Beach Soccer World Cup Update!!

The Beach Soccer World Cup rolls on and now the four left are Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil. And that's an awesome picture of Spain's Amarelle with a bicycle kick.

Saturday the semifinals will be played. Spain vs. Italy and Portugal vs. Brazil. I'll keep my eyes on this for all of you guys. Go Spain!

Beach Soccer World Cup

Going on right now in Marseille, France is the 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. I wasn't even aware of this event until a few days ago, and although it merits very little attention in the American sports media I thought I'd highlight it a little bit.

The group play stages are over now and the stage is set for the quarterfinals. Portugal will face Uruguay, Brazil will take on Russia, France will battle Italy, and Spain will play Argentina. Like the European Championships in June, each of these teams has advanced through their group of four teams, claiming one of the top two spots in the group and is now in the quarterfinals.

Beach soccer differs from normal soccer in that there are only five players on the field for both teams, and the field is obviously much smaller. Also no footwear is worn, although players may use elastic bindings to protect their feet.

As far as I can tell there are normally many more goals scored in beach soccer and some of them are quite spectacular. So if you get the chance, swing by fifa.com and check out some of the beach soccer world cup highlights and root for your favorite team to triumph and claim the title. Go Spain!

Random Musings on 7.21.08

-The Red Sox have gotten off to a horrible start after the All-Star break. After getting swept by the Angels they continue on the West Coast facing the Mariners for a three game stretch. This series means a lot for the Sox. If they can't take at least two of three from the Mariners, some serious questions should probably be asked, and they are already to start popping up now. I know that might sound a little ominous but the Yankees are gaining steam and now actually look like the team to be frightened of, not the Rays. Hopefully with Papi coming back soon the Sox will start playing great baseball again.

-Manny, can you please stop trying to sabotage the Red Sox season? Keep your mouth shut and stop worrying about whether or not you are going to make 15 or 20 million next year. I am so sick of all these professional sports players complaining about not making enough money or worrying about whether or not they are going to get paid well as a free agent. It happens every year with the NFL rookies, and with free agents. You guys make so much money, and if you invest it wisely you don't need any more! You never hear about the guys that are on the lower end of the payscale complaining because they are happy to be making money playing sports!

-The Celtics resigned both Eddie House and Tony Allen to two-year contracts today. Well done Celtics, I applaud the move. Both House and Allen are merely bench players, but they are both very solid players. Also, Allen appears to be recovering from his knee injury and if he is completely healed he is going to be a very solid player next year. Obviously, losing Posey is a blow but thankfully the Celtics management went out and didn't let House or Allen go the same way. Let's hope rookie J.R. Giddens can fill the spot Posey left, and if he can then the Celtics are in great shape to repeat.

-In NFL news, Jason Taylor finally left Miami and is headed to play for the Washington Redskins. He's losing a lot in terms of weather, but gaining the chance to be a team that has a legitimate shot at the playoffs. He will make that defense all the better and I wish him all the luck.

That's it for today. Go Sox!

Random Musings on 7.17.08

-Red Sox fans rejoice, David "Big Papi" Ortiz is finally back on the road to recovery and is doing some rehab starts in Pawtucket for the Paw Sox. Hopefully this will finally put to an end all the nonsense about signing Barry Bonds. I would not have been very happy with the Sox if they had decided to bring in an aging, scandal ridden player like Bonds, so I'm glad that Papi will soon be back in the lineup. Not only does he bring his bat back, but his big personality and charisma as well, which was sorely missed when he was out. Welcome back Big Papi!

-In other baseball news, the Yankees have reached a tentative agreement with Richie Sexson, according to ESPN. The Yankees really love those aging power hitters don't they? I'll give them credit, Giambi is doing pretty well this year, but the last thing the Yankees need is a 33 year old first baseman who is batting under .200. The Yankees biggest problem is that they have no young talent, except a few decent pitchers. When is the last time they brought a position player up from the minors who has had a huge impact? Certainly not within the past couple years. Maybe they have the talent, but they better hope it matures soon or their team is going to keel over and die. Players like Jeter and Posada aren't getting any younger and it's starting to show. At least they didn't trade any young prospects for Sexson, but that is a small victory in a relatively stupid signing.

-In a smart free agent signing the New Orleans Hornets picked up Celtics bench player James Posey with a 25 million four-year deal. This makes the Hornets, in my opinion, one of the best two teams in the West easily. They might be the best actually. They have a young core of guys, and Chris Paul is just going to get better. Add the experience and defensive intensity of Posey to the mix and they have a great shot at beating the aging Spurs and Lakers, who really aren't as good as people think.

This leaves the Celtics in an interesting spot. Clearly they didn't want to give Posey that long of a contract for that amount of money, and I don't blame them. Posey is getting a little older and a four-year deal is a long one. There isn't a ton of options for them in free agency, at least not in the role Posey played in the championship run. One could speculate they might try to lure Ron Artest away from the Kings, but I don't think they will go that way. I think move one for the Celts should be to resign Eddie House quickly, and then try to get rookie J.R. Giddens up to speed as quickly as possible and maybe have him ready by next year's hopeful championship run.

-In other sport news, I am quickly becoming aware of how big soccer is in the world. After watching the Euro Cup and cheering Spain on to the championship, I bought a David Villa jersey, and I've already gotten a slew of comments about the shirt itself and soccer. These range from compliments to how nice it is to a man yelling, "No Espana, Italia!" at me in the mall. Just today in Starbucks I got in a conversation with a man about La Liga(The Spanish Club Soccer League) just because I had the jersey on. Clearly soccer has the most international appeal of any sport, and I look forward to getting to know more about it.

The All Star Game

Here are a few facts and musings from last night's All Star Game.

-The AL has now won 12 straight All Star Games(not counting the tie in 2002), and the disparity between the two leagues is starting to look a lot like the difference between the AFC and NFC in the NFL.

-Out of the previous twelve seasons the AL has won 7 of the 12 World Series, and ever since the game counted for home field advantage, only the Cardinals have managed to win a championship for the NL.

-J.D. Drew was the game MVP and is finally starting to look like what the Red Sox paid a lot of money for. Great job J.D.!

-This All Star Game marks the last one in Yankee Stadium's storied past, and its 15 innings will certainly be remembered. Way to send the Stadium out in style boys!

-This All Star Game reminded me of how much I really dislike Yankee fans. When Papelbon came out to pitch in the eighth the fans began to chant "overrated." Have some class Yankee fans. Yes, Paps is nowhere close to the stature of Mariano, and what he said about wanting to close the game was stupid, but who has 2 of the last 4 World Series rings? Papelbon and the Sox.

-Speaking of Mariano Rivera, here is a baseball player that deserves all the accolades and praise given to him. A stand up guy on and off the field, he embodies what the Yankees try to stand for. Probably the best closer of all time and still pitching incredibly well, he deserved to come out in the ninth for the Yankee fans and also for the great job he has done for baseball. I tip my cap to you Mr. Rivera.

-Finally, I think that the MLB deserves props for making their All Star Game mean something. Sure the NBA All Star Game is fun and filled with awesome dunks and great players which merits it a little excitement, but the Pro Bowl is one of the most boring spectacles in all of sports. What baseball has done by making the game worth home field advantage in the World Series is finally make an All Star Game actually fun to watch and competitive.

Dear Mr. Favre

Dear Brett,

I am writing this letter to you to ask you to please stop making this attempt to come out of retirement. I've always respected you as a great player of the game, and even though I really don't like the Packers you are one of the game's best. Please stop tarnishing your reputation with this drawn-out nonsense about coming out of retirement. Just quit. Let Aaron Rodgers have his chance, the poor guy has already been through enough having to play in Green Bay behind the legend you've created. Let him have a chance to step out from the shadow of Mr. Favre.

I don't care if the Packer's organization pushed you into retirement, you were the one who ultimately made the decision to leave the game. You had your teary eyed press conference, fraught with emotion, and you should have left your final image as that. Now all I hear about everyday on ESPN is your attempted comeback and the drama with the Packers organization and how they want to move on. I think I speak for mostly everyone in the country when I say I'm tired of it.

And do I need to remind you of your seasons before last year? They weren't very good. I know you have the "itch" to play, but there is absolutely no guarantee that this year is going to be as good as the last, especially if you having been training hard in the off-season. You know, because you were retired and all that.

So Mr. Favre, please stop this and retire as a Packer as you should. Don't be Jerry Rice or Joe Montana. End your career with the team you began with and led to many years of success and excitement. Your reputation as a great quarterback is already cemented. Now cement your reputation as a man of character and a leader and please retire for good.

Sincerely,
Carl