Cautious Optimism

I'm not holding my breath, especially since we won't be seeing these kids for a while, but it sounds like Weber may have a chance to get the "can't recruit" monkey off his back. ESPN is pretty high on his recruits from the Class o' 2009.

H/T to Chin-Chin for the link.

Euro2008 Predictions, Sort Of

What the fuck do I know about soccer? Well, actually more than this Southlandish guy.

Time for a prediction for the last Euro2008 semi-final. Why not. I'm in a masochistic mood, having just returned from the Disney area of Orlando. In a moment of weakness, I agreed to accompany Mrs. Southlandish to a conference. There are five days of my life I'll never get back. The vile, venomous vitriol I spewed describing the area in e-mails, shocked even some of my hardened friends. The English language is bereft of words to describe just how much I loathe that fucking place.* A single day's experience at Epcot a dozen years ago was enough to tell me that Disney should be avoided at all costs and for 18-plus years I successfully dodged it. As hot, muggy shitholes go, it is worse than in my nightmares. The whole place looks like an architect eating Skittles puked on the plans and some genius declared, BUILD IT! Think of Houston and East St. Louis producing a Technicolor urban love child, minus their respective culture and style. Add $14 hamburgers and $15 martinis. Worst of all, the whole sweltering cesspool is teeming with humanity. The experience left me yearning for a holiday in the slums of Calcutta.**

A water view and penny a pint local grog, you say? I'll take it.
It's already better than the Disney crap heap where I last stayed.

OK, enough of that rant. On to the inevitably wrong predictions. Spain will bring the Russian train to a halt with a 2-1 win. With that established, I'm going to leap ahead and predict a Russian victory over the Germans on Sunday.

*It was appropriate that George Carlin died while I was in Orlando. In his honor, for 120 hours I failed to utter a single sentence that did not include a combination of his infamous seven words.

**Since I am so clearly a glass-half-full kind of guy, I'm always looking for silver linings. In this case, it is safe to say Mrs. Southlandish will not me requesting my presence at Orlando conferences in the near future. Mission Accomplished.

Blues Draft Review

Well...in some ways it went as I expected. The Blues wound up taking one of the highly touted defensemen (and quite clearly the best one available at #4), and, as I had thought they might, the Blues took a goaltender with a second round pick. In neither case did the Blues get the player I would have preferred (I would have liked Bogosian over Pietrangelo, and Pickard over Allen), but I like the approach.

The Blues had three third round picks which they used on forwards, which makes a lot of sense for a franchise that is so set on the blueline. If one or more of them turn into useful pros, then the Blues will have something.

The one thing missing is that one winger with real goal scoring upside. Maybe this is something the Blues feel they can address in free agency (I doubt), or via the trade route (possibly.) A part of me was pained to see someone in our division pick up Filatov. If he pans out we may have a pain in the ass in Columbus for years to come.

Still, on balance the Blues did well. Picking up Mason from Nashville also fills a hole at backup goalie, which will be helpful. I was sort of sad to see long time Blues forward Jamal Mayers go in a trade...but we do have a surplus of 3rd line forwards. Jamal bled Blue, but we needed to go in a different direction.

Apropos Of A Crazy Euro2008 Match

The BBC's That Mitchell & Webb Look is one of my favorites and I've been meaning to post a few videos lately so tonight's the night. Even Mrs. Southlandish stops what she is doing to laugh at these two:





And then, just because to me this is the best play-by-play duo since Statler and Waldorf:

Filatov

Based upon my continued reading leading up to this NHL Entry Draft, I have to make a slight alteration in the GASL Draft Board for the Blues. I listed the probability of Nikita Filatov being around at #4 as 90%, but the more I read from him, the more it becomes clear that he really wants to play in the NHL. If NHL teams are sold on that, then the only issue that comes up with him is if he will ever fill out his skinny six foot frame to survive the rigors of North American hockey. Most scouts believe he will.

Given this, I will have to revise my estimate. This will also alter chance that a couple of other players on the GASL board would still be around.

The Changes:

#2) Zach Bogosian, RD: Was 15%. Now, make that 25%.
#3) Nikita Filatov, LW: Was 90%. Now, 50%.
#5) Alex Pietrangelo, RD: Was 90%. Now, 100%.
#6) Colin Wilson, C: Was 98%. Now, 100%.
#7) Drew Doughty, RD: Was 85%. Now 90%.

If the Blues don't decide to trade the pick, I increasingly get the feeling Doughty will get selected. This is reinforced by the rumors I hear that the Blues have been talking up Luke Schenn. That has the feel of trying to discourage teams in the Top Ten from attempting to trade up to #3.

How Do You Manage To Get Swept By This Royals Team?

Yikes.

It's not over yet (its 4-1 KC in the 9th), but it might as well be.

Come back Albert.

Euro2008 Quarter Final Predictions

I am as good at showing my ignorance as the next guy, usually better, in fact. So here goes:

Portugal v. Germany - For no good reason, I'm going with the upset. The Germans have been unimpressive and are bickering, but they will get it together enough to win a 2-1 squeaker.

Croatia v. Turkey - The Croats are too much for the Turks and will control possession for a 3-1 win.

Netherlands v. Russia - The Dutch have been brilliant. I missed yesterday's match against Sweden but read that the Russians were dominant. They'll need it. This could/should be the match to watch in the quarter-finals. In the end I think the Dutch will clip them in a 4-3 thriller. C'mon, a guy can dream, can't he?

Spain v. Italy - This one came to pass as I predicted last week, saying Italy would make it through to the semis. I'm not going to back off now, though the absence of Pirlo and Gattuso in the midfield more than gives me pause. Against by better judgment, I'll say a 1-1 draw with the Italians through on penalty kicks. At some point doesn't Luca Toni have to pick up at least a garbage goal in front of the net?

I see I have just predicted 16 goals that would set up a Germany v. Croatia rematch and Netherlands v. Italy. Talk about blind optimism ruling the day. I'll actually be rooting for Portugal and Spain make it through despite my predictions.

Encouraging

This is not the sort of thing you read every day:

Now there's word that [Blues prospect Patrik] Berglund has arrived in St. Louis from Europe two weeks before the start of the Blues' development camp, which begins June 23 at Scottrade Center.

"He paid his own airfare, his own hotel ... that's telling me that he wants to play," said Davidson, who said Berglund is up nearly 15 pounds to 210. "If he has a good summer and really works, then he's got a chance.

So many times when the Blues drafted a European they showed little interest in making the transition to the North American game. It's refreshing to see a Blues European prospect who seems enthused about the possibilities.

Hopefully, this attitude will keep the guys from St. Louis Game Time from calling Berglund a pussy.

Drinking In The Pleasure That Is Euro2008

The best looking blonde I've seen since perusing the crowd at Sweden's opener.

A mouth-watering rundown of the beers from participating Euro2008 countries.

World Cup Qualifier: US (Scads) - Barbados (Not A Sausage)

Well, as predicted, there was not a lot to learn from playing Barbados. The US scored three in the first half and added five more after the break, while Barbados knocked the ball around a little bit with looks on their faces that said, "I sure hope I don't get hurt."

You couldn't even tell what we are doing with our midfield exactly because they moved Beasley around so much, playing him centrally from time to time. I think they were giving him a break as he's just coming back from injury, which makes sense. There is no reason to run your legs off against Barbados.

My man of the match would have been Michael Bradley.

Blues Draft Preview

Alright, this is not much of a preview because, lets face it, I've no idea what the draft board for the Blues looks like. After all, do I look Finnish to you?

That being said, I see no reason why GASL shouldn't have a draft board of their own. Here is how I think the Blues draft board should set up from #1 to #10.

#1) Steven Stamkos, C - Unfortunately, the kid probably already has a Florida drivers licence. 0.00% chance he will be around at #4.

#2) Zach Bogosian, RD - Probably the best upside of the defensive prospects. Probably won't be around at #4. I'd say maybe a 15% chance he's still around.

#3) Nikita Filatov, LW - I'm betting this high potential forward is still around, but I doubt the Blues would take a chance on a Russian player however talented they are. 90% chance he's around at #4.

#4) Mikkel Boedker, LW - Oh, he will be there at #4, but will the Blues value another potential number 3 or 4 defenseman over offensive depth? 100% chance he will be around.

#5) Alex Pietrangelo, RD - The next best defenseman. 90% chance he's still around.

#6) Colin Wilson, C - I know the Blues don't really need another young center, but he's still aways from making the jump. He's got good size. 98% chance he's still around.

#7) Drew Doughty, RD - Ho hum. Another defensman some people like. (And the player the pessimist in me believes the Blues will actually draft.) 85% chance he's around at #4.

#8) Cody Hodgson, C - Two way center the Blues could draft and use as trade bait? 100% chance he will be around at #4.

#9) Joshua Bailey, C - Now, I'm just putting in guys because I don't want the guy I've listed at #10. Bailey is also more of a two way player. 100% Bailey is around at #4.

#10) Luke Schenn, RD - If the Blues select this player, who sounds like the next coming of Murray Baron, with the #4 pick, I will run screaming from the room. 100% chance he's still around at #4. If he falls to the Blues in the second round I will celebrate...but not at number four of the first.

I'll add, since there are no big name goaltending prospects around this year, the Blues would have a chance to get the best of this bunch with a later pick. As we went through goalies in this organization rather quickly this year, it might not be a bad idea to grab another with some potential. Thomas McCollum, Chris Carrozzi, Chet Pickard, or Dustin Tokarski (love the name) could be such an option.

Massive Celtic Comeback Promises Quick End To NBA Season

We hope.

Did The Cards Take A Hostage?

This is something I'd missed on the rundown of Cards' draft picks:

Shane Boras, 2B, Junipero Serra Catholic HS: Yup, he's the son of Scott Boras. I guess it can't hurt to have the devil's kid on the payroll, huh?

I can hear the threats now: "Give us a 'hometown' discount or the kid gets sent to the Quad Cities!"

Memo To ESPN: Keep Andy Gray

I have loved listening to Andy Gray's commentary during Euro 2008. God knows, he doesn't have much to do during the summers while he's waiting to resume his duties for Sky Sports. So why not have him do some MLS?

Croatia Wakes Up

Anyone who saw the Croatian effort against Austria has to be shocked to see Croatia beat Germany 2-1 today. The Croats simply let the Austrians come at them for almost the entire second half, and were lucky not to give up an equalizer.

Today was completely different, and the Germans were lucky they didn't have 4 goals put on them. Unlike the commentators, I was unimpressed with the German effort against Poland so in a sense this isn't as surprising as it might have been.

It does prove that Group B is pretty dire.

New Nicknames

Which one is quicker going to his right?

The Goat pointed me to this item in the Viewfromthecheapseats blog:

Presumably, Duncan will play his original position -- first base -- while the outfield picture remains unchanged. But it's going to be hard to swallow not only the loss of more than 100 points of batting average in the middle of the lineup, but also the subtraction of a Gold Glove from the field to be replaced with a guy who seems to try to catch the ball with a skillet.

He has since begun referring to our favorite tortoise humper by a new name. Henceforth, Duncan shall be known as Edward Skillet Hands.

She Wasn't That Pretty

In a generally enjoyable column, Bill McClellan compares our upcoming football stadium troubles to a series of bad marriages. In his analogy, the Football Cardinals were our town's first wife who asked for a new stadium, and left us for Phoenix because we wouldn't give it to her:

Big Red was our first wife, and we were a good couple. She wasn't very flashy. In fact, she didn't win a single playoff game in our 27 years of marriage, but then again, we weren't exactly a matinee idol ourself. Nobody was confusing us with San Francisco or New York. We were just a pair of sensible shoes, Big Red and us.

She got tired of playing football in a baseball stadium. She wanted her own place. That really wasn't so much to ask after 27 years, was it? But we wouldn't go along with her plan, and she threatened to leave us, and that really set us off. We both said things we shouldn't have. Finally, she left us for Phoenix.

The only trouble is, this description leaves out what a lousy marriage it was. It's not just that she didn't win a playoff game in 27 years. From 1970 to 1987 (their last season in STL) they only went to the playoffs twice! In their last five years in town, they went 8-7-1; 9-7; 5-11; 4-11-1; and 7-8. Let's not kid ourselves--we were miserable in this relationship. We fought all the time, she kept making promises she wouldn't keep. Every year she promised to change, and she never did. This was not a healthy relationship.

And it's not like she left us, started going to the gym, and turned into a knockout. Heck, she's made the next guy as miserable as she made us! (From 1988-2008, the Desert Gridbirds have been to the playoffs once. If anything, she's treating the next guy even worse than she treated us).

And McClellan's next analogy is not very accurate either, as he compares the Rams to a stunning new trophy wife:

We went to Los Angeles for our second wife. We built her the stadium we had refused to build Big Red. We threw money at her. That's the only reason she married us, and we knew it. She was a head-turner. A Super Bowl winner, the Greatest Show on Turf. We were out of our class. A paunchy, middle-aged guy with a comb-over out there on the dance floor with a supermodel.

The LA Rams might have been a lot of things, but a supermodel aint one of them. In the five years before they moved to St. Louis, the Rams went 5-11; 3-13; 6-10; 5-11; and 4-12. Those numbers are almost Gridbirdesque. And in their first two seasons in St. Louis, the Rams head coach was RICH BROOKS, and they went 7-9; 6-10; 5-11; and 4-12. Maybe she was a looker back in the day, but she was on hard times when we ran into her. When San Francisco players said "Same ol' sorry Rams" after another drubbing of the male sheep, they weren't being ironic. Did we lose our dignity in the deal we gave her to move to the midwest? Yes, but not because she wasn't desperate, but because she wasn't quite as desperate as we were, and the odds were in her favor. In that part of his analogy, Mclellan gets it about right: There are only 31 others like her, and cities like us are a dime-a-dozen.

Still, we didn't trade for a supermodel. The LA Rams were the St. Louis Cardinals with a tan. They became the greatest show on turf after coming to St. Louis. In fact, to push the analogy to its limits, we ought to be able to say to the Rams, "Baby, when we found you, you were playing for a half-empty stadium in a heartless town that never really loved you. Do you really want to go back to that?"

Depends What You Mean by "Step"

According to Mike Martz, San Francisco 49er's wide receiver Isaac Bruce is as fast as he's ever been:

"Most receivers do lose a step at 36 (which Bruce will turn in November)," Martz said, "but I haven't seen that with him. Isaac has always been an exception. If he's lost a step, I don't see it. He's like Jerry Rice; he's always kept himself in impeccable shape."

Caveat #1: I love Ike. If not for his late-game heroics, this long-suffering former St. Louis Cardinals fan might never have seen a Super Bowl victory in his lifetime. As it stands, my team, the St. Louis Rams, won the big one, and they can't take that away from me (although given their recent play, they sure seem to be trying hard to do so).
Caveat #2: I'm a big Torry Holt fan as well. Heck, I even get nostalgic for Az "slippy fingers" Hakim.
Caveat #3: Isaac Bruce should be a hall-of-famer, and I wish him well in all but two games of the upcoming season.

Having said all that, Martz is higher than a weather balloon. For the past couple of seasons, Isaac and Tory have not been the receivers of old. In the glory days, nobody separated from defenders like The Reverend and Big-Game. Part of that was the scheme, no doubt. But a big part was their speed, and the precision of their routes. You just didn't see that kind of separation this past season. What you saw more often was a defender trying to occupy the same physical space as our wideouts. Rams' yards after catch has been awful as a result. Aren't we all nostalgic for the catch, run 20 yards, give-up-slide days of old?

So, either Ike has lost a step or two, or defenders have gained a step or two. The end result is the same.

State Of The Union

Despite Southlandish's forebodings I will not be laying waste to his musings on the state of the USMNT. Indeed, if you have watched the last six months worth of US play you should come up with something like the pessimism voiced in his post.

However, I do offer some hopeful caveats.

1) The fact we haven't played a meaningful match in some time can mask real development. The last competitive match we played was last July 5th in the Copa, and even that was played with a "B" team of mostly MLS players. You have to go back to the Gold Cup final against Mexico (June 24th, 2007) for the last time the "A" team played for anything.

Friendlies play their role, and they are certainly fun for the fans, but you can read way too much into them for good or ill. I was in the crowd that saw the US beat Argentina 1-0 in a friendly back in 1999. How much did that really tell us about the state of American soccer? Not a whole hell of a lot. The next competitive matches we played (which were not until the next year admittedly) were a tie at Guatemala and a loss at Costa Rica, sides no one has ever confused for Argentina.

2) I will not be caught selling US talent short...not until I see them in real matches. Our main problem, projecting forward here, is the dearth of options at forward. McBride's international retirement has been a huge blow to this team, who relied so heavily on McBride's workrate and his ability to play with his back to goal. There is no player in the US pool who can play that way, and it has taken far too long for the US coaches to realize this. Brian Ching is a solid pro who has a McBride style game, but it seems unlikely he will ever enjoy the same kind of success as he simply isn't as fearless as McBride. (The same goes for Kenny Cooper.)

None of the other options, especially the lengthy attempt to get Eddie Johnson going, is particularly promising. To my mind the best approach would be to put a poacher like Taylor Twellman or a Chris Rolfe, neither of whom will ever dazzle anyone with their skill, in there every day, and allow our midfield to run, run, run. Between Donovan, Adu, Beasley, Bradley, Dempsey, and, if he ever gets healthy, Convey, we should be able to cause enough trouble for opposing defenses that a Twellman (or a Rolfe) should be able to pick up the junk.

The desire to field a classic striker has repeatedly tempted US coaches to put Donovan up top, which only works against inferior opponents. If we simply accepted that most of our offense is going to come from midfield, the standard of US play would improve dramatically.

To my mind, with this player pool, we should be playing a 4-5-1, featuring a midfield of Donovan & Dempsey in the middle, with Adu and Beasley on the wings, and Bradley (or Ricardo Clark) slotting behind as a holding midfielder. All five of those players have to ability to pressure defenses, so that a lone Twellman or Rolfe up top wouldn't be expected to create chances themselves.

3) Southlandish is right in saying the US team seems like it cannot pick a style and stick with it. Part of that has to do with the vagaries of who is available in the player pool, but most of it has to do with the transition from Arena to Bradley. Both have the tendency of bringing in a lot of players for a look see, but Bradley seems slower to make final judgements than Arena. For that reason we have had extended periods of experimentation in the US side, which has made for some uneven play and a lack of focus. Of course, the goal is to be ready for World Cup qualifying, so we will get a better feel for this team starting the 15th.

Actually, playing a minnow like Barbados might not tell us much either, but you may see the US pick a style at least.

No Man's Land

I look forward to IM laying waste to this post.

From an ESPN article on the US-Spain match last week:

United States coach Bob Bradley was impressed with Spain during Wednesday night's friendly but believes his counterpart Luis Aragones might have some concerns about the lack of goalscoring chances the Iberian side created.

OR NOT.

Given the way they dismantled the Russians up top, it looks like the absence of David Villa against the US was the difference. He and Torres were brilliant. On the other hand, Spain's center defense was abysmal today. Russia could easily have easily picked up a couple of garbage goals in front of goal just because the Spanish seemed lead-footed and clueless there. Which leads to this - another ESPN report on the US/Spain match:

And therein lies the difference between the Americans and a side like Spain. It's not that the U.S. doesn't have players capable of making a play like that. It's that there simply aren't enough of them who can conjure up that kind of creativity on a regular basis, and it makes for an attack that isn't varied enough to trouble a quality side like Spain.

It wasn't Russian creativity that created many of their chances. It was Spain's defensive lapses. As impressive as they were today and as unimpressive as the Italians were yesterday, I would bet that Italy makes it through as the runner-up in Group C and Spain wins Group D which means they meet in the quarter finals. If that comes to pass, my money is on the Italian defense to contain David Villa and Torres enough to counter attack strongly and score the couple of goals needed to advance.

The Greece/Sweden match today was dreadful until Ibrahimovich laced in a rifle shot off of a quick one-two pass. That broke the Greeks who clearly had no intention of trying to score off of anything that didn't fall into their lap and realized immediately that their Euro2004 redux park-the-bus-in-front-of-the goal game plan lasted exactly 67 minutes. Think Sam Kinison's classic stand up bit on drug paranoia at the airport, "They see through me. Oh, oh, oh..."

All of which brings me to the real point of this post - the state of the US team. I fully profess to being a soccer neophyte and admit that when watching matches I'm forced to rely on an inadequate general instinct rather than a carefully honed knowledge of the game's nuance. So all of the above and below is probably either crap or self-evident. OK, both.

After watching the first eight Euro2008 matches and the last six months of US friendlies, it looks to me as though we are stuck in two no-man's-lands ahead of South Africa 2010.

One strategic and one tactical.

As for the former, the three earlier European road wins against Switzerland, Sweden and Poland showed progress. The last two losses against England and Spain, and the loss-but-for-Howard's-goalkeeping to Argentina shows how far we have to go to get to the next level, with no clear path that I can discern based on the personnel at our disposal. There is nothing humiliating in admitting that the top national teams are fielding talent well beyond ours. That just leaves the question of how we get develop talent on par with theirs, which I cannot pretend to address.

But is still leaves open how we get the most out of the talent we have, which brings us to the tactical.

We don't do anything particularly well that I can see. Some athleticism here, great goal keeping there, flashes of strong defense and maybe a bit of fast and furious finishing up top, too often from a long pass. A strong midfield that dictates tempo and transitions is always going to be a challenge, even for the very best national teams. But the US side seems unwilling to decide on a strength. Are they going to focus on defense or try to play a beautiful passing game or work off set pieces? I can't tell. In the last couple of years of watching closely, I can't say where this team is going. There is no discernible ethos or culture. Until we decide on that, I think we're doomed to hang around in both no-man's-lands.

Shit

By the sound of it Albert Pujols may have just ruptured his Achilles tendon.

For fuck's sake....

Say It Aint So, Dick Weber

First, beer-swilling eurotrash threatens our hometown brewer. Now, Texas is stealing the Bowling Hall of Fame. Will these indignities never end?

The museum's board voted this week to sell its land to their neighbor, the Cardinals, who intend to use it as part of the stalled Ballpark Village development.

Yes, 'stalled' is one adjective that can be applied to Ballpark Village. 'Theoretical,' 'imaginary,' or 'invisible' are others. Our good chairman admits as much:

The sale "means that the project can expand into that northwest block," DeWitt said. "Exactly when it will do that is a question for future debate."

Not only is ballpark village in the nebulous future, but so is the debate about the project. What do they need more space for, anyway? Do they not have enough land to store the putrid, muddy water? Apparently not, and so the Bowling Hall of Fame is on its way to the Lone Star State. Better get down there and bowl a frame while you can. Maybe lift a frosty cold one and toast it goodbye (while frosty cold ones are still locally produced).

Irrational Exuberance?

Someone might need to sedate Jeff Gordon: Future looks even brighter for Cards

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa never wants to talk about 2009. Neither does general manager John Mozeliak.

Both men are convinced the ’08 team could contend. So far, the Cards are doing just that, despite suffering myriad injuries.

They are 11 games over .500 and they have staying power.

But projections for the ’09 season ARE intriguing. The Cards will have more payroll flexibility next year, due to several expiring contracts. With several key prospects developing at once, Mozeliak will move into an enviable position.

The Cards’ success with rookies this season makes the forecast for next season even better. Circumstances are forcing the team to test a lot of kids.

OK, fine. This season has been a pleasant surprise so far, but how good could next year look?

Infielder Brendan Ryan, Sunday’s hero, is a potential starter at second base or shortstop. Righthanded power hitter Joe Mather looks capable of balancing a left-centric outfield. Rule 5 addition Brian Barton has shown he can excel as a No. 4 or No. 5 outfielder.

Kyle McClellan, Chris Perez and Mark Worrell have bolstered the bullpen. It’s too early to assess pitcher Mitchell Boggs, but he ascended quickly through the Cards organization after arriving from the college ranks.

The Next One, outfielder Colby Rasmus, is finally hitting in Memphis. Good-hitting catcher Bryan Anderson is making great defensive strides. Both could become factors next year.

When we chatted Friday with Memphis manager Chris Maloney on KFNS, he raved about the potential of third baseman David Freese. The kid has big league defensive potential and a nice bat; when he becomes more selective at the plate, he will move to the front burner.

Maloney also raved about the professionalism of veterans Anthony Reyes and Chris Duncan. Reyes appears to be auditioning for other clubs looking for pitching help. Duncan, who is trying to relocate his power stroke, suffered a setback when he crashed into an outfield wall.

But both players remain assets. As a result, Mozeliak has options.

Sure, the kids have done surprisingly well, and its been a bonus to have Rasmus adjust at the AAA level instead of learning on the job in St. Louis. But, this is the Cardinals we are talking about here. We've never had a "pipeline" of young talent, as long as I can remember. You get one every other year or so, and sometimes they are named Joe Magrane.

Still...man, there are a lot of nice looking prospects down on the farm. However, I don't dare stare. It like looking at the sun.

OK, even if we get positive contributions from our young guys we have to have prohibitive payroll contraints, right?

Juan Encarnacion’s $6.5 million salary will be off the books after this season. Kyle Lohse ($4.25 million), Braden Looper ($5.5 million) and Jason Isringhausen ($8 million) will become free agents. Mark Mulder ($6.5 million) could also exit the payroll, unless the Cards exercise their $11 million option.

Hallelujah!

Pass me the Kool Aid. I'm drinking.

No One Expects The Italian Emasculation

But it sure happened. After a disappointing Romania v. France opener, I was afraid the Italians and Dutch would play cautiously and be content to each take a point. Not so. What a match. A controversial non-offsides call left the Italians reeling and the Dutch counter-attacked, counter-attacked and then counter-attacked some more. Van der Sar was great in goal, creating those opportunities. The Italians will undoubtedly cry foul over the non-call, but the fact is they had their asses handed to them.

What I wouldn't give to be in Amsterdam tonight. I was there, purely by chance, during their opening match against the Czechs in Euro2000. It was insane. We were lunching at a café on the Rembrantsplein, when it suddenly erupted in a sea of singing, orange-clad lunatics. This was well before I followed soccer but we had a blast talking to the table of shit-faced fanatics sitting next to us and they delighted in schooling us on that year's European Cup. It was a great afternoon.

Group of Death, etc.

The real action of Euro2008 kicks off today with Romania, France, The Netherlands and Italy all playing. This weekend most of the best action was off the pitch (see IM's earlier post). Croatia looked decidedly average, Germany played well and put the recent US defeat of Poland in context, and the Swiss' vaunted defense isn't likely to be enough to get them out of the group stages, especially with the loss of Frei.

I'm looking forward to seeing the post-Zidane French and how Ribéry performs. He is a joy to watch. I loved his play in the World Cup and saw several Bayern matches late this season when a German friend was visiting. He was unquestionably their spark plug. His frenzied pace draws a lot of attention and makes you forget sometimes just how balanced and creative he is out there.

Finally, Tim Howard was sensational last night in the US friendly against Argentina and single-handedly kept it from being an embarrassment. If he hadn't Hoovered up everything in sight early, it would have been a deflating 2-0 or 3-0 Argentina out of the gate and could have ended up looking like their dismantling of Serbia in the last World Cup. Those saves let the rest of the squad get its act together and put up a respectable effort. Without that, instead of ending this string of friendlies on a positive note, the question would be what in the hell has to be done with this squad heading into the qualifiers.

All that said, it is a pleasure to watch Argentina. They make it look effortless at times and every time Messi has a touch you know something spectacular can happen.

Stop The Presses!

Hot off the wires: German supporters arrested after incidents with Poles in Klagenfurt

Seven German supporters were arrested in Klagenfurt after incidents with Polish fans late Saturday on the eve of their Euro-2008 encounter, local police said.

The first incidents of the tournament involving about 100 supporters took place in the centre of the Carinthian capital. After glasses were thrown the police moved in to separate the two camps.

Nearly 25,000 Germans and 20,000 Poles were expected for Sunday's Group B match.

Some 2,300 police, including Polish officers, were to be mobilized on Sunday, with 2,000 security agents being held in reserve. The matches in Klagenfurt involving Germany, Poland and Croatia are deemed high-risk because of the fans' reputation for violence.

Gee, and the Germans and Poles usually get on so well.

Euro2008 Is Upon Us

The next three weeks will be a scramble each day to try to fit my work around the twice daily games, which start at 11:45 and 2:30 on ESPN2 (today's matches are on ESPN Classic). No Ireland, England, Scotland or Wales so this is very much a continental affair. The consensus is that Group C with Italy, France, Romania and the Dutch is the Group of Death.

The Guardian has full previews up and they have decided to alter to their Football Weekly's twice weekly format to a Football Daily one for the next three weeks, with James Richardson and Barry Glendenning anchoring it from a pub in Vienna. Their daily 2006 World Cup were great and I look forward to more of the same. They have a brief introductory preview clip up today.

Now if I can just rush Mrs. Southlandish's ass through the Saturday morning shopping (the number of stores we 'need' to go to grows by the fucking minute) and get my ass back here by 11:30, I'll be happy.

Hope to be doing a little bit of blogging about it over the next few weeks, while keeping an eye on the Cards. You can't be anything but happy to be where we are right now and I intend to stick to my pre-season pledge of treating this season as a transitional one where any kind of winning ball is a bonus, though that becomes tougher and tougher as it remains the fucking Cubs out there in front of us. Let the games begin...

Fucking Cubs

Those seem to be the first words out of my mouth every morning as I check the scoreboard. Even though June usually brings hope for Cards fans, I don't see this team succumbing to The Swoon. In the words of the immortal Joe Schultz, ah shitfuck.