Lalas or Lawless

That's the question from today's issue of The Fiver from The Guardian. How they do relish their potshots at Americans:

Barry Glendenning and Tom Lutz
29 May 2007

AMERICAN IDIOT

When David Beckham retires from football at the end of this season and
goes to play for LA Galaxy, he will find a kindred spirit in his new
club president. "It was hard to go places without people recognising
me," former USA! USA! USA! centre-half Alexi Lalas once told an
interviewer. "But if the worst thing that ever happens to me is
signing autographs and having to take pictures with people, I'll have
had a fortunate life." Sadly, it turns out that being constantly
mistaken for time-travelling wizard Catweazle isn't the worst thing
that's going to happen to Alexi now that Fifa has told him he has to
release Beckham for future England friendlies ... if he's selected by
Second-Choice Steve or - after next Wednesday - his successor.

"I don't want to stand in the way of a player representing his country
but we have to be prudent and understand they have to be the
appropriate games," Lalas grumbled upon hearing that Becks had been
recalled to the England squad. But like most of his compatriots, it
seems Lalas doesn't actually know the rules of soccerball - a state
of affairs that was quickly rectified by a Fifa blazer, who opened
the organisation's Giant Book Of Football Rules and began reading
from the chapter entitled The Release Of Players For International
Duty For Dummies. "Players must be released for friendly or
competitive games if they are on the international calendar and the
required notice is given," he harrumphed. "The only difference in
competitive and friendly games is regarding the timeframes. All
players are equal."

Except in America, where the Lalas knows only too well that some LA
Galaxy players have the potential to draw massive crowds to matches
and others are Cobi Jones. Meanwhile back in Blighty, Second-Choice
Steve's Ultra Brite smile faded today when it became apparent that
groin-knack has ruled Rio Ferdinand (and Michael Dawson, whoever he
is) out of England's upcoming matches against Brazil and the mighty
Estonia. Rio's absence will leave Second-Choice Steve without three
first-choice defenders for his must-win Euro qualifier against
Estonia. It's grim news for England - the 110th-ranked team in the
world has scored a whopping no goals whatsoever in five Euro 2008
qualifiers to date.

I can't fault the criticisms save for one. Though I like Barry Glendenning's smartass commentary on The Guardian's weekly podcast, it's pretty rich reading a 'soccerball' comment from an Irishman. Everyone who has ever read an Irish newspaper knows that there is a section for football that is GAELIC football and the section for the game where a round ball is kicked about is labeled SOCCER. We'll just assume Lutz was responsible for that paragraph.

Stanley Cup Finals Game One

Some random thoughts:

• The Ottawa forwards had an off night. Spezza in particular looked terrible. I'm wondering if the nine day lay-off took its toll there.
• Heatley is gonna have to decide if he is a hockey player or a South American soccer forward. He can't keep falling to the ice every time he gets breathed on. His flopping is an embarrassment.
• Despite what the folks on Versus said, I didn't think either goalie let in a soft goal. Getzlaf did a great job making Emery think he might pass the puck and then slid that nice backhand shot by the goalie. You have to tip your hat to the forward there.
• Anaheim's physical play did seem to knock the Sens back on their heels, but I expect we will see Ottawa improve and compete better in game two.
• Surprise, surprise! Brad May CAN still play effective hockey! Who knew?

Buzz Kill Time

Southlandish stated:

And the only damned thing I've heard about in sport is Beckham and the English squad.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that while the Brewers were being swept by the Padres the Cards were busy dropping two of three to the Nationals.

The Green-Eyed Monster

The Iconic Midwesterner wishes it to be known that he does not share in Southlandish's jet setting life style.

Further, the IM wishes it to be known that he is extremely jealous.

The IM would be justified in his jealousy if Southlandish were spending his evenings in the arms of Miss England. Alas, he can take solace in the fact that Mr. & Mrs S-landish just spent an evening huddled over a small grill in the pouring rain and drinking a lovely $20 Cotes du Rhones. A wine that would be all the more impressive were it not being poured from a 3 litre box. Ahhhhh, the good life. And the only damned thing I've heard about in sport is Beckham and the English squad. On the other hand, I did just find out I had WiFi access....

Stanley Cup Finals Preview

I'm gonna assume there will be no "goal disallowed" shenanigans in the finals. Though, why I can just assume that even I'm not sure. (Brett Hull's Cup clinching "goal" anyone?) I'm just gonna hope for a well officiated Finals.

So lets break down these teams, shall we:

Goaltending: Everything starts with the net minders. Even in the "new" NHL, good goalies are gonna stop 91-94% of the pucks thrown at them. So it is Ottawa's Emery against the Duck's Giguere. Emery has gone 12-3 in the playoffs with 3 shutouts and a .919 save percentage. Giguere has gone 9-3 with no shutouts and a .931 save percentage.

GASL will give a slight advantage to Anaheim here. Giguere played a bigger role in getting the Duck's to this point then Emery has. Emery has yet to face real adversity in these playoffs, while Giguere came up huge against Detroit.

Anaheim +1

Defense: Both Ottawa and Anaheim have deep bluelines. Ottawa's defensemen have picked up 8G 24A with a +/- of +22. Anaheim compiled numbers of 10G 23A with a +/- of +14. On balance, however, it is Anaheim's defense that offers more. Pronger is the Duck's leading point getter going into the finals, and having Beauchemin and Niedermayer on the roster simply makes the Duck more dynamic when compared to Ottawa's Corvo, Redden and Preissing (good though they are.)

Anaheim +1

Offense: Ottawa forwards contributed 40G 56A +36, and Anaheim tallied 32G 49A +19. Ottawa's forwards have been far superior to the Ducks. The Senator's top 4 forwards have accounted for 65 points, while the Duck's only managed 44, AND the Ducks played one more game than Ottawa. Additionally, the Sens have been getting superstar quality play from Daniel Alfredsson. The Ducks have no forward playing that well.

Ottawa +2

Penalty Kill: In the playoffs Anaheim have taken 307 minutes in penalties and given up 12 power play goals. For Ottawa the numbers are 192 and 9. So Ottawa gives up a power play goal once for every 21.33 penalty minutes taken, while for Anaheim the number is one for every 25.58 penalty minutes. Given these numbers we would expect the Ducks to give up 5-6 power play goals over a seven game series and the Sens to give up 4-5.

Ottawa +1

Power Play: In the playoffs Anaheim netted 13 power play goals in the 244 penalty minutes taken by its opponents (1 per 18.79 minutes), and Ottawa 14 in 174 (1 per 12.42). This would mean we would expect the Sens to score 6-7 power play goals in a 7 game series, and the Ducks 5-6.

Ottawa +1

Intangibles: This is pretty much a wash. Both teams have scored twice shorthanded, though Anaheim also gave up 2 shorties. Ottawa won twice in OT without losing that way, but Anaheim was 4-0 in OT games.

No advantage

So that leaves GASL to predict Ottawa in 6 (maybe 7).

GASL will be rooting for Anaheim.

Gold Cup Roster

For any who might have missed it here is the US National Team roster for the Gold Cup:

GOALKEEPERS (3) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

DEFENDERS (8) –Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS (8) – DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Steve Ralston (New England Revolution)

FORWARDS (4) – Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)

Really not a surprise in the lot. No DC United players are in the mix and that is alright by me. We have been less than stellar as it is, and it looks like Moreno could get called in by Bolivia for the Copa, so any chance for a full squad I'll take.

Do You Remember?

Do you remember when an honest to goodness rag-tag bunch of misfits got to within 60 minutes of a Stanley Cup finals?

Here is what that looked like:

England's Famous Midfield Trio - Bentham, Locke And Hobbes

Immanuel Kant was a real pissant...

Different skit but a classic.

Tomorrow I’m off for thee weeks in Limeyland. I’m going to see if I can scrounge up a ticket for the England-Brazil friendly at Wembley, though Mrs. Southlandish wants no part of it. Even if I can find a ticket, I doubt that I’ll be willing or able to part with the cash it will take, given an appalling 2-1 exchange rate.

The upside is that I’ll be blissfully ignorant of the Cardinals struggles and will be able to watch the next round of Euro 2008 matches from an English pub, though the prospect of $7 pints is a bit daunting.

My blogging will be limited. So you’ve got that going for you.

Champions League Final: At Half

Liverpool has to consider themselves unlucky to be down 1-0 at halftime. They dominated play almost from the get-go. Milan get the goal on an uncalled Inzaghi hand ball to boot.

Oh well, I guess it could be worse for Liverpool. They could be down 3-0.

Yet Another NHL Embarassment

The NHL officials are trying to give the series to the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings have committed 7 or 8 callable infractions in the 3rd period. None of course were called.

It's a joke. A fucking joke. The NHL is a joke. A fucking joke.

The league is fixed.

UPDATE:

The four penalty calls in a row, all against Anaheim, during the last 10 minutes of the game was simply inexcusable. This is especially so since multiple Red Wings infractions were ignored, both earlier in the period and during that final 10 minutes. Look, either you let them play it on the ice OR you call EVERYTHING STRAIGHT UP, FOR BOTH TEAMS, REGARDLESS OF WHO IS AHEAD IN THE GAME.

Anything less leaves you wide open to charges of capriciousness.

It strikes me as obvious that the on ice officials had a preference for who they wanted to win this game.

Finally, A Team With A Chance To Win

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the Cardinals (although they are up on the Pirates 9-2 in the 7th.) No, I'm talking about one of my fantasy teams, The Wisconsin Walleyes.

Miguel Cabrera (Fla - 3B)
Matt Holliday (Col - OF)
Travis Hafner (Cle - Util)
Adam Dunn (Cin - OF)
Édgar Rentería (Atl - SS)
Paul Konerko (CWS - 1B)
Josh Barfield (Cle - 2B)
Freddy Sánchez (Pit - 2B,3B,SS)
Eric Byrnes (Ari - OF)
Chris B. Young (Ari - OF)
Mike Jacobs (Fla - 1B)
John Buck (KC - C)

Francisco Rodríguez (LAA - RP)
Ben Sheets (Mil - SP)
Chad Cordero (Was - RP)
Brad Penny (LAD - SP)
Tom Glavine (NYM - SP)
Gil Meche (KC - SP)
Kelvim Escobar (LAA - SP)
James Shields (TB - SP)
Jason Jennings (Hou - SP)
Mark Hendrickson (LAD - SP,RP)
Shaun Marcum (Tor - SP,RP)

Now, I'm not exactly setting the league on fire at this point (I'm 7th out of 12), but I'm set up to pile up the stats over the summer months. My pitching is far superior to the staff I started with, so I should start rolling soon.

At least I have something to look forward to in the world of baseball.

How Have We Won 16 Games?

Over the weekend "BillPickle" sent me the following item related to the Cardinals:

Maybe the Cardinals need a Bull Durham moment. Of course since Tony and half the team speak Spanish, he and Jose Oquendo's exchange would be something like this*:

Tony: Usted tipos. Usted lollygag la pelota alrededor del terreno central. Usted lollygag su manera hacia abajo a primero. Usted lollygag en y fuera de la trinchera. ¿Usted sabe lo que que hace usted? ¡Jose!
Jose: ¡Lollygaggers!
Tony: Lollygaggers!
Tony: Jose, lo que es nuestro registro?
Jose: 16 y 23
Tony: 16 y 23, ¿Cómo ganaríamos nosotros 16?
Jose: Es un milagro
Tony: Es un milagro

*Apologies for the translation. I just ran the text through an online translation service.

SOUTHLANDISH: At this point I fear that if La Russa threw the bats at the team in the shower, most of them would wonder what these strange wooden objects were.

Classy

Well on their way into making themselves the most hated franchise this side of the Detroit Redwings, the Ottawa Senator's fan base carved out a new low:

The Ottawa Senators want to make things right for a Buffalo Sabres fan who was assaulted after the team's most recent home game.

Cyril Leeder, the Senators chief operating officer, said Friday the team has offered tickets to Renee Luck after learning the Buffalo woman was repeatedly punched in the face following the Sabres' 3-2 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday.

Luck's face was swollen and cut after she was assaulted by two men as she and a group of friends were leaving their seats at Scotiabank Place. Luck was rescued by other Senators fans.

Ottawa police have identified suspects, but have not pressed charges.

So, let me see if I have this straight. Ottawa fans are upset that they lose a game, so they go and beat the crap out of a woman.

Yeah, that seems about their speed.

A Good Start

From The Southern: Vienna's Thompson to play for Majerus at SLU

It just made perfect sense: a big man playing for a big man.

Vienna's Brett Thompson ended a four-team recruiting battle Tuesday by verbally committing to Saint Louis University and new men's basketball coach Rick Majerus.

The 6-foot-11, 255-pound center averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks a game for the Eagles last year as a junior. He is ranked No. 108 in the country by Rivals.com and as the 16th best center in the nation.

He will play for one of the largest coaches on the planet, as Majerus begins a six-year deal with the Billikens this winter. Saint Louis finished 20-13 last season, 8-8 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and could return four of five starters this season.

Thompson, 17, said Majerus' reputation for developing big men was one of the biggest reasons he chose to join the more than 7,000 undergraduates in the fall of 2008.

"He's known as developing big men, with (Michael) Doleac and (Keith) Van Horn, and with coach (Porter) Moser being there," Thompson said. "When he was recruiting me, when he was still at Illinois State, I came to have a good relationship with him. I was glad to see him go to Saint Louis."

...

Thompson, an All-South center for the Eagles, went to SLU Wednesday on an unofficial visit. He was planning on visiting Indiana, Iowa State and Alabama, but saw enough to cancel those trips.

"It kind of took me by surprise," Vienna coach Rick Metcalf said. "That was the original plan from Day 1 (to go on all the visits), but he was happy with his decision, so I'm happy for him. Coach Majerus has a reputation of developing big guys. Porter Moser has been there since Day 1 when he was at Illinois State."

Actually, this isn't a good start, it is an excellent start. Too often the Bills were the also-rans in recruiting battles. Winning these will actually take a little getting used to for most SLU fans. But I will gladly try.

It's That Not So Wonderful Time Of The Year Again

Are you ready for some clown baseball?

Yes, it is time for interleague play, where baseball becomes a carnival sideshow, but without the saving grace of irony. Interleague play, where your quest for winning your National League division will be decided not in a season long contest against divisional rivals but by how you play against the Royals or the Orioles. Interleague play, when everyone seems to forget that this novelty act ran out of steam about three years ago.

And, sadly, interleague play, where pseudo-fans fill the parks because everyone loves a freak show.

Put On Your Flame Retardant Suit

It's another Kip Wells start tonight.

You Can Be The Joe Schultz Of English Soccer

"Boys, penalty kicks are like jacking off. Once you learn how you never forget."

Talk about the ultimate fantasy sports franchise. From The Guardian's daily soccer e-mail blast, The Fiver, on May 10:

A website named MyFootballClub is asking 50,000 people to pay GBP35 in a bid to raise GBP1.75m to buy an existing club, with each member an equal partner who will get to vote on team selection and what players to sell. "I've created a vehicle that will pool fans' opinions, passion and wealth and turn fantasy football into reality," declared its Fulham-supporting creator Will Brooks, adjusting his incredibly thick spectacles. Nasty Leeds currently top the poll of prospective purchases, followed by Cambridge United and Accrington Stanley.

The BBC has more here.

Using The "E" Word

From the PD: Sorry, wrong number: zero again

They have discussed the merits of aggression and the need for patience.

They have talked about squeezing every at-bat like it was more precious than a paycheck.

Sunday afternoon, after watching another 2 hours, 28 minutes of offensive futility, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa suggested his team try yet another approach.

Apologize.

Two days after San Diego Padres ace, power arm and budding Cy Young Award candidate Jake Peavy throttled the Cardinals with 10 strikeouts, recent waiver claim Justin Germano used a softer approach to suppress the defending World Series champions for seven innings of a 3-0 Cardinals loss.

Out of fresh theories and increasingly running out of patience, La Russa sided with exasperation in dealing with a familiar line of questioning. Noting starting pitcher Anthony Reyes' five serviceable innings that left him 0-6 in seven starts, La Russa directed reporters to his players for answers.

"Ask the hitters," La Russa said. "Was their approach different? Everything I would ask, I would ask them. They're the guys with the bat. It would be interesting. I haven't had a chance to ask them."

As for what should be said to Reyes?

"Apologize to him. The team hasn't been taking care of him very well," La Russa said. "Apologize. 'Sorry, man, you deserve better.'"

Added La Russa: "I'm just disappointed we didn't do more to win the game and for Anthony. It's embarrassing."

He's right about one thing: It is embarrassing.

Has anyone else noticed that the Cardinals are in a perpetual state of being banged up? Rolen, Edmonds, Pujols, Eckstein, and Encarnacion are more or less always fighting some sort of injury. I know it is a long season and playing with nagging issues is part of the game, but doesn't that presuppose there's at least a little time when players were completely healthy, for at least part of the season? Why were we banged up in the first week of May like it was the first week of September? The result is we are enfeebled. So the fans are left with the walking wounded out there, doing their little zombie shuffle from the dugout to the plate and back to the dugout again.

What makes it all more of a shame is that the pitching has held up surprisingly well, given Carpenter's injury and Wells' general sucking.

Ottawa Must Have Incriminating Pictures Of Someone

Good God. Senators get yet another goal for an opponent disallowed. They get what could charitably be called "questionable" penalty calls to give them a two-man advantage to take a lead. (To my mind one of those penalties was questionable, the other was a complete and utter joke.) Alfredsson gets no call on an obvious boarding call that was borderline for being a major penalty. AND they get a winning goal off of a draw that looked like the linesman was throwing the puck backward. (Did that look like a fair draw to anyone???)

For all of those who say that all the breaks "even out," I defy you to look at the last three months of Ottawa's season and see anything evening out.

More On Hockey OT

I've noticed, belatedly, that someone else has picked up on how bad Kara Yorio's rant against playoff overtime in the NHL was. (I covered the issue here). From Greg Wyshynski at the AOL Sportsblog:

Keith Jones and Brian Engblom of VERSUS have proposed different variations of a plan in which OT would drop to four-on-four after one or two periods; they appeared close to throwing a tantrum last night as an entertaining Detroit/Calgary game crept deeper into OT. In an editorial in the Globe and Mail, Steve McAllister floated the idea that a regular-season skills competition could one day determine the Stanley Cup champion. (Is this what happens in Toronto when the Leafs miss the playoffs?) Whoever was wearing the antlers for The Bellowing Moose column on NBCSports.com last week agreed that it was time to consider a shootout:

"Here's a suggested compromise for the NHL: play one overtime period five on five. If the game is still tied, play another period of four on four. If no one has scored by then, have a five round shootout to decide it. If that's too much for the traditionalists to handle, only use it in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and let the Stanley Cup finalists play 'til they drop."

Brilliant. The NHL would then have exactly three different overtime formats in its regular season, postseason and Stanley Cup Finals. And people complain that the standings are too complicated for casual fans to follow?

To the league's credit, it's been steadfast in its defense of the postseason overtime format. Gary Bettman told me at the National Press Club two years ago that we'd never see the shootout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Gary Meagher, the NHL's vice-president of public relations, told the Canadian Press that the league had discussed altering overtime "in a very general way" but ruled out the shootout, at least in the Stanley Cup Finals. He did indicate, however, that a change in the OT format could be rationalized as a way to protect the players from injury or complete physical collapse during a close series.

Kara Yorio of the Sporting News, whom I'm pretty sure hasn't actually enjoyed a hockey game since her days as a Devils beat reporter many moons ago, agreed, and offered a plan (since pummeled by the die-hards on the HF Boards) that featured two 20-minute 5-on-5 periods followed by a shootout:

"Asking these players to play beyond two overtimes is unfair, unhealthy, mentally and physically exhausting and detrimental to the quality of hockey that comes in later games. During the regular season, teams cannot play three nights in a row. Why is it OK to ask them to play more than nine periods in three nights during the playoffs?

...But the good stories wouldn't be lost. Five periods is plenty of time to create lasting memories. And you could talk about where you were after living and dying through 100 minutes of hockey, then watching that shootout goal go in. The great moments would be there. And if your team were to lose in a nonelimination game, it might have enough left to come back and win the series."

I couldn't disagree more with her last point. In writing the "Flippin' Quarters" countdown on FanHouse, I've discovered several series in which a team lost an early multi-overtime game and then came back to win the series -- Edmonton and Detroit in 2006, for example. The Iconic Midwesterner of (Get) A Sporting Life also disagreed with Yorio, only a bit more vehemently:

"Should we end a baseball after 14 innings to spare the poor dears? (We could decide the game with a bunting contest.) We could also do away with multiple OT's in basketball as well, by playing a game of HORSE after the first overtime. Jesus Christ. It is people like this that have made the NHL the third tier sport it is today. They have systematically removed each and every thing that gave the game its unique identity. Enough is enough."

Indeed. Because whether you're in favor of changing the overtime format out of disdain for marathon games or out of concern for the health of the players, then you should be fine with going directly to a shootout immediately after regulation. No 5-on-5, no 4-on-4...just fast-forward to the money shot and be done with it. Any proposal that keeps some semblance of team hockey in a shootout format is an acknowledgment that ending a game with a skills competition is a pathetic downgrade from the current model and outright inferior to the much-heralded tradition of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As Vancouver GM Dave Nonis said: "I do believe you have to end a hockey game by playing a hockey game."

I quite enjoyed the mention, but I've noticed that a lot of the time I'm quoted I'm presented as an intemporant fellow.

As Snoopy said when he was sent to the penalty box 2 minutes for slashing, 2 minutes for cross checking, 2 minutes for elbowing, 2 minutes for roughing, and a 10 minute misconduct:

I'm such a nice guy!

Oops, We Forgot To Ask Who's On First?

Yesterday's P-D article by Joe Strauss on booze and the Cardinals included this line tossed in at the end:

Police did not interview Cardinals players as part of their investigation.

Huh?!? I don't pretend to know how investigations of these events occur, but the police have stated that they were trying to piece together the hours leading up to Hancock's accident and they have clearly interviewed all sorts of witnesses. Yet they still claim they cannot for his whereabouts in the two hours between leaving the ballpark and arriving at Shannon's. Why the fuck are they not interviewing the 25 guys who spend 6-8 every day at the ballpark with him and socialize afterward? There is something deeply weird about this. Anybody have insight into this?

United 1 - 1 Revolution

Wow, what an unpleasant game to watch! New England was bad, United was worse, and the referee was the absolute worst.

Another MLS hat-trick.

Oh sure, DC had loads of non-threatening possession. We are the kings of the pre-game drills scene, but we almost never threatened the Revs goal. Addlery was at least active, but Emilio looked terrible. Soehn, showing clearly that he wasn't actually watching the game, takes Addlery out to put in Moreno at the half. Emilio becomes actually more invisible.

Meanwhile the ref Vaughn is trying his best to discredit the entire sport. First he gives DC a PK on a 50/50 ball. That play is actually called a foul 5% of the time, and a PK maybe once in 500. Next he red cards Sharlie Joseph on a play that looked worse than it actually was. I think a yellow would have been fair. (Waldo didn't even think it was a foul...he must have started drinking early.) To top it all off he gives a yellow to Emilio for existing, I think....it is so hard to be sure since Emilio did nothing, said nothing, and generally looked perplexed. Vaughn is definitely not ready for prime time. Keep him off the Thursday games please.

The total lack of flank play for DC is embarrassing. Gros has to be playing on the wing for this team to have a chance. Someone else has to play in the back. Maybe slot Olsen back there. OHMYGOD, Olsen. I have never before shouted at the TV "DON'T SHOOT!!!!" But after watching Olsen muff four or five chances I was annoying the neighbors with my yelling. Only in the last two minutes of the game was there any life at all from DC, and they were a little unlucky that Olsen (of all people) didn't put away a header.

That being said, DC was damn lucky to get the single point. Were it not for the ref they wouldn't have even gotten that.

Discouraging.

It's Better Across The Pond

During a decade of travels across Europe, a copy of The Guardian has been my constant companion. It’s a great newspaper and has been light years ahead of its American counterparts in embracing technology and new media. This week’s Football Weekly podcast cements its status as the best. Exhibit A is this excerpt (at 38:20) where, in response to his strong finish in an impromptu on-air quiz, Barry Glendenning quips:

"Like the bloke in Lutze's 'special interest' video, I came from behind with a surge."

I'll take the New York Times seriously as a modern media outlet as soon as I hear George Vecsey on a baseball podcast describing the Yankee's April as "A Rod's deep drives come to nothing."

Dreadful

I'm sure I am not the only person to notice that this Cardinal team is shockingly bad. You know, I don't care that we just won (improbably) the World Series, Walt Jocketty should be raked over hot coals for the state of this team. Sure the state of the pitching is not Walt's fault, and we do have some extra arms in the organization that should be able to help out, but the state of the outfield has been abysmal from day one of spring training.

It won't be getting better anytime soon.

1. Jim Edmonds. Sure he tries hard, but it looks increasingly as if the game has passed him by. He can still catch the balls he can catch up to, but he can't throw and he simply is not the hitter he was a couple of years ago.

2. Preston Wilson. Preston should not be an everyday outfielder. I could see keeping around in a platoon situation, but the sad fact is there is nobody to platoon him with. At this point in his career overexposure will kill what little Wilson could offer the Cards.

3. So Taguchi. I've no idea why Taguchi is still on this team. He isn't even doing well on the fundamentals anymore.

4. Chris Duncan. He is at least swinging the bat a little bit, although his inability to hit with runners on base is becoming alarming. If he keeps going at this pace he will wind up with something like 30 Home Runs and 62 RBI's. There is still hope here. His defense has improved some (couldn't get worse), but he still cannot throw.

5. Scott Spezio. God bless Spezio, but he isn't an outfield answer. He is a role player that should be pinch hitting, spelling guys for an occasional off day, and filling in when there are injuries. His role is too large on this team for what he is able to deliver.

6. Skip Schumacher. He will impress nobody as the second coming of anyone particularly good, but he is at least getting his base knocks.

7. Juan Encarnacion. Well, we knew he wasn't going to be a world beater, and he would help a little bit were he around right now. Maybe he could be the player to simply platoon with Wilson, but that would strike fear into the heats of no one but Cards fans.

All in all, there is no way a GM should go into a season with this as the cast of outfielders. This is the type of outfield you wind up with when your top two players are out because of injury. That is, this is a lineup you get forced upon you, not one you actually choose.

Ugly

That is the word for this Cardinal's season, and it doesn't look like it will get any better. From the PD:

Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was in a potentially serious traffic accident less than three days before the one that took his life Sunday, according to police reports.

Hancock walked away from that early Thursday morning crash uninjured, but he was late for the team's afternoon game a few hours later. The club and several teammates said he had overslept.

But sources say he was late because he was hung over.

Two nights later, after pitching in a Saturday afternoon game, Hancock spent the evening at Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood drinking to a point of impairment, according to a couple at the restaurant.

The couple said they overheard Hancock telling ESPN broadcaster Dave Campbell that manager Tony La Russa had been infuriated with Hancock on Thursday because he was "too hung over to play." A club source also said Hancock was hung over when he arrived at the ballpark.

Hancock was killed about 12:30 a.m. Sunday as he drove west from downtown, apparently headed to meet with four teammates in Clayton.

Three days earlier, Hancock had a close call when his vehicle edged several inches into the intersection of Yellow Brick Road and Illinois Route 3. A Sauget police spokesman said Monday that a tractor-trailer struck Hancock's GMC Denali, tearing off the vehicle's front bumper. "Just another inch or so and he could have died two days earlier, because that tractor-trailer was traveling about 45 to 50 miles per hour," according to Sauget Police Chief Patrick Delaney.

Neither Hancock nor the truck's driver was injured, and Hancock was not ticketed.

...

After working three innings in the Cardinals' 8-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Hancock dined at Mike Shannon's.

The two eyewitnesses who saw Hancock at the restaurant bar said he remained at the establishment when they left at 10:31 p.m.

Pat Shannon, manager at Shannon's, told the Post-Dispatch on Sunday that Hancock told her he planned to stop at the Westin Hotel several blocks away. Shannon said she offered to call a cab for Hancock, but he declined the invitation. She declined to verify whether Hancock had been drinking but said she personally phoned police Chief Joe Mokwa, telling him "everything I know about last night."

Restaurant owner and Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon declined to comment further Monday, saying, "I don't discuss matters concerning my customers, whoever they are."

The two witnesses said Hancock appeared impaired.

"He had a mixed drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other," Vince said. "And my wife's comment was, 'He can barely put a sentence together.'"

...

La Russa seemed to fire a pre-emptive shot at the media Monday. He said he told his club to be leery of the media seeking to exploit events. "I also had a very important caution: Be careful of the insincerity of some media people … trying to befriend you then trying to slam you with something that they want to turn this into, some kind of story that's not all sweet," La Russa said. "I've already seen signs of that. I'm sitting here listening. The first time I hear insincerity I'll start swinging this fungo because it doesn't have its place."

Pressed about his message, La Russa said, "I'm just talking about people who really don't care about us, who are out there trying to further their own agendas. That's exactly what I mean."

I can understand where La Russa and the Cardinals are coming from in this. They want to mourn their friend and teammate without running the man down.

That being said, they shouldn't go into a bunker mentality either. If Hancock was driving impaired, as seems likely, you cannot hide from it. Acknowledging the facts in this case does not diminish who Josh Hancock was or the loss that his family and the Cardinals are feeling. Divorcing yourself from reality will do nothing but make this situation worse.

Of course, add this to the La Russa arrest in Florida and you start to wonder.

It can't get any uglier than this can it?