Good Great Day For Notts County

This is a red letter days for the Pies in more ways than one. Firstly, on the pitch they sent off Dar & Red, who had been above them in the table when the day began, by a 3-0 scoreline. That Notts did so on the road made it even sweeter.

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, Notts were able to secure new investment for the club. From the BBC:

Notts County have secured a deal with an investor that will clear their debts and provide them with extra funds.

The terms of the investment, and the identity of the investor, will remain confidential until final due diligence is completed within the next 28 days.

The League Two outfit faced the prospect of finding £2m by Wednesday after HM Revenue & Customs served them with a second winding-up petition.

But HMRC have informed the club they are satisfied with the current deal.

After Munto Finance backed out late last year things were looking kinda dicey for the club. However, I have to believe having a name like Sven-Goran Eriksson associated with the club helped secure the new money men.

I for one would be happy if the rest of the drama for Notts County is on the playing field the rest of the season.

Heartbreaking

So close....: Notts County 2 - 2 Wigan

A late Ben Watson goal allowed Wigan to claw back a two-goal deficit and force League Two's Notts County to an FA Cup replay just when a shock looked likely.

Watson struck from six yards after County failed to deal with a corner.

County had gone into the break 2-0 ahead thanks to a close-range strike from the impressive Lee Hughes and Ben Davies' dipping free-kick.

But Jason Scotland combined with Hugo Rodallega to beat Kasper Schmeichel and make it 2-1 before Watson's equaliser.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez had warned his side that their opponents possessed players who were more than capable of playing higher up than League Two.

On this display, Notts County certainly proved that to be case, with midfielders Davies and Neil Bishop shining under the FA Cup spotlight.

But the Magpies did not have quite enough quality to put Wigan to the sword as the Latics, 62 league places above their hosts, dominated the second half and take the match to a replay.

I know there are those who say the FA Cup has lost its shine, but this is the kind of thing that makes it such an intriguing thing for the average American sports fan. Hell, in this country you have college football and basketball teams that refuse to schedule lesser teams that could actually threaten them in order to protect their status as the "big boys." It's a damn shame because an event like the FA Cup does provide the potential for great theater.

I'm An Idiot

Really, no one on earth should listen to me discuss the Billikens. I was convinced, when the season began, that the youngest team in Division One basketball was in for a horrendous season. Back on Armistice Day, I fearlessly predicted a seven win season for the Bills proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'm a class A moron.

To wit: Saint Louis beats Fordham 75-48

ST. LOUIS (AP)—Freshman Cody Ellis had 14 points and nine rebounds in his first career start, helping Saint Louis put away Fordham 75-48 on Wednesday night.

Kwamain Mitchell added 13 points and five assists with no turnovers for Saint Louis (12-6, 3-1 Atlantic-10), which held Fordham (2-15, 0-5) to 33 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers

Alright, fine, so the competition was hardly stellar, but you can only play to win the games on your schedule. Besides, I was convinced the Billikens would struggle to win even these games. Obviously, I didn't count on two factors; 1) Majerus can coach a little bit, and 2) Majerus is recruiting a better class of player to SLU. That this sophomore dominated and led team is competing well night after night, home and away, speaks volumes.

Next time I'll remember that not all recruits are created equal. I'll also remember not to make any predictions.

15th (Or 3rd) Time A Charm

Notts finally got to play its 3rd round FA Cup game after winter weather postponed the game twice:

After a drab first 45 minutes the second half burst into life when Stephen Hunt toe-poked the opening goal for the home side from five yards.

Forest Green refused to yield and hit back through striker Isaiah Rankin's venomous effort into the bottom corner.

However, one minute later Magpies top scorer Lee Hughes curled in the winner.

Notts County will meet Wigan at Meadow Lane on Saturday for the League Two side's first FA Cup fourth round tie in 15 years.

Hughes has been on fire all season, as his 17 goals leads all League Two scorers.

Well, at least we won't have long to wait for the match-up against Wigan, as long as a blizzard doesn't hit Nottingham between now and then.

GO PIES!!!

Maybe God Doesn't Hate Us After All

Good news for a change:

USA midfielder Clint Dempsey suffered "moderate damage" to a ligament in his right knee and will not require surgery, Fulham officials announced Tuesday evening.

Dempsey, a key element in the American effort and Fulham's most impressive player this season, was hurt over the weekend, raising fears that he would miss the World Cup. However, in a release posted on its Web site, the club said that "early indications are positive in that no operation is required. At this stage, it is thought that the injury will not prevent him from featuring for Fulham, prior to the end of the season."

Lyle Yorks, Dempsey's agent, told the Insider: "The results [of the scans] show that he will be back playing for Fulham this season ahead of the World Cup. The nature of the injury is not as serious as it was reported after the Blackburn game."

Added USA Coach Bob Bradley: "We are confident that Clint will be ready to be an important part of our team during the World Cup."

Good....no, great news.

USA World Cup Looking Grim Already

Shit....not again: Dempsey Crisis Watch

Dempsey had played very well in the first half of Sunday’s match against Blackburn and nearly gave the Cottagers a lead. But, in the 62nd minute, the Texas native limped off the pitch. Blackburn went on to defeat Fulham 2-0 but, more importantly, Dempsey could have a serious knee injury to contend with just five months before the World Cup.

Fulham Manager Roy Hodgson said the injury did not look good, mentioning that the winger could have cruciate ligament damage in the knee. An injury to the knee ligaments could sideline Dempsey for months but there won’t be a definitive answer until Monday. USA fans have to be holding their breath for the next 24 hours because, judging by early reports, the prognosis does not look positive.

What the hell did we do to be so snake bit? First Charlie Davies damn near dies, then Onyewu's knee gets shredded, and now Dempsy's knee explodes.

The trouble with the US side is we have no depth to speak of at any position other than goalkeeper. If past experience is any guide we can expect to see under-talented but "hard working" players get most of the minutes to replace the likes of Davies and Dempsy. I'm not sure there is a replacement for Onyewu worthy of the name, but at least there is a chance he could return by the summer. However, what kind of form could he possibly have?

Pessimism is the order of the day I'm afraid.

I'm Tired Of Fucking Holier Than Thou Sportwriters

I'm talking about motherfuckers like Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports:

Well, of course he did.

And now that he wants something – a job, a reasonably nonbelligerent working environment, peace of mind, forgiveness, I suppose – Mark McGwire has come a little closer to the truth.

He and his handlers typed out a statement, sent it along to the Associated Press and, presumably, put their hands over their ears. He later sat for an interview with Bob Costas and was inarguably contrite.

Turns out, he had a damned good reason not to talk about the past, but we knew that, and he knew we knew, so what exactly do we have today, the day McGwire simply confirmed that so many of those home runs were manufactured not in a batting cage, but in a lab (and not in a bathroom stall)?

For one, we have a man so used to hiding and lying that, years after cheating a nation of baseball fans, he feels sorry for … himself.

“Looking back,” he wrote, “I wish I had never played during the steroid era.”

Really.

This coming from a member of a profession that basically allowed the steroids era to happen without a fucking whimper. But that should come as no surprise as sportswriters as a group consistently looked the other way when baseball players were juicing up one way or another. When players in the 1950's through the 1980's were taking speed and getting benefits on the field sportswriters knew it and looked the other way. And where are those players nowadays? In the fucking Hall of Fame. And who put them there? The fucking sportswriters.

I'll say this, every so called "journalist" who was active in the speed era and sat on their fucking hands and didn't tell the truth should be kicked out of the Hall as well.

Sportswriters are proving themselves to be nothing but the fucking scum of the earth (with a few notable exceptions.)

They Better Win Tomorrow

Tomorrow, in the third round of the FA cup Notts County is playing Forest Green. Forest who? you say. Well, from the BBC:

The tie in context

• Forest Green Rovers, at fourth bottom in the Blue Square Premier, are the lowest ranked club still surviving in the FA Cup.

• They are also one of four clubs from the fifth level to have fought their way through to the third round.

• This is the only tie pitting a non-league side with one from League Two.

Gulf in class

• At fourth in League Two, Notts County are 41 places higher than Forest Green Rovers in the pecking order.

If Notts really have pretensions of the Premier League in the next decade (and not the freaking Blue Square Premier league) they need to start beating the minnows. The last two years Notts got themselves knocked out in Cup competition by the likes of Havant and Waterlooville (?????) and Kettering Town.

It hurts.

Blues Dump Murray

Why is it, even though I've been expecting this story to pop up on StlToday everytime I've brought up the site for the last week, it still shocked me to see it?

The Blues have fired head coach Andy Murray this morning. Davis Payne, who was the head coach of the Peoria Rivermen, has been named the interim head coach.

Here’s the press release from the Blues . . .

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Saturday that the club has named Davis Payne as Interim Head Coach. Payne becomes the 23rd coach in the history of the St. Louis Blues replacing Andy Murray, who was relieved of his duties.

“Davis is very knowledgeable of the players in our organization and we feel he is the best candidate to coach our team,” said Davidson. “He has nine winning seasons at the minor league level which includes an ECHL Championship in 2006.

“I would like to thank Andy Murray for the job he has done here the past four seasons,” continued Davidson. “He was an intergral part in turning the St. Louis Blues around. He is a true professional and I wish him the best of luck in the future.”

God only knows what we will get in Davis Payne. He's an organization guy, I guess, but then so was Mike Kitchen.

We shall see, and right away as we've got the HAwks tonight.