Archive for March, 2010

I have been traveling for the past two weeks. This just to let you know I will begin daily writings on my blog beginning this Saturday April 3. Thanks for being patient with me. Go Gunners…

Hey All! Just a quick note on behalf of Bobby Gee. My name is John, and I help Bobby out with the blog. I just wanted everyone to know that Bobby is on a much-needed vacation right now. He will be back to his normal writing routine next week, so make sure to check back!

We miss ya Bobby!

Flamengo stunk the joint out against Universidad de Chile on Wednesday night in the Copa Libertadores. Mengao went down in flames 2-1.

This was a horrible performance by Bruno. He was very nervous in net. Bruno was jumpy. He kept on punching the ball out instead of grabbing it.

Globo Esporte had this to say about Bruno’s net minding. He was great against Vasco on Sunday but stunk on Wednesday night.  Herói no último domingo ao defender dois pênaltis de Dodô no clássico contra o Vasco, o goleiro Bruno falhou feio no gol que deu a vitória ao Universidad de Chile por 2 a 1, em Santiago, na noite desta quarta-feira. É a gangorra do futebol. Um dia em alta, outro em baixa. O goleiro aceitou um chute de Seymour de fora da área e viu a bola passar por baixo do seu corpo. E o Flamengo, que descontou com Rodrigo Alvim, conheceu, no estádio Monumental, a primeira derrota nesta Taça Libertadores.

My grandmother could have done better. She has been dead since 1976.

This led to Universidad de Chile’s goal in the 41^st minute.

Pinto Estrada fired a great crossing ball into the teeth of Flamengo’s defense. This forced Bruno to punch the ball out into the waiting feet of Vargas. Vargas fired the gift into the back of the net.

Us Flamenguistas are down 1-0.O castigo veio aos 42 minutos. Após jogada rápida do Universidad pela direita, Estrada cruzou, Vargas se antecipou a Bruno na primeira trave e tocou de cabeça: 1 a 0. Na comemoração, o atacante tirou a camisa e recebeu o cartão amarelo.

Foi um erro nosso. Eles fizeram um “dois contra um” e jogaram a bola na área. Não tive como fazer nada - explicou o goleiro Bruno no fim do primeiro tempo. 

Eo Flamengo foi para o vestiário com a sensação de que havia complicado uma partida que parecia controlada. Foi uma bobeira. O jogo nem estava tão complicado - completou Léo Moura.  

Mengao scored the equalizer in the 50^thminute off a scramble ball in the front of Universidad de Chile’s net.

Rodrigo Alvim poked the ball into the empty net.

Universidad de Chile hit the match winner in the 52^nd minute.

Phillip Seymour fired a hard shot straight on goal. Bruno swept the ball back into play right in front of the net.

Seymour knocked home the easy rebound winner.

Game, set, and match to Universidad de Chile 2-1.

UOL www.uol.com.brblamed the stupid play on errors and the keeper Bruno-O Flamengo pagou pelos erros na troca de passes e pela noite infeliz dos seus principais jogadores. Com direito a atuação apagada do ‘Império do Amor’ e falha do goleiro Bruno, o Rubro-Negro perdeu por 2 a 1 para o Universidade do Chile, nesta quarta-feira, no Estádio Monumental, em Santiago e deixou escapar também a liderança do Grupo 8 da Taça Libertadores da América.

This was not a great showing by Mengao but this won’t kill our chances of advancing out of the Group stage in the Copa Libertadores.

Universidad de Chile sits atop Group 8 with seven points. Rubro-Negro is in second place with six points.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

We are getting down to nut cutting time in the race for the EPL title. Man U is in the catbird seat with 66 points. Chelsea and Arsenal are tied for second with 64 points apiece however the Blues have a game in hand.

This part of the season is very tricky for the front-runners. This is the time of the season when teams at the lower end of table can come up and bite you in the butt.

Man U, Chelsea, and Arsenal better not have a let down.

This is for all the marbles.

The team that can win on the road and hold serve at home will win the Championship.

Don’t doubt me on this.

We need to come out blazing fire out of our butts and send West Ham home packing with a bad assed spanking big time.

We need the points.

This is not the kind and gentle explanation many folks are used to but this is the simple fact you have to win these suckers.

Kick butt. Take names. And win baby.

It is as simple as that.

Oh yes, one other thing. This is where we separate the pretenders from the contenders.

Arsenal is the real deal.

The biggie happens on Sunday. This is when Liverpool-Man U battle it out at Old Trafford.

The Reds have Man U’s number.

Liverpool has beaten Man U six straight times.

If the Reds beat em this time, this could really put a cramp in the Reds Devils dreams of a four peat.

Arsenal battles West Ham at Emirates on Saturday.

Chelsea has a hot date with Blackburn in the Rovers house in Elwood on Sunday

Chelsea has had big time troubles on the road.

The Blues will play their game in hand against Portsmouth at Pompey’s house-Fratton Park on Wednesday.

When it is all said and done, we have a clear picture how the title race will shake out by Wednesday March 24^th.

I love this time of the year.

This makes my hands sweat.

My brow gets hot with excitement.

Nut cutting time is here.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Boca Juniors reverted to their horrible ways. Los Xeneizes had their heads handed to them by Tigre 3-0.

Carlos Luna hit for the hat trick. He ripped the twines in the 10^th, 43^rd, and 77^th minute.

Boca is really struggling in the Clausura.

With the loss, Los Xeneizes dropped to 17^th place.

Boca has eight points in nine matches.

This stinks big time folks.

River Plate shut out Huracan 2-0.

Huracan’s Ezequiel Nicholas Filippetto made a dumb-dumb play. He fired the ball into his own net in the 2^nd minute to give River Plate a 1-0 lead.

Gustavo Canales added the insurance goal in the 77^th minute.

River Plate has thee wins, three draws, and three losses for 12 points.

Los Millonarios is now in 11^th place.

Milton Caraglio scored the match winner in the 88^th minute to lift Rosario past San Lorenzo 1-0.

Argentinos Juniors Nicolas Pavlovich was camped near the back post. He slipped the ball past the keeper in the 77^th minute.

Racing’s Claudio Yacob missed a PK in the 86^th minute.

Argentinos Juniors keeper Luis Ojeda stone cold stopped him.

This save sent Racing to a 1-0 defeat at the hands Argentinos Juniors.

Independiente defeated Chacarita 1-0. Godoy Cruz doubled up Atletico Tucuman 2-1.

The top of the Clausura looks like this.

Independiente is top dog with 20 points. Godoy is second with 18 points. Banfield and Velez Sarsfield are tied for third place with 15 points each.

Let’s turn our attention to the second leg of the Champions League first round knockout stage.

Internazionale Sameul Eto’o scored the match winner in the 77^th minute to beat Chelsea 1-0.

Samuel Eto’o took it straight to the rack and beat the keeper Ross Turnbull. He beat Turnbull one on one. 

A wicked pass set up this goal from Wesley Sneijder.

It is on to the next round for Jose Mourinho’s side.

When Jose Mourinho was the Blues manager, he never lost a home league game.

Revenge is sweet.

Inter is on to the next round while the Blues are outta here.

CSKA Moscow upset Sevilla 2-1.

CSKA is on to the next round as well.

Aston Villa picked up a huge 2-1 win over Wigan. The difference in the match happened in the 25^th minute.

Wigan’s James McCarthy fired the ball into his own net.

The Latics McCarthy misplayed a no pressure ball and shanked this baby into the back of his own net.

Choke City baby.

Wigan’s Gary Caldwell evened this baby up two minutes later (27^th minute) however Villa’s James Milner hit the winner 63^rd minute.

The win moves Aston Villa into seventh place with 49 points in 28 games.

The race for the final Champions League spot looks like this.

Tottenham has 52 points in 28 matches. Liverpool is in fifth place with 51 points in 30 games. City is in sixth place 50 points in 28 matches.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Bruno saved Flamenguistas bacon. Flamengo barely got by Vasco 1-0.

Superman stopped Dodo twice from finding the back of the net on PK’s in the 36^th and 66^th minutes.

Dois pênaltis para o Vasco. Dodô na bola. E Bruno defendeu ambos. O atacante vascaíno saiu de campo vaiado e, em má fase, com um futuro nada animador na Colina. Mas o clássico para o outro camisa 10 teve um gosto diferente, de reconciliação. Adriano não jogou bem, tocou pouco na bola. Mas mostrou para o cruzmaltino como se faz. O Imperador não desperdiçou o pênalti mal marcado pelo árbitro Péricles Bassols a favor do Flamengo. E garantiu a vitória do Rubro-Negro por 1 a 0, neste domingo, no Maracanã, pela quarta rodada da Taça Rio, o segundo turno do Campeonato Carioca.

Yes, the basket counts, and a foul.

Adriano scored on a non-existent penalty in the 51^st minute.

Vinicius Pacheco took it to the rack. Pacheco and Vasco keeper Fernando Prass collided. It should have been no harm no foul. The ref said no way Jose.

This was the difference in the match.

Globo Esporte http://globoesporte.globo.com/  had this to say about the penalty that led to the only score of the match-  Aos quatro minutos, em um contra-ataque, Vinícius Pacheco arrancou com a bola e tocou na saída de Fernando Prass, que defendeu com os pés. Mas o árbitro Péricles Bassols marcou, de forma equivocada, pênalti no choque do goleiro vascaíno com o meia rubro-negro. Fernando Prass ficou inconformado com a marcação. Mas não teve jeito.

Adriano foi para a cobrança. E ao contrário de Dodô bateu bem. Goleiro para um lado, bola entrando carinhosamente no outro. Flamengo 1 a 0. Na comemoração, o Imperador tirou a camisa e mostrou uma mensagem: “Que Deus perdoe essas pessoas ruins”. O atacante recebeu cartão amarelo.

This was a huge win for Flamengo.

Yes, we played like crap but we picked up the all-important “W”.

UOL www.uol.com.br reported that this match between Gigante da Colina and Mengao was a showdown between Dodo and Adriano. UOL said Adriano was the winner. Flamengo e Vasco entraram em campo para tentar fazer com que seus principais jogadores – Adriano e Dodô, respectivamente, isolassem a má fase. Quem levou a melhor foi o Imperador que, mesmo sem ter uma atuação de encher os olhos, marcou de pênalti o gol do triunfo rubro-negro por 1 a 0 nesta chuvosa noite deste domingo no Maracanã, pelo Estadual do Rio. Pior para Dodô, que perdeu dois pênaltis, ampliou o momento turbulento e viu o goleiro flamenguista Bruno deixar o campo consagrado.

Liverpool took care of business at Anfield. The Reds demolished lowly Portsmouth 4-1. Fernando Torres hit the sweet spot twice. He nailed two winners in the 26^th and 77^th minutes.

This was a huge win for the Reds.

Liverpool is now squarely back in the race for the final Champions League spot.

Tottenham is in fourth place with 52 points in 29 matches. Liverpool is in fifth spot with 51 points in 30 games.

City is in sixth place with 50 points in 28 matches.  

This is it from the far side.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Man U held serve at Old Trafford. The Red Devils thrashed Fulham 3-0. The Rooney man hit the daily double.

He ripped the twines in the 46^th and 84^th minute.

Rooney has 32 goals on season. Rooney is ten goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s record setting 42 goals.

There are eight matches left. 

Dimitar Berbatov added a strike in the 89^th minute for some more icing on the cake.

Man U leap fogged into first place with the EPL with the win.

The mighty men from Old Trafford had numerous opportunities to find the back of the net but the Red Devils wasted them

Berbatov was the main culprit.

The return of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic has stopped the leaky Man U defense.

The Man U “D” is at full strength for the first time all season.

Nani had a great match as well.

He is the set up man.

Nani fired a dead on pass to Rooney to set up the first goal.

Man U has 66 points. Chelsea and Arsenal both have 64 points.

The race is one.

It sure looks like the title race will come down to the last match of the season.

Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal are firing on all cylinders.

I love it.

Man City may have saved their Champions League aspirations. City fell behind in 9^th minute when Sunderland’s Kenwyne Jones ripped the twines.

City fought back to salvage a tie in the 90^th minute.

Adam Johnson lofted a brilliant shot into the far left post to allow City to escape with a one all tie.

Wow. What a great match,

Way to snatch a tie from the jaws of victory.

The race for the final Champions League spot shakes out this way.

Tottenham is in fourth place with 52 points.

City is in fifth place with 50 points.

Liverpool is in sixth place with 48 points.

The Reds have a hot date on Monday with Pompey.

Aston Villa is in seventh place with 46 points.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Arsenal did what we needed them to do. The Gunners picked up a huge road win.

Andre Arshavin put us ahead in the 14^th minute. Arshavin plowed his way through the Tigers “D”. He muscled a shot right into the teeth of the left corner to give us 1-0 lead.

Yes, the Gunners did struggle.

We had a hard time with the tight Hull City “D”.

Hull City picked up the equalizer in 28^th minute. 

Sol Campbell made a stupid challenge on Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Jimmy Bullard nailed the PK to level this sucker up at one all.

The Gunners just couldn’t quite get the same rhythm and fluid play that we displayed in the demolition of FC Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Hull City’s George Boateng was given the heave-hoe in the 45^th minute.

We had the advantage but Arsenal couldn’t strike for pay dirt until the waning moments of the match.

Nicklas Bendtner struck for gold in the 90^th minute to give us the three points.

Whew, that was close.

Denilson fired a wicked shot on goal from thirty yards out. The Tigers keeper Boaz Myhill did his best to keep the shot out of the goal. Shot. Rebound. Score. Bendtner.

Three points for us.

Yes, sir re Bob.

We were not at our best but this just shows how tough the guys are. Arsenal kept at it until we found a way to win.

This is what championship teams do.

Just win bay.

Chelsea started out slow before torching West Ham 4-1.

Didier Drogba hit for the daily double.

Alex led off the hit parade in the 16^th minute.

Florent Malouda hit the back of the net in the 77^th minute.

Tottenham picked a huge 3-1 home win over Blackburn.

Roman Pavlyuchenko struck twice in the 55^th and 85^th minutes to lead Spurs to the win.

Jermain Defoe started Tottenham off on the right foot with a dagger to the heart in the 45^th minute.

He one timed a header pass from mate Vedran Corluka.

Corluka’s header went through the crease to the eagerly awaiting Defoe.

Defoe was camped at the right post.

Birmingham fell behind to Everton 2-0 before rallying for a two all draw.

Cameron Jerome drew Blues close with a strike in the 26^th minute.

Craig Gardner scored his first Birmingham goal in the 51^st minute to give Blues a hard earned draw.

Stoke City and Aston Villa kissed their sister nil-nil.

Wolves defeated Burnley 2-1.

The race for the top spot looks like this.

Chelsea is in the catbird seat with 42 points. Arsenal is second with 42 points as well.

Chelsea has a plus 42 while we have a plus 38. Man U is in third place with 63 points.

The Red Devils and Fulham hook at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Blues have a game in hand.

Tottenham is in fourth place with 52 points.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Arsenal, Chelsea, and Man U are in the cross hairs. Arsenal has a hot date with Hull City on Saturday. We are on the road at Kingston Stadium.

The young cats are going to have to step up to the plate and knock it outta the park again.

We cannot afford to have a let down against the Tigers.

Hull City is fighting not to get the heave-hoe so they will be a dangerous foe especially in their house.

Once again, Andre Arshavin, Samir Nasri, and company needs to play lights out.

Three points are a must.

Wounded foes are very dangerous.

Chelsea has a home date with West Ham. This is a must win for the Blues. If Chelsea stumbles and falls, again at home this just might kill their title hopes.

What really might hurt Chelsea is the absence of keeper Petr Cech. Cech is out with a calf strain.

Ouch, that hurts.

Manchester United entertains Fulham at Old Trafford. The Red Devils are now firing on all cylinders. The Wayne man has stepped his game up a notch.

Rooney is taking names and then kicking butt.

Matches to watch are Tottenham-Blackburn, Stoke City-Aston Villa, and Birmingham-Everton.

Man U is atop the table with 63 points. Chelsea is second with 61 and Arsenal is third with 61. We are in third due to a plus 37-goal difference compared with Chelsea’s plus 39.

Let’s remember that Chelsea has a game in hand.

The race for the final Champions League is hot and heavy. Tottenham is in the catbird seat with 49 points. City has 39 points as well but the Spurs are a plus 23 while Man City is a plus 17.

Liverpool has 48 points.

Aston Villa has 45 and Birmingham has 43.

Manchester City battles Sunderland on Sunday.

Liverpool will try and be a rude host when Portsmouth comes a calling.

Let the games begin.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Mengao took care of business in Caracas, Venezuela on Wednesday night. Flamengo took it to the home side and won going away 3-1 in the Copa Libertadores.

Vagner Love continued his torrid scoring pace.

Love hit the daily double.

Rubro-Negro’s first goal was the result of a penalty. Leonardo Moura made a great run into the box. He fired a wicked pass to Petkovic. The ball nipped the hand of Caracas defender Romero.

Magic presto Mengao has a gift.

Love nailed the PK in the 35^th minute to give us a 1-0 lead.

Caracas tied this baby up in the 65^th minute.

Castellin whipped a pass to mate Alvaro. Alvaro flat out beat Bruno to level the match at one all.

Flamengo pressed the attack.

Mengao was rewarded in the 79^th minute.

Vagner Love took it straight to the rack. He fired a rocket that hit the crossbar. The shot went ker plunk into the back of the net.

Mengao was up 2-1.

Rubro-Negro put this puppy away in the 93^rd minute.

Kleberson stole the ball in the Caracas end of the pitch. He whipped a pass to Rodrigo Alvirn.

Alvirn nailed this gimmie to put Caracas out of their misery.

We now are atop Group 8 with six points.

Yes, this was a much-needed win for Mengao in Caracas’s house.

Mengao entered this match with a lot of crazy stuff happening. Adriano had to miss this match because he and his fiancé are fighting.

Besides that, The Emperor is out of shape.

UOL www.uol.com.br had this to say- O Flamengo entrou em campo nesta quarta-feira, contra o Caracas, na Venezuela, sabendo que somente uma vitória faria com que a crise na Gávea fosse amenizada após a polêmica em torno de Adriano na última semana. Mesmo pressionado e com um a menos durante boa parte do segundo tempo, o time se superou e, sob a batuta de Vagner Love, autor de dois gols, venceu mais uma sem o Imperador, desta vez por 3 a 1.

Without Adriano head man Andrade used Love as his lone striker. Petkovic was moved into the midfield. Sem o astro, o técnico Andrade optou por deixar apenas Vagner Love no ataque e voltou a escalar Petkovic como titular. Desde o Fla-Flu do dia 31 de janeiro, o qual foi substituído no intervalo e abandonou o estádio, o sérvio não iniciava um jogo.

Mengao defender Toro was sent to the sin bin for rough play in the 53^rd minute. This could have cost Mengao the match but the guys sucked it up and powered through being a man down to take the win.

Globo Esporte http://globoesporte.globo.com/ had this to say- O Flamengo conseguiu uma vitória heroica sobre o Caracas, nesta quarta-feira, na Venezuela, pela Taça Libertadores, que serviu para afastar a crise do “caso Chatuba”, que tomou conta da Gávea nos últimos dias. Mesmo sem Adriano, o time venceu por 3 a 1, e o segundo tempo foi emocionante. O Rubro-Negro teve um jogador a menos desde os minutos iniciais – Toró recebeu o cartão vermelho. Vagner Love fez dois gols, e Rodrigo Alvim, o terceiro. Castellín marcou o da equipe da casa.

Two bad things happened to Mengao. First Willams was lost due to an injury and then Toro was sent off for his second yellow card. The second card was an ugly foul. The ref had to send him bye-bye.

A partir daí, dois fatos inesperados. O primeiro aconteceu quando Fernando sentiu um problema muscular e teve de deixar o campo. Quando o Flamengo estava com um a menos, Gabriel Cichero deu um drible entre as pernas de Toró, que fez falta feia, recebeu o segundo amarelo e foi expulso. Em dois minutos, Andrade ficou sem seus dois volantes de marcação. O jeito foi improvisar Rodrigo Alvim, que substituiu Fernando.

Not a pretty win but us Flamengistas will take it.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/