Spurs vs. Twente - Champions League Game 2

Rafael van der Vaart accomplished about as much as any player could in 60 minutes of action. His last 15 minutes were particularly eventful. He went from low, to lower, to high, to "I can't believe I just picked up my second yellow card this early in the second half."
Van der Vaart started the match on the right side of the midfield in place of the ineffective Aaron Lennon. While more accustomed to playing in the center of the field, the combination of van der Vaart and Bale on the wings proved to be incredibly effective, and at this point, gives Spurs the best chance to win. Both van der Vaart and Bale dominated the first half with their play.
While Spurs controlled almost 60 percent of the possession in the first half, they weren't able to create a scoring opportunity for the majority of the first 45 minutes.
It wasn't until the 40th minute when Peter Crouch was tackled to the ground by Peter Wisgerhof in the box. Fresh off a yellow card for delaying the penalty kick, Twente goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov made a brilliant diving save to deny van der Vaart.
The missed opportunity was a major blow for the home side that fought off an early game surge from Twente to take control of the first half, but still headed to the locker room with a scoreless draw.
Determined to make up for his miss, van der Vaart gave Spurs the lead less than two minutes into the second half.
Spurs would double their lead shortly after when Roman Pavlyuchenko put home a penalty kick given after Bale was tackled inside the box.
Normally a 2-0 lead seems comfortable, but that was far from the case in this match. Substitute Nacer Chadli cut the lead in half shortly after Pavyluchenko's goal after a surprising series of offensive surges from Twente. Minutes later, van der Vaart was sent off after picking up his second yellow.
With an extra man and down only a goal, it seemed like the momentum was starting to swing in the visitor's favor. But Spurs were able to hold it together. Faced with the disadvantage, they took care of the ball better and made crisper passes.
They were so crisp, they scored two shorthanded goals. Pavyluchenko scored his second penalty kick of the game, awarded for a controversial handball, and Bale made a fantastic run to put the game out of reach in the 85th minute.
Wednesday's match also marked the return of goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. His impact was felt immediately, as he made a brilliant one handed save while running forward. The save came early in the first half. Had he allowed a goal, it could have changed the dynamic of the match.
With the win, Tottenham joined Inter Milan atop Group A with four points each. They will face an uphill challenge when they meet Inter on the road without van der Vaart a month from now.
Regardless, starting group play with four points, Spurs have put themselves in an excellent position to advance to the knockout stages. 

Thoughts On Bears-Packers MNF Game

In hindsight, this game didn't teach us much of anything. Both teams can't run the ball (we knew that). Rodgers makes better decisions than Cutler (ditto). Lovie Smith and Mike McCarthy are terrible about managing the clock/using challenges. And penalties, especially committed in excess, can cost you a game. Who knew!
If we did learn one thing it's that everyone's favorite preseason Super Bowl pick has quite a few issues:
1) The First Obvious Issue: no viable option at running back behind Ryan Grant. Fullback John Kuhn (6 carries) split time with Grant's back up Brandon Jackson (7 carries). They combined for a whopping 43 yards.
2) The Second Obvious Issue: OK, 18 penalties is an aberration. But it does make for cool stats like, the Packers had more penalties than rushing attempts. They won't commit 18 or probably anywhere near that many penalties again this year, but the penalties only mask bigger issues.
Everything I've read has said the Packers beat themselves. It's the cliche thing to say when a team commits a ton of penalties and loses a close game. I'm also guilty of uttering that very sentence. But there's a difference in penalties. Penalties like roughing the quarterback and late hits are stupid penalties that would fall under the "beating yourself category."
While the Packers had their fair share of those, the majority of their penalties were pass interference and either holding or false start calls. Those pass interference calls weren't bail outs. The Bears receivers were just too fast. The Packers secondary has thrived over the years by being physical with teams at the line of scrimmage, and it's hard to be physical with a guy when he's running right by you with 4.4 speed. Woodson and Co. couldn't keep up so they had to result to grabbing their man all game.
On the same note, it was amazing to see how terrified the Packers O-Line was of Peppers. The Bears moved Peppers to both the left and right side, and he created havoc from both sides all game. At least five or six of those penalties from the O-Line were the result of either holding Peppers or false starts because they were worried about his pass rush.
While his impact hasn't shown up in the stat books, Peppers has been as impressive as any Bear this year. Just by suiting up he gives this defense an entirely new dimension. He was in the Packer's heads after the first series.
3) When their fantastic linebackers are neutralized by either forcing them to cover a tight end, or picked up while blitzing, this defense gets exposed. The Bears did a pretty good job of handling the defensive line and did an excellent job of neutralizing their linebackers. The Packers depend on their linebackers to provide pressure. If they don't, the corners are left out to dry, and that's not a good thing for this weak secondary.
The Bears aren't without their own issues. Jay Cutler was their leading rusher with 37 yards. The rest of the Bears combined for 40 yards. It's no secret that the Bears are going to rely heavily on the pass this year. 56 percent of the Bears plays were through the air, and if they had the ball longer, that number would have probably been up in the 60s. It's going to be tough to win consistently if Forte can't muster anything with about 20 carries a game.  

Here's something interesting to consider. If you had the choice of one linebacking core for just this year, would you choose the Bears or Packers? The Packers trio obviously have the youth on their side, but I'm not going to be the one that bets against a rejuvenated Urlacher and Briggs (who I still think is the most underrated defensive player in the league despite being selected to the last five Pro Bowls).
Urlacher and Briggs' joint effort to wrap up James Jones and force the ball out, which eventually led to the game winning field goal, was a thing of beauty. Fantastic individual efforts by the both of them. Yeah, this year, I'm choosing them.
By the way, that's why I love football. James Jones, who up until that fumble had four quiet catches for 43 yards, ended up costing his team the game. Jones was lucky the penalty total was so high or his head would be on a platter.
Two last thoughts. With the increased popularity of fantasy sports, there's three plays that every fantasy owner hates. From least painful to most:
3) Fantasy Baseball - an intentional walk. Increases the WHIP, usually just adds to a high WHIP inning.
2) Fantasy Basketball - a half court shot at the end of the quarter. Half the time a player just half asses a quarterback like throw and it decreases shooting percentage just like a missed mid range jumper.
1) Fantasy Football - a last minute heave from a quarterback that ends in an interception, resulting in minus one point. I'm watching Urlacher just trying to knock Rodgers' hail mary down and see Briggs pick off the deflection at the end of the half and can't help but laugh.
I was reading Twitter Monday morning, which I've been doing way too much of lately, and Jerry Azumah said that he had a dream that Hester would return one in tonight's game. I usually don't take what Azumah says seriously because he kind of comes off like a 35 year old who used to be in a cool frat and still thinks he's a part of it even though he graduated 15 years ago. Anyway, for some reason, I had this weird feeling that Azumah might be right about this one.
Had Hester avoided the punter he would have returned one earlier and I thought that was the best chance he'd have.
When he took the third punt to the house I couldn't believe it. That coupled with the bend but don't break defense and inept offense, and it felt like the glory days of 2006.
Maybe we did learn one more thing from this game: when the Bears and Packers play, throw everything you know out the window. How's that for cliche.

Quarterbacks Trump Bears-Packers Rivalry

Chicago sports fans aren't the most forgiving in the world (Steve Bartman, anyone?), but there's a strange aura of redemption floating around the city these days. Not that long ago, I wrote, before the season even started, about how pessimistic I was about this season. Most Bears fans agreed with me.
We heard about how Cutler was going to limit his turnovers, how Mike Martz was going to turn the offense around, and how the defense would return to form. We heard this and saw none of it come to fruition during the preseason. We weren't going to buy into the hype and be fooled for a third straight year.
That is, until the third week of the season.
The city of Chicago has turned into believers once again. A referee's interpretation of a rule earned us a victory against the 0-2 Lions, and a road win against a 0-2 Cowboys team that no one knows what to make of, and all of a sudden, we're legit.
I wouldn't go that far. This Monday night Packers game will go a long way in determining if the Bears can compete for a playoff spot, but it will not make or break their season.
A lot of people are forgetting the Packers have some issues of their own. They just lost running back Ryan Grant for the year, and had a suspect offensive line even before that. Outside of Woodson, their secondary is a liability. Basically, they're overly dependent on their front 7 providing pressure, and Rodgers running for his life to make plays.

I know, Green Bay is a sexy Super Bowl pick early in the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if games later in our schedule (Dolphins, Patriots, Jets) end up being tougher games. How the Bears play against those teams will cement their playoff chances.
Besides the obvious fact that this is the NFL's best rivalry, and a division game between two teams with postseason expectations, this match up just became a whole lot more interesting because of the play of Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers.
I still don't know what to think of Cutler. Is this the year he finally breaks out and takes on a leadership role, or has he simply feasted on two mediocre secondaries to start the year? I will say this. I've always hated Jay Cutler, going back to his Denver days. I hated his body language, I hated the way he quit on his team, and I hated the way he refused to take responsibility for his or the offense's mistakes.
But, to quote myself, "I'm not above rooting for a dousche bag."
Remember when Cutler was traded to the Bears and the way the media was hyping the Rodgers-Cutler match-up? It was supposed to be an epic division battle between two young quarterbacks for the next ten years. This may be the year when comparing them isn't laughable.
In the first two games of the season, I've noticed two things from Cutler that I thought I'd never see.
1) First game against the Lions, and running back Matt Forte makes a spectacular catch in the end zone to put the Bears up 19-14 with 1:32 left in the game. Forte lands awkwardly and stays down for a few minutes. Cutler makes his way down the field and checks on Forte while the rest of the team heads to the bench. Cutler was the only player, along with the training staff there while Forte was being treated. Last season, this doesn't happen.
2) Two things in the Cowboys game. First, Cutler was rushed out of the pocket and knocked down so many times in the first quarter that I expected him to give up and mail it in for the rest of the game. He didn't.
Second, after throwing either his second or third touchdown pass, I think it was his third, he jumps into offensive lineman Frank Omiyale's arms. If Cutler tried to do that last year, I'm pretty sure his lineman would have body slammed him to the ground.
The point being, that we all know Cutler is a highly skilled football player. The big questions about him are his attitude and leadership ability. For the first two games of the season, that stuff doesn't seem to be an issue.
Rodgers, on the other hand, sat behind Favre for three years, didn't complain when Favre skipped camp and announced he was coming back, and took on a leadership role immediately after taking over three season ago. He even wears the same type of chin strap Favre does.
This game has the potential to be the first game of many that pits the division's two best quarterbacks against each other. The Bears and Packers have been playing each other for 89 years, these games need a rivalry within a rivalry.   

My Favorite Sports Hair Part 5 (John Clay)

I haven't updated this series in a long time, and I can't think of a better athlete to usher in its resurrection than Wisconsin running back John Clay. Actually, Clay's hair would fall into the "My Least Favorite Sports Hair" category, but that category doesn't exist, so I put him here. Also, I'm all about positivity. I can't imagine constructing a piece molded around negativity. Just kidding, that piece will probably come next Tuesday.
Anyway, Clay's hair represents the new age athlete. It incorporates a mohawk, symbols shaved into one's head, and unmeasurable amounts of swag.
If there's three things I don't understand its mohawks, the desire to have symbols shaved into your head, and swag. Maybe that's why I just don't get it.
For reference, here's a video of Clay's hair. I couldn't find a picture, but this video actually illustrates it better because you can see both sides.
If you direct your attention to the upper right side of his head, it looks like Clay has laces shaved into his head. I didn't notice this detail before watching video. If those are in fact supposed to be the laces of a football, I can respect this haircut a little more.
My main gripe is with the stars on both sides. Starts to me are a bit feminine. And believe me, the only way a 6'1, 248 pound bruising running back could look feminine is if he has stars shaved into his head. Couldn't Clay have come up with something a little better? Like say Bucky Badger, the Heisman Trophy, or even the Capitol Building.
Come to think of it, those figures might be a little hard shave. My only experience with trying to get something shaved into my head was at age 7 or 8. My entire baseball team was shaving their number into the back of their heads. I was number 8. I asked the hairdresser to shave an 8 and she told me that it would end up looking like two squares on top of each other. Did I want another number? No. I wished I'd had an easy number like 11.
In all seriousness, Clay has continued his outstanding sophomore effort into the early part of this year. Despite sharing carries with Montee Ball and James White, Clay has still managed to surpass 100 yards in each of the Badgers' first three victories. On the year, Clay has amassed 383 yards on 62 carries.
If this pace continues and the Badgers find themselves in the Rose Bowl at the end of the year, Clay will be one of the select few invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City.
Just as exciting, Clay is currently 10th on the Wisconsin all-time rushing leaders list with 2,784 yards. While Ron Dayne's 7,125 is out of the question, if he stays healthy and returns for his senior season, Clay should pass Anthony Davis for second on the all-time list.
Thankfully for us, we're able so see Clay run over opponents with a helmet on. Besides protecting him from concussions and other important things like that, his helmet also covers up that hideous mohawk hybrid.

It's Not "Just" The Carling Cup

For many of the bigger and more successful clubs used to playing in the Champions League, the Carling Cup is merely an exhibition tournament for their younger players. While many feel this cheapens the competition of the tournament, it's hard to argue with a manager that wants to rest his players for the Champions League and Premier League season.
Don't tell Harry Redknapp it's just an exhibition game. He criticized Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for the handling of his roster the last few Carling Cups, and down 1-0 at halftime, substituted the high profile Aaron Lennon and Robbie Keane to start the second half.
Redknapp's substitutions made an immediate impact, as Keane scored in the 49th minute to even the game.
Tottenham has achieved a fair amount of success in the Carling Cup the last three years. They were eliminated in the fifth round last year, lost to Manchester United on penalty kicks two years ago in the championship, and won the Cup three years ago under manager Juande Ramos.
For a Premier League team that faces an uphill battle to qualify for one of the various European tournaments, the Carling Cup provides the only big game atmosphere they will encounter in any particular year. For that reason alone, they deserve a shot to go up against a more successful team that takes the tournament at least semi-seriously.
More importantly, the fans deserve a show. They don't care if the game means anything or not. That's one of the more underestimated qualities of being a fan there is. It doesn't matter the situation or importance, a fan wants to win every game.
Think of this in terms of the NFL preseason. The fans know the point is to get a look at players battling for roster spots. The starters are rusty and just looking to get on the same page. But that doesn't stop the fans from wanting an impressive performance from the starters, as well as a win at the end of the game.
The same logic applies in the Carling Cup, which is why this defeat was so disappointing for Spurs fans. It's not that they lost, it's the way they lost.
Three boneheaded mistakes in extra-time led to three goals. This coming after a hard fought second half to come back and tie the game, despite looking dreadful in the first half.
Two penalties in the box are inexcusable. Especially in extra time, and the first committed before a minute ticked off the clock. The third goal was even worse. While Spurs defender Kyle Naughton was complaining about a foul call, Jack Wilshere took a quick free kick and set up Andrei Arshavin who snuck easily behind Naughton for a goal that officially put the game out of reach.
Tottenham's miscues were not limited to the defensive end. Down 3-1, David Bentley missed a header from seven feet away after receiving a perfect cross. Had he connected and put Spurs within one, the game could have had a different outcome. Instead, it was just another mistake in an extra-time first period that was filled with mistakes.
For the players, it was just the Carling Cup. They still have the Premier and Champions League to concern themselves with.
Don't tell that to the fans who had to witness Samir Nasri put home two penalty kicks and smile his way down the field like his first child was born. Don't tell that to the fans who had to leave early hoping to avoid the Arsenal fans who flooded their stadium with chants and songs, only to be serenaded across North London for the rest of night.
For the fans, it's never just a game. They all mean something.

Too Early For Badger Fans To Panic

While Saturday's 20-19 close call against Arizona State didn't result in a stock market-esque drop in the national rankings, or even worse, a loss, the damage to Wisconsin's reputation is done. Murmurs of being overrated have already surfaced, as well as the usual Big Ten bashing.
We're often caught up in the offseason hype and early season non-conference games to the point that we forget that rankings at this point are meaningless. Yes, meaningless. They're fun to look at and debate about, but right now, number 10 or 20, or unranked means nothing.
Here's my biggest problem with preseason rankings: fans and analysts alike tend to read too much into the early season scores. Let's take the Wisconsin-Arizona State 20-19 game as an example.
Wisconsin came into the game 2-0 and ranked number 11 nationally. Arizona State also came into the game 2-0, but unranked. Both faced inferior opponents in their first two contests.
So essentially both teams were undefeated, beating opponents they were expected to beat. The only difference? A preseason ranking that suggested Wisconsin should win handily.
Many things are taken into account when determining a preseason ranking. Returning players, recruiting class, perceived strength of schedule, etc. But ultimately all of those things are speculative. Preseason rankings are wrong just as often as they are right.
That's the beauty of the regular season. Teams have the chance to prove their worth. I think back to the 2002 National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. They started the year ranked 13th and worked their way into the top 5 after winning their first five games. The Buckeyes won their Big Ten conference games by an average of 12 points, and that includes 28 and 31 point wins over doormats Indiana and Minnesota.

They looked particularly unimpressive late in the season in a 10-6 win over unranked Purdue, and then again in a 23-16 overtime win against unranked Illinois.
Ohio State wasn't given a chance in the National Championship game against Miami (FL). If I recall correctly, their was a 14 point line in that game, the largest ever for the BCS Championship. A lot of that had to do with the fact that Miami was probably the most talented team of the last decade. The other factor was the that Ohio State squeaked by a bunch of "bad" Big Ten teams.
Ohio State didn't blow teams out. They didn't win pretty. For this, they were slapped with the "Overrated" tag for pretty much the entire season. They did finish the season undefeated and went on to beat that Miami team to win the BCS Championship, by the way.
The point being, that Wisconsin fans, pundits, or whoever else has an opinion shouldn't read so far into a "close call" victory against a supposed lesser team. Ohio State had plenty of them.
Similar to the 2002 Buckeyes, Wisconsin's very nature prevents them from blowing out most teams. An ideal drive for their offense is pounding the ball up the middle, sprinkling a few passes in there, and taking eight minutes a drive to score. You're not going to blow teams out or win pretty by running the ball en route to an eight minute drive.
Wisconsin fans should be more concerned about the fact that they were unable to keep up with Arizona State's team speed. Ohio State and Michigan possess similar speed in the skill positions and could potentially run all over a Badger defense that looked flat-footed and slow to react on Saturday.
For now, let's try treating college football like the NFL. A win is a win. When a team loses they will be properly dropped in the rankings. If they win, accept the win and move on to next week, regardless of the margin of victory.
When Big Ten play gets underway, we may very well find out Wisconsin has been overrated all along. By the same regard, maybe Arizona State is underrated.

EPL Week 5 - Spurs vs. Wolves

Friday afternoon, I was sitting in the car waiting to pick up my girlfriend from work. I was parked in a restaurant lot. A blue minivan pulled up and parked in the spot in front and to the left of me. The side door flew open and out jumped an 8-10 year old kid wearing a Spurs jersey.
I got excited in the same way I used to when I saw someone wearing a Bears or Cubs hat in Wisconsin. This marks the first time I'd ever seen someone wearing Tottenham gear.
I wanted to yell to the kid, "Hey little man! Love the shirt. Go Spurs!"
I thought twice about trying to get his attention though. If I know anything about suburban parents, it's that they don't appreciate you calling out to their kid if:
A) They don't know you.
B) You're more than 2 years older than their child.
C) You call their child "Little Man."
D) You're blasting some ignorant rap music and wearing oversized sunglasses, sitting in the same parking spot for the past 15 minutes.
Needless to say, I didn't complement the kid on his jersey. But I did think it was a good omen for Saturday's match. Why did I think it was a good omen? I suppose I don't have a good reason for that.
Spurs were trying to avoid the same Champions League hangover that plagued them in their 1-0 home loss to Wigan two weeks ago. They were also looking for their first home goal and win, if that wasn't enough.
Wolves have acquired the reputation as a dirty team to start the season. They earned three yellows in this game as they aggressively pursued the ball the entire first half. Their defensive tenacity gave Spurs fits and started to frustrate them as they weren't able to push a goal across despite dominating the time of possession.
In typical Spurs fashion, they gave up a late first half goal to Steven Fletcher, nullifying their hard work in the first half.
From that point on, it seemed to be a reincarnation of the Wigan loss. Spurs were held goalless up until the 76th minute when Stephen Ward took down replacement Alan Hutton inside the box. Van der Vaart calmly struck the penalty into the lower left hand side of the net to tie the game.
Pavlyuchenko, another Spurs substitute, came up with the rebound from a Huddlestone shot and scored in the 87th minute. To celebrate, Pavlyuchenko took off his shirt, placed it on the corner flag and held it in the air. Hands down one of the best celebrations I've ever seen, on par with anything TO or Ochocinco has done. In the NFL, that would have been a 15 yard penalty and 50 thousand dollar fine. In the EPL, a yellow card.
Spurs would add one more goal when Hutton cut through two surprised defenders and lofted the ball over goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann to put the game out of reach.
Each player's goal was their first this year during Premier League play.
Next up is the Carling Cup showdown with Arsenal at White Hart Lane. I like to think that I can officially hate Arsenal after this match. Should be a good one. I can't wait to witness the atmosphere. That is, if the online steam cooperates.