anyway, Simmons’ article got me thinking about these new dynamics so I highly recommend everyone read the article. 

Ronaldinho joins AC Milan! Robinho to Chelsea?

It seems we are going to see some of the major signings we have been hearing about the last month.  Both soccernet and Fox Soccer Report are saying that Ronaldinho is heading to Milan. This is a good signing for Milan, who acquire a magical playmaker (assuming he is fit and motivated).  And who is taking his place in Barcelona?  Aleksander Hleb seems on his way to the Camp Nou.

It seems like Chelsea are going fully after Robinho.  I have a theory that if this happens then Christiano Ronaldo will head to Real Madrid.  This theoy has been solidified by the fact that Manchester United are pulling off what I feel may be the best signing of the summer as they are near to officialy completing the signing of Tottenham star Berbatov.  Berbatov makes a worthy replacement for Ronaldo so I bet we see him head to Madrid in the next two weeks (pure guess on the timing).

Finally, in some Greek player news, Giorgios Samaras has signed a deal to stay at Celtic.

Catching up on the last few weeks

I was hoping to be a more frequent poster on this blog and I still hope to be but work has been very busy of late and I have been spending my time at home with my totally amazing 3 month old son so I haven’t had time (nor energy) to post. However, that does not mean nothing has happened. Here are my thoughts on the last few weeks.

After the two great REM shows I saw in June, I was lucky enough to have won a pair of tickets to see the free Coldplay show at MSG. Our tickets were back of the floor but I had a GREAT time at this show. This was my first time seeing Coldplay and I was totally blown away by Chris Martin’s energy onstage and the tightness of this great band.  Thise who know me know that my favorite band is U2. They are also my favorite live band because you walk away froM their shows with a feeling of hope and uplifting that you don’t get from most bands.  I walked away from this show with a little bit of that feeling.  The NY Post had a very good review of the show. The Daily News had a not so good review but since my wife and I had a great time, I wont link the Daily News review.  I am now really excited about seeing them in Hartford on August 2.

Spain wins Euro 2008.  This is a rare time I think that football fans can clearly say that the best team of the tournament ended up winning.  Well deserved.

As far as signings go, all the rumors we have heard so far (Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Kaka to Chelsea, Adebayor to Milan, Ronaldinho to Milan or LA or Man City) have NOT happened.  I must admit that I LOVE Arsenal’s signing of Samir Nasri.   He is young and while not a good fit for many other teams right now he will fit in perfectly with Wenger’s style at Arsenal. 

The team I truly support, Panathinaikos, is on the verge of signing Arsenal’s Gilberto Silva (that is if you believe the more often than not unreliable Greek press).  However, i think this will happen and it will be good.  Panathinaikos have done everything right this summer. They locked up Austrian captain Andreas Ivanschitz and with Gilberto him, Giorgios Karagounis and Helder Postiga, Panathinaikos should be well placed to make a run for the title in the Greek league as well as advance to the group stages of the Champions League.

 Finally, in reality TV world, my prediction of Petrozza winning Hell’s Kitchen did not come true. Chritina was the winner after what looked like an even final dinner service.  Ramsay says he did it with an eye towards future potential.  I don’t agree with this view as it seems to take away from the purpose of having a reality show now but it is his show and restaurant. 

Project Runway starts this upcoming week so that will take up my reality show viewing slot. I’ll comment on this once the show begins.

Scolari hire brings big Chelsea rumors.

It looks like Chelsea’s bringing in Scolari to be manager has started an avalanche of rumors about which players will be following him to Stamford Bridge. Today’s summary of the British tabloids lists names headed to Chelsea such as Fernando Torres, Kaka, Ronaldinho, and Ribery. Of course, take them with a grain of salt.

Today is a good Euro 2008 matchday as the “group of death” gives us Italy vs Romania and Holland vs France.  One of my closest friends is Romanian and other friends are Italian so I am torn here as to whom I would like to see win. I guess I’ll stick to just rooting for Greece.

 

Interesting links of the day 6-11-08

Wanna get out of jury duty?

While I love watching soccer, I also love the summer transfer market and especially the rumors that start appearing in the various papers throughout the world.  We see lots of big names in these columns. It seems the biggest issue now is who will coach Chelsea.  I personally thought Frank Rijkaard would be a good fit, but they seem to want one of the Italian coaches such as Ancellotti or Mancini.  Scolari is also mentioned as a possible manager especially now that his future is uncertain.

 

UPDATE:  That was quick. Scolari to Chelsea is official.  It will be interesting to see who he brings in and more important who will follow Mourinho at Inter.

Terrible start!

Greece got off to a terrible start in Euro 2008, losing 2-0 to Sweden. The reports state Greece looked dull. I went off to a meeting at 4pm and the score was tied 0-0 and came back to my cube to a 2-0 deficit.  Now, I would like Spain to defeat Sweden on Saturday assuming Greece can beat Russia. This would cause Spain to clinch a spot in the second round, making the game against Greece next Wednesday meaningless to Spain.

 

 

Euro 2008 title defense begins!

First real post will be about Euro 2008 since I am a HUGE soccer fan.

Greece begin defense of their Euro 2004 title today against Sweden.  This is a tough group with Spain and Russia as well but they could easily advance to the second round and as 2004 showed us, anything can happen from then. 

Greece comes in having gone undefeated in qualifications (I believe they are the only team in the tournament to go undefeated in qualifiers).  I LOVE these tournaments and the sense of pride in their ancestral countries that it brings out in people.

I’ll update this post after the game.

 

Update: 0-0 at the half! No real flow to this game thus far. Sweden had some good chances.  Greece defenders holding their own against Ibrahimovic, and Larsson.