Something Moving...

I recently watched the movie "Catch a Fire" that tells the story of a man  and his journey through 1980's South Africa in the midst of the apartheid regime. I am glad that I saw the movie  now that I have a good understanding of everything that is going on in the movie. I had wanted to see it when it was first released but never got a chance to and I am thankful that I did. My brother watched about half of it and said that it was hard to follow, which I probably would have thought the same thing had I not read and studied quite extensively prior to watching it. I enjoyed seeing everything  that I had read about and heard Catsam talk about come to life. Umkhonto we Sizwe and the ANC came to life before my very eyes. Funny story, when "Friday Night Lights" was released I actually met Derek Luke, the movie's main character, and after I asked him what he had up next, he told me that it was a movie about South Africa. One can only imagine the living conditions that faced the people of South Africa and the horrors and atrocities that came with it. It upsets and disturbs me to see something like that and the fact that it was true and that was not even half of it is also disturbing in and of itself. Many people have no idea what exactly occurred over there for so long. Hopefully people will after watching that movie...

Here we go again...

Once again Liverpool finds itself in yet another Champions League semi-final and once again it is against Chelsea. There is not one team in the world that makes me more mad than Liverpool. They do not care about the Premiership, except finishing 4th, and choose to only focus on Europe. I know Liverpool has an illustrious history, but since I have began watching soccer religiously, thanks to Fox Soccer Channel, Liverpool appears to save their best for Europe and unfortunately my beloved Blues face them tomorrow. It will be a grind it out game like it has been each time the two have met the last two years. Fortunately this may play to our advantage in that Chelsea have been criticized for doing precisely that. I think it will be a nil-nil draw at Anfield and when they go to the Bridge, Chelsea will take it 1-0 and move closer to something has eluded them, a Champions League crown.

It Begins...

For all intensive purposes the playoffs in the NBA have begun, atleast in the west. I am currently watching the Nuggets and Warriors square off with 8th place on the line. It will be a 3-way limbo for the 7 and 8 spots in the west. It is likely that a team that wins 49, or even 50, will miss the playoffs. My take on it is that Dallas will not advance past the first round if they do make it. Denver and Golden State have a legitimate shot at taking down a top seed(just ask Dallas!). Either way you look at, the time that all basketball fans have been yearning for is upon us. Is the NBA back? That is the question that has lingered for years. With the spectacular play in the west and the looming eastern conference finals match up between Boston and Detroit, it should be a playoffs the like of which we have never seen. Not even when 23 was involved.....

The Age Old Question

Is this country ready for an African-American president? We have come a long way since the Civil Rights Movement and nowadays it is somewhat comical to think whites, in general are better than blacks at sports. Sports aside though, Obama just appears to have that swagger that it takes to lead this country. I have admitted that my knowledge on politics is not great but I know a strong personality. I have always been one to never choose a party affiliation and just vote for the better candidate. In '04, I thought Kerry was the better candidate. The point is this, I am getting the sense that the electoral process will not come down to color but merely the question as to who is better suited to run this country. My answer is Obama and all I know is that it will be a "November to Remember."

Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea

So before I start my rant about Chelsea's come from behind victory over Arsenal, I would like to apologize for my week of fun in the sun and thus the reason behind my absence. Chelsea fell down 1-0(nill) to Arsenal with about 30 minutes left to play. Chelsea and Arsenal both had endured each other's best shot early on and it was the Gunners who took the initial lead. Avram Grant then made 2 subs: Anelka and Belletti. Although I would argue that he might should have considered leaving on Ballack as he has been good as of late, I don't mind either of them b/c they were in desperate need of attack. After chanting "Jose Mourninho", the crowd then inserted their foot into their mouths as both substitutes were figures in the game winning goal. Didier Drogba showed that is hands down the best striker in the world and I might argue as one of the best players in the world. His play was none the less spectacular as he scored both Chelsea goals as only a pure finisher would do. My message is this: Give Grant a chance! We are still in contention for the league title and the Champions League. I would gladly take either one, if not, both than the FA and Carling Cups, respectively. Blues, we simply live to fight another day.....   

Don't Hate

I have stated before that I am a soccer fanatic. I hate it when all these sports personalities bash it and say that it is not a "real man's sport," like Mark Schlereth suggested one day while hosting Jim Rome's show. My only comeback to that is the reason you were so good is because you have been praised since you were little on how overweight you were, Congrats by the way!...not to mention being an expert at the cut block. The only problem with this country is that we think that we are better than everyone and rather not embrace the world's game, we berate it. Soccer combines fitness, strength, and raw skill to excel at it. In my bias opinion, it is the ultimate sport in combining the three along with intelligence. America prides themselves in being big. Soccer does not require one to be 6'3, 210 lbs. to be good at it. Honestly how many people can run a 4.4 40 yd. dash, 6'5 and weight 220? Those are few and far between. I hate all these people that say soccer sucks. Those that do have never set foot on a soccer field and probably could not play even if they tried to. You think that anyone outside the United States cares about the upcoming NFL Draft? No! They are talking about the next draw in the Champions League. GO BLUES! Soccer is not only the world's game but rather the game's world!

Tourney Time!

As the NCAA Men's basketball tournament looms ahead in the coming days. Another type of tournament is upon us, conference tournaments. While they do get some hype, I have always enjoyed watching them and will be constantly checking in on the Big East tourney tomorrow. What you have to like about conference tourneys is that it is a chance for redemption for the teams that have slept walk through their regular season. 

I can remember off hand two instances in the past few years alone, both occurring in the Big East tourney. Three years ago, WVU had to have a good run in New York to get into the tourney. They ended up getting all the way to the final. After that run assured them a spot in the tourney, they made their performance stand up by upsetting Wake Forest, actually the Chris Paul led Wake team, in the second round. From what I remember they came pretty close to making the Final Four that year. Another testament to the greatness of the conference tourneys needs only one name: Jerry McNamara. One could not forget the Herculean performance he put up two years ago in the tourney when his team would have not even made the NCAA tourney with out atleast an appearance in the Big East tourney final. Needless to say, McNamara single handily carried the Orange to the title and won MVP honors. In Sports Illustrated that same week, he had been named the most over-rated player in the Big East. I'll never forget him holding up a shirt after claiming MVP honors stating, "OVER-RATED?." thus giving them the proverbial middle finger. 

I can wait 'til selection Sunday and the Big Dance to eventually come b/c I enjoy watching the conference tourneys b/c I like seeing the underachievers in each conference play their guts to get the chance to attend the dance...