The Problem With David

If David and Goliath had fought a series of 16, or 38, or 82, or 162 contests, do you really think David would have won every time?

Here's the problem with sports and the question of parity--the little guys can pull off a Cinderella moment in a one-off encounter or a short run through the NCAA tournaments, but over the course of the season, the big guys tend to win out. Look at soccer, for example. Teams like Manchester City, the nouveau riche of the Premier League, have such depth of talent that they can withstand the rigors of a long season, letting stars rest, and can overcome red card suspensions or injuries more easily than smaller clubs. It isn't that they are inherently better as a club, or at least that is not the only reason; they also have more resources.

The resource question is important. Newcastle United started off the season brilliantly, but are now running into some trouble. They lost to Man City three weeks ago, which was not unexpected, then managed to secure a controversial draw with Man United. Last week, fickle fate attacked. Chelsea's defender David Luiz should have been sent off in the fourth minute for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, but escaped with a yellow card. That could have changed the entire match, and Chelsea went on to win 3-0. Even worse, Newcastle's star defender Steven Taylor was lost for the year. The media implied that now Newcastle will have to scramble for points the rest of the way to ensure safety, that being the only realistic option.

Today's match indicated this might be the case. Traveling to Norwich, Newcastle were thumped 4-2, having Dan Gosling sent off for a red card. I'm not too familiar with Norwich, but I would say that if Newcastle had serious ambitions of qualifying for Europe this year, Norwich is exactly the sort of team that Newcastle must beat.

It's funny how quickly results can turn. The small teams, the Cinderella stories, tend to fade away over the course of a long season. I was reading World Soccer the other night, in which articles were raving about the surprising starts of promoted Novara in the Italian Serie A and Real Betis and Levante in Spain's La Liga. I do get the magazine a bit late, as it comes all the way from England. This was the magazine on sale in October that I got in November. After reading the articles, I checked the standings, and all three teams had slipped wayyy down the tables. And look at the story of Blackpool last year in the Premier League: they came racing out of the gates as the darlings of the media, playing attractive soccer and getting some great results. But then, things started to not go their way, and they faded, and they ended up with relegation back to the lower division and lost their star Charlie Adam to Liverpool.

The Cinderella teams in the short tournaments become the Flavor of the Week in a long season. Big teams that start slowly--such as Arsenal this season--do recover. Dust tends to settle and cream rises to the top, which is the problem at the heart of the question of competitive parity: there is too much dust, not enough cream to go around. Any chef will tell you it is crucial to get the dust-to-cream ratio just right.

How do you ensure parity without relying too much on artificial restrictions? That's a problem that none of the major professional sports have really figured out once and for all. Salary caps help, so the NFL is ahead of a lot of the others, I would say. Baseball, for instance. Small-market teams benefit from revenue sharing, but that doesn't mean they can or will spend money, and it isn't entirely clear how legitimate some of the claims of necessary frugality from teams like the Pirates and the Marlins really are, especially in light of the Marlins splashing around cash on free agents this off-season like a kid doing a cannonball into a pool. And then you have the Angels owner, Arte Moreno, attacking the Yankees and Red Sox for doling out massive contracts, only to turn around and spend $250 million to lure Albert Pujols away from St. Louis. And in Spain, it never feels like there is a genuine chance for anyone other than Barcelona or Real Madrid to win the championship. The last team to do so was Valencia in the 2003-2004 season, which in the age of Twitter is so long ago that, realistically, it never happened. Is there a solution?

Michel Platini's Financial Fair Play movement seems a good first step to prevent the biggest clubs from taking on massive, destabilizing debt to outspend all comers and monopolize the best talent. There are loopholes, and we will have to wait to see how this works, but I like it in theory. Of course, just because a team is spending within its' means doesn't ensure parity, as some teams are meaner than others. I mean, they have more means than other teams.

Maybe this is just evolution, survival of the fitter, in terms of competition for resources. Maybe this is just a by-product of free-market capitalism or some other similar economic terms. Is the question of fairness in sports simply a myth? We talk about how there is always hope for any team at the start of the season, but it doesn't seem realistic. Without hope, what's the point of playing the games?

Of course, there would be no point, because, yes, things can happen that are unexpected. The Giants were not expected to win the World Series in 2010, and the Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox all failed to win it last year.

I would hope for more idealism in sports, even in the financial side. I know it is a business, but I would hope that results in sports would be primarily based on more than the bottom line. I think this is why I would much rather the 49ers stayed in SF, built a new stadium in Hunter's Point--which could attract business and jobs to that area--rather than fleeing to the suburban comforts of Santa Clara and a parking lot next to the Great America theme park. Spread the joy and resources, I tell you, even if Santa Clara can offer you more revenue. Santa Clara and Silicon Valley have a lot of resources as it is. But that's not going to happen. The Niners will go to Silicon Valley, and when they do, I'm done with them. Not that they would care.

The reality is that life isn't fair, so maybe sports don't have to be entirely fair either, even if they are supposed to be a sublimation for our frustrations with the unfairness of life. To paraphrase Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes, not John Calvin), the world seems to rarely be unfair in our favor. Still, just because reality is unfair, that is no reason not to try leveling the pitch for all parties. I just have no idea how to do so.

When Business And Sports Collide

Some days, the news delivers all sorts of sports gold. Yesterday and today were just like that, and fittingly for a blog that starts with a mention of gold, I will write about the intersection of sports and business.

1) One of the latest Twitter scandals comes to us from Ohio University--note this is NOT Ohio State University, but the other one. Apparently the punter for Ohio University got into so much hot water over a derogatory remark about Idaho that he canceled his Twitter account. I'm not going to argue whether that is appropriate or not, given that derogatory remarks about Idaho/North Dakota constituted the basis for an entire system of humor in Montana. The lesson I learned from this story is that there is apparently a Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, which means there is a new champion of the Most Ludicrous Name For A College Bowl Game contest.

I also find it funny, yet all too perfectly appropriate, that this is the bowl game that used to be the Humanitarian Bowl. There is, after all, less profit in humanitarianism than there is in potatoes.

2) The NHL is considering realignment of the league. Realignment is always kind of odd. In baseball, for instance: the Brewers moving to the National League? I'm only now accepting that, and I dread trying to adjust to the Astros playing in the AL West.

For the NHL, certain realignment decisions would make sense. For instance, the Winnipeg Jets are currently playing in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division, which only makes sense when you recall that this incarnation of the Jets was formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers until this season. Realignment makes a lot of sense, commercially, in that it can create more logical rivalries if done right. Rivalries equal money.

There are many other factors in deciding what teams go where; teams that have to travel great distances currently will be in favor; other teams will resent the extra travel and extra expense if they must travel further. A lot will also depend on if the Phoenix Coyotes move to Quebec, which would be great! Much as I missed the name Winnipeg Jets--because that is a name that just screams hockey--I also miss the Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers, for no other reason than that they were teams in the league when I was first paying attention to sports, and I never authorized any changes.

Not that I pay much attention to hockey. It's too hard to follow the puck on TV. Still, I'll be interested to see how this plays out.

The NHL also seems to be heading for a possible collective bargaining showdown, based on a report in Forbes magazine arguing that the NHL needs to find a balance of revenue sharing between players and owners similar to the recent NBA agreement that reduced revenues going to players/employees. You know when Forbes is writing about sports, it's not writing about the sport side of sports.

If there is a protracted discussion on this, I hope the NHL learns the lessons the NBA should also learn; if there is a strike, a lot of us won't care. A good way to proactively prevent an exodus? Restore the Nordiques and the Whalers, and get rid of the Nashville team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and any of the other bland teams I can never remember because they are newfangled corporate franchises, not rooted in a history dating back at least as far as my childhood.

Because it's all about me, even when I don't watch the NHL regularly.

3) On a more somber note, in discussing the collective bargaining issue, I find it interesting--and sad--that the New York Times featured in the same paper the first in a three part series on an NHL enforcer who died of an overdose recently, apparently the victim of addictions that arose from a career based on fighting. Fighting is a part of the business of hockey. It draws in fans. It's not part of the sport. It's the 'entertainment' side that appeals to a different portion of the mind. And it's another reason I've never been drawn to hockey too much, nor MMA. To make a career out of sacrificing your body, that's a hard thing, though not unknown in the broader society. Look at coal miners.

It's stories like these that transform one's perception of sports from the mythical purity of history to the business side of the game. Is it even possible anymore to really lose one's self in the game any more without being reminded of the other aspects?

Geometry Of Imperfection

Contrary to the ranting beliefs of certain xenophobes, you don't have to be sick to enjoy watching soccer, but it can help. I'm recovering from a little head cold, which puts me in the mellow, contemplative sort of mood that allows me to thoroughly enjoy the Fulham-Liverpool match, even though there is no score at the half.

The question of geometry suffuses the entire match. John Arne Riise was a star with Liverpool, and now he is back in England with Fulham--symmetry. Give-and-go passes define invisible triangles, and attempted through balls are all about finding the right angle to create an intersection of the pass and the striker.

Knowing where someone is trying to play the ball when pulling it back from the end line is great fun, and even when a ball goes horribly awry, that still elicits a "Woah" of reaction as the ball goes sailing directly into the side advertising boards.

The pace of the Premier League is still so much faster than Major League Soccer. I also compare this to the College Cup, where the Stanford women just beat Duke. I got to see the game on ESPN3.com, and the soccer was just as pleasing to the eye, the same strategy, the same overlapping runs and working to unlock the defense, the same chess match as in Liverpool-Fulham, but at a slower pace.

Do you prefer watching professional or college sports? Do you prefer watching men or women? In soccer, other than goals, what are your favorite elements to see during the match?

The Goal Line

So, for many years, it has been rumored the 49ers would vacate Candlestick Park, and San Francisco in general, for the more suburban climes of Santa Clara. Sure, Santa Clara is fine for the Niners to use as a corporate headquarters and practice facility, but Santa Clara 49ers is almost as much of an abomination as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

In other words, I don't want the 49ers to move. The fact that I live in Santa Cruz and the Niners would actually be closer to me doesn't hold water, because I don't actually want to attend a game. I just want them to stay in San Francisco, since I grew up with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and their companions.

It looks more and more likely that the Niners will leave San Francisco. A ballot initiative, despite controversy, was passed in Santa Clara to allow the use of public funds for constructing a stadium, and the newspapers have reported that new private sources have been secured, completing the amount required. The thing that gives me hope it still won't happen is that a consultant for the project said, "It's like first and goal from the 9 yard line. We think we're going to score from here." I read that right before the Niners had first and goal from the five after a fumble, and had to settle for a field goal. Thus, my hope. The Niners have forgotten how to score touchdowns. Vernon Davis dropped a perfect pass in the end zone.

We are still up 9-0 so far against St. Louis, in a game where a tie or a win would clinch the division for us, but we haven't put the ball in the end zone. It doesn't bode well for us, how many times the offense has not finished in the end zone over the last few weeks.

But sports are full of fickle things, such as fortune. Look at Newcastle United: last week they benefited from a controversial penalty kick; yesterday, the referee failed to red card a Chelsea defender in the fourth minute, and Chelsea went on to win 3-0. Today is a possible clinching win for a first playoff birth for SF since 2002, but it has already seen Patrick Willis leave the game with a possible hamstring injury.

The Niners leaving San Francisco for Santa Clara would be another fickle thing. They would have to change their name, I think, because to say you represent San Francisco, but you actually play in Santa Clara, would be hypocritical, because you would be cashing in on the cachet of the name San Francisco 49ers.

Would this be truly fickle? Does it matter? I think it does, but I could be biased. Do you think that teams that relocate for the purposes of a fancier new stadium are cynically rejecting the emotional ties to a city for the sake of decisions that may be good for business?

I guess the point is the goal. Are the teams legitimately looking for a better facility to improve their chances for a championship? But if in doing so, they are turning their back on the community that has housed them for 50 years, are they selling their soul?

I say yes. What do you say?

Dear NBA: Who Are You Again?

Oh yeah. There is a professional basketball league above the D-League and the CBA in this country. I had forgotten.

Well, I hadn't really forgotten. It's hard to forget with all the coverage about a lack of progress in negotiations between the NBA players and owners. There are rumors of players playing abroad--and sometimes more than rumors: Deron Williams of the Jazz is playing in Turkey and former St. Mary's star and Portland guard Patty Mills just signed to play in China. Once again, the American consumer and worker--in the form of fans and ticket office employees, concessionaires, etc--are brought face to face with the scourge of outsourcing. At least in this case, the owners of the businesses are not profiting from the outsourcing.

But I have kind of forgotten about the NBA, which I don't think is going to be an uncommon response. Last year, I was saying to Vaughn that I would really like to check out a Golden State Warriors game, since they play right there in Oakland next to a Bart station. This year, until an article in today's paper, I had completely forgotten whom the Warriors drafted in the most recent draft--for the record, they drafted Klay Thompson and Jeremy Tyler. I had forgotten that the new owners fired Keith Smart and hired Mark Jackson.

So many questions that could be answered, but won't be until if and when the players and owners decide that yes, they WOULD like to make a living from a game: did the Warriors make the Smart choice in changing coaches? Will Coach Jackson make his Mark in the Bay Area?

Better hurry up, NBA, before we decide we just don't care anymore. More specifically, take this as a warning that we may soon no longer care enough to offer warnings like this one.

Thoughts? Opinions? Anyone care to guess whether the NBA has a season this year? And if the NBA does have a season and no one cares enough to watch, does it make a sound?

In Search Of More Meaningful Meaningless Sports Cliches

Have you noticed that sports cliches are just too easy to mock these days? It's now boring to point out the physical impossibility of giving 110%, or the irrelevance of saying "there is no i in team"--although there is an i in win, and me in team if you jumble the letters.

It's time for some new cliches, or at least the recognition of some less-obvious cliches that require a little more creativity to ridicule.

Let's start with the category with more positive lexicographical associations. For a new cliche, I would suggest something along the lines of "it's not over until the last vuvuzela is banned from the stadium and trampled underneath a herd of rampaging elephants." This would be a good choice for a couple reasons: 1) we all found out about vuvuzelas during the 2010 World Cup and could all get behind a policy of trampling the damned things; and 2) it's culturally accurate, as vuvuzelas and elephants can both be found in South Africa.

As for some more subtle, newly discovered cliches, how about this? My friend, in discussing the Green Bay Packers, said that their defense "is designed to play with the lead." As opposed to all the defenses that only feel comfortable after giving up a touchdown or two, I noted. My friend replied with an obfuscatory, octopus-like cloud of analysis that was no doubt accurate, but my response was funnier, so I'm declaring myself the winner of that little debate.

Or then in today's paper, I read about a volleyball player who saved the day "with ice in her veins." Is it just me, or would that be very bad for the circulation? In which case, wouldn't ice in one's veins be detrimental to one's athletic performance?

Thoughts? Comments? Clever dissections of superficially-impressive-but-ultimately-vapid sports metaphors and chestnuts?

A Stadium By Any Other Name

There is headline news on www.soccernet.com about Newcastle United's decision to drop the historic "St. James' Park" from the name of the stadium, naming it instead the Sports Direct Arena. I know, I know; Sports Direct is a mammoth name steeped in sporting lore and legend, but some people seem to be upset about this.

Okay, so a few years ago, this would make me gnash my teeth and complain about selling out. As it is, it sets my teeth on edge.

However, I do not consider this to be a sign of the apocalypse, for a trio of reasons:

1) Newcastle United is my favorite Premier League team, and therefore, as an extension/reflection of my personality, they can do no wrong;
2) If I were to complain about every element of sell-out in sports, I would never have time to enjoy the games;
3) Who cares what the corporation calls it?

Let's take these in turn:

1) I'm willing to view this as a method of increasing revenue for Newcastle, which could allow them to go from strength to strength and challenge for greater honors. We'll disregard the fact that Sports Direct is the company owned by Newcastle's current owner, Mike Ashley, which means that the current name is just a lure for future sponsors. Sports are expensive; better this than raising ticket prices, right?

2) You could theoretically assume that every sport was riddled with corruption: money, drugs, and the drugs of money and the money of drugs, etc. But that just wouldn't be much fun. "Bread and circuses" still means you get to have a snack and watch a circus act.

3) They can call it Sports Direct Arena all they want; do you think the fans in the pubs will call it anything but St. James' Park? When the 49ers changed the name of Candlestick Park to Monster Park, I don't think I can remember ever hearing anyone other than TV analysts call it Monster Park; all the people who mattered--the fans--called it Candlestick Park.

So all in all, sound and fury signifying nothing; as long as any sponsorship revenue helps Newcastle tear apart Chelsea and win everything in the history of what there is to be won, and then some more winning after that. That's not too much to ask.

Goodbye, Jonathan Sanchez

The question of "What if?" is endemic to sports. What if Scott Cousins had slid around Buster Posey, rather than through him? What if the Germans had been penalized for a handball on the goal line in the 2002 World Cup Quarterfinal against the United States? What if spokesmen for Frank McCourt, lame duck owner of the Dodgers, had not subtly blamed Brian Stow for being beaten into a coma outside of Dodger Stadium?

What if Jonathan Sanchez had not been hurt this year? What if his control had improved, turning his mercurial flashes of brilliance into a steady glow, as his potential had always promised to produce? Would the Giants have traded him to Kansas City for Melky Cabrera yesterday?

I am sorry to see Jonathan go, because I would have loved to see the core of young talent that came up together stay in SF in perpetuity. Any time a local hero is moved on, you hear the cliche that 'it's a business,' uttered with varying degrees of bitterness. And it's true: baseball, like any business, is about managing one's resources, and diversifying one's strengths. I'm generally opposed to corporate culture, but I'm not going to launch an OccupyAT&TPark movement over this trade, for several reasons:

1) The Giants won the World Series in 2010. That is something to feed on for a while, like a bear feeds on stored fat while hibernating.

2) The Giants desperately need an injection of offense, and you can't get something without giving something in return. Well, you can, but it's called theft, and it is generally frowned upon. Plus, you can't really steal a player from one team and make him play for yours; it's called kidnapping, it would be noticed, and it is not looked on favorably.

3) Bolstering the lineup means the Giants might have a shot at re-signing Carlos Beltran, and I would love to see what he could do over a full year in San Francisco. Swapping the contract of Jonathan Sanchez for the contract of Melky Cabrera means that the Giants didn't have to spend more money to bring in a bat; they just reallocated funds from pitching to offense, and pitching is a source of strength.

4) The Giants won the World Series in 2010. Did I mention that already? We've met the goal, the young core took charge, and that can never be taken away from the players or the fans. Jonathan Sanchez had some wonderful moments; I will never forget turning on SportsCenter from a motel in Volcano, Hawaii, in June of 2009, just in time to see highlights from the first no-hitter for the Giants in more than 30 years. No matter what happens, he has been on top of the world in SF.

Of course, now that we have won the championship once in my life, we need to win it at least one more time so that my team will have won as many times as my best friend Vaughn's favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. It's called equality, and frankly, that's a goal everyone should support. Improving the offense gives us a better shot of making the playoffs next year.

So yes, there are many business reasons for making a trade like this. The better the team, the more money you can make from ticket sales, post-season revenue, merchandise, etc. But a sports team is clearly more complex than just a business. It is not just a question of the economics of exchanging resources to strengthen your team. It is a chess match, a narrative, and for many of us, a source of a sense of identity. And hey, as a source for self-identification, sports have produced fewer crusades than religion.

So good luck, Jonathan. I was so happy that your dad got to see your no-hitter, and I loved your strong pitching that got us where we needed to go. You will be missed.

And welcome, Melky. Show us what you've got.

Just Wait 'Til Last Year

Repeating as a champion in a professional sports league is difficult, especially in the age of salary caps and parity. The Giants hardly entered the year as favorites, but they have been battling all year, despite meager offensive production. Now, though, things are beginning to fade at the wrong time.

My natural tendency is to be a pessimist, so I will fight that and not yet write off the season. But there are enough factors to make me think it is almost time to say "Just Wait 'Til Last Year"--by which I mean time to watch the souvenir DVD from last season. And then look forward to spring, and spring training, and the chance to start over.

For one thing, come the spring, we won't be as decimated by injuries. Seriously, all the injuries we avoided last year seem to be coming this year on top of the normal allotment. First Buster Posey is lost for the season, and then Freddy Sanchez. Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez both struggle with injuries which may have impacted their performances. Pablo Sandoval started off on a tear, and then got hurt for a month. We trade a top prospect for Carlos Beltran, essentially a two month rental, and now he is hurt and may be going on the DL. Sergio Romo, our setup man, also may be headed for the DL. And Pablo left today's game after fouling a ball off his foot.

As a side note, I had my hesitations about trading a top pitching prospect for a rental, especially since we won last year. I didn't feel as desperate a need to win now. But I can see why Brian Sabean made the deal; you do want to take every chance to win and excite the loyal fan base--that's a crucial confluence of the business side and the passion side of baseball. So even though Beltran is injured at perhaps the most critical stage of the pennant race, when we are struggling to keep up with Arizona in the division and Atlanta in the playoff race, I don't blame him for the trade, even though no one expects Beltran to play in SF next season.

The nagging feeling I can't escape, though, is that the reality TV show on Showtime, "The Franchise," was a bit of a mistake. I have to wonder if it is not a distraction for the team. But that could just be a matter of my own bias. I HATE reality TV, which in general I find sleazy and stupid.

It would be one thing if it was talent-based, like So You Think You Can Dance or Project Runway. You know, make it So You Think You Can Pitch or Project Basepath. If only there was something like that for the Giants.

Oh, that's right, there is. It's called Major League Baseball, and what's the Giants are playing every day.

Maybe the injuries and the slumps are karma for being on reality TV.

Oh well. I still love us. And by us, I mean the Giants. We aren't the Yankees. Or the Red Sox. Or the Phillies.

The Art Of Not Being Noticed

Refereeing soccer is a thankless job. The ideal is not to earn plaudits, but to go essentially unnoticed, managing the game, being in the right position, keeping things flowing. There will always be missed or controversial calls, but the game should roll on. For referee Paul Ward, tonight's match between San Jose and Colorado will be one he won't want to remember.

San Jose was enjoying the best possession and looked dynamic with a 1-0 lead late in the first half when Colorado's Pablo Mastroeni made a run to the end line to cross the ball into the box. San Jose's Sam Cronin was in pursuit and slid to try to get in the path of the ball. Mastroeni's cross was low and angled back behind Cronin, deflecting against Cronin's trailing arm and going out of bounds. Everyone was prepared to line up for a corner kick, but Mastroeni angrily appealed to the Assistant Referee, saying it was a hand ball in the box. After a moment's consultation, Ward pointed to the spot, to the shock of the Earthquakes. Mastroeni was attempting to influence the referee's decision, and it worked. It is a part of the game, but a cynical one. The referee should have been stronger, because that was not a good call, but Mastroeni lost the respect I had for him from his days with the national team.

Technically, the ball did hit Cronin's arm, but it was more like the ball played the arm, not the other way around. It was certainly not intentional. Furthermore, it was not denying a clear goal scoring opportunity, with plenty of defenders in the middle. It was a very harsh decision to award a penalty.

The Earthquakes would feel hard done by again in the second half, when Cronin was sent off with a red card in controversial fashion. A sliding tackle took the ball away from Mastroeni, who went down in a heap over Cronin's legs. The camera angle was not entirely conclusive, but again, it looked like a harsh decision.

This again interrupted a flow of creative, attacking play by San Jose, and when Colorado later scored a goal to go ahead, the wind was out of the Earthquake's sails, as their long streak without a win continued.

To be fair, the referee cannot be blamed for San Jose not scoring when Chris Wondolowski blazed one over the top from 8 yards out, and the referee cannot be blamed for San Jose conceding a silly foul just outside their penalty area which lead to the winning goal. Nevertheless, the referee did not have the best of days, and that is a shame.

Knocking The Ball Around

There's been a lot of bad news in the world of late. Today, in particular. Which is why I will disregard all of that and talk about soccer.

The Premier League kicks off a week from today, and Major League Soccer is heading towards the final stretch of the season.

Looking at the San Jose Earthquakes, the excitement I felt at the beginning of the year has dissipated. The announcers on Comcast can be slightly biased as much as they want to be--and they want it a lot, encouraging the sideline reporter to taunt the opposing goalie--but the fact remains that no, Portland was not offside on the goal tonight, not even close, and furthermore, this was one more example where the Earthquakes' defense was just not good enough. For all the offensive futility San Jose has experienced this year--about as bad as that of the Giants--their defense has always seemed the shakiest aspect of the team for me.

The Premier League is back, and that will be very exciting. Liverpool seems to possibly re-loaded; Newcastle has signed some intriguing young French players, and will possibly add Gabriel Obertan from Manchester United, and I have seen flashes of quality from him, so that is encouraging. Will Arsenal fade further this year? They have seemed on the downward arc lately, threatening to follow Liverpool out of the elite as Tottenham and Manchester City have surged. Manchester City, though, they just buy players, so I really can't root for them, especially since it looks like Tevez might be on his way out, and he was always a player I loved to watch for them. Tottenham signed Brad Friedel, and one of my friends in the UK is a huge Tottenham fan, so I wish them well; Rafael Van der Vaart is a key man on my fantasy team this year, FC Buster Posey. Still, if Newcastle and Liverpool are not to win it all, I would still pull for Arsenal.

Just like that, Alan Gordon gets a head on a great cross and ties the match for San Jose! Hope blooms like the taste of shiraz and chocolate chip cookies.

A new season, new possibilities. A sign of stability in an unstable world, for now. It's why we love sports.

Soccer: Beautiful Game, Ugly Games

This week, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution endorsing rights for gay, lesbian and transgender persons. Russia voted against it. How can you be on the "Human Rights Council" and vote against rights for humans? Obviously, because the Human Rights Council is wrapped up in politics, but that's not my focus today.

Russia voted against these rights. Russia was recently awarded the 2018 World Cup. Anyone else see a problem here?

Sepp Blatter has talked about soccer and the World Cup being separate from the issue of global politics, that it should not be predicated on a country's position on key issues. Diplomacy through sport, connecting countries with blemishes to the rest of the world--and the possibility therein of moderating societies which the rest of us would like to see moderated. This is reasonable, and it is why Saudi Arabia, for instance, with its primitive tradition of not allowing women to drive, will still be allowed to compete for a place in the World Cup. We'll just have to hope for their incompetence as a team to prevent them from World Cup glory. We'll hope for the same for Russia.

So yes, this notion of soccer diplomacy, but it appears more and more that FIFA is not in the business of diplomacy through sport, but solely in the business of . . . business.

Say what you will about the qualifications of Qatar as a host for the World Cup in 2022, the fact that multiple members of the FIFA executive committee appear to have accepted bribes in connection to that election leaves the result in a dubious light.

Then you have the fact that FIFA has the power to investigate ethics claims against itself.

Then you have the fact that Mohammed Bin Hammam, from Qatar, in running against Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidential election earlier this month, demanded an investigation in ethics violations on the part of Sepp Blatter. (This is nothing new. Corruption charges against Blatter have been around since at least 2002.

Then you have the fact that similar charges were filed against Bin Hammam, forcing him to drop out of the presidential race, leaving Blatter to run uncontested. It turned into quite the sideshow.

It all seems very sketchy, and distracts from the point of soccer, which is the game itself, and not the monetary elements that drive the global presentation. We will see if Blatter lives up to his promises to reform the controversial aspects of FIFA's governance and the World Cup host selection process. In the meantime, I'll watch the US play Jamaica today in the Gold Cup, and let myself believe the point of the game is indeed the game itself.

Small Steps

It is fascinating how so many small details in baseball become truly pivotal. In tonight's Giants victory over Arizona, with two outs and the Giants leading 4-0, Cody Ross was on third base, Brandon Crawford was on first. The Diamondbacks caught Brandon stealing and had him dead to rights at second base; however, Crawford stopped halfway, forced Arizona to chase him to get the third out of the inning, and Ross alertly ran home for a fifth run of the game.

When the Diamondbacks pulled within one run later on a three run home run off Matt Cain, that bit of smart baserunning by Cody Ross became so much more important, considering we ended up with a 6-5 victory. Not only was it an extra run in a one run victory, it also prevented the Diamondbacks from actually tying the Giants at any point, which meant that Matt Cain earned his sixth victory of the year. Morale is boosted by such statistical means.

On the flip side, consider how much one small miscall might have changed things. In the ninth, when Arizona runners tried to advance on a ball dropped by the catcher, Pablo Sandoval took a strong throw from Eli Whiteside and applied a tag. The umpire called the runner safe, even though Pablo's left foot actually blocked the bag and prevented the Diamondback from tagging the base before Pablo tagged him. Replays showed this clearly. Such a small call, but it could have be disastrous. Fortunately, Brian Wilson remained indomitable and struck out the final batter to win the first game of a three game series in Arizona, against the Diamondbacks who are now 1 1/2 games behind us in the division.

Subtleties like that make baseball fascinating from an intellectual level, I think, even for those who are not particularly fans.

Weekend Of Happiness!

A good weekend, in honor of Marina's new nephew. The Giants put on some magic, with two walk-off wins--scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth at home to end the game--and a solid 3-0 Sunday victory to sweep the Rockies at AT & T Park, and Newcastle United earned a 2-1 win over Birmingham to clinch survival and another season in the Premier League, armed with the 35 million pounds from the sale of Andy Carroll with which to reinforce their squad.

One of those weekends where the results may not seem momentous in the big picture, but they add up to a satisfying backdrop. Today, for instance, I was driving back from Chico and got stuck in an I-80 quagmire between El Cerrito and the Bay Bridge--it took me an hour to traverse that short distance. But the fact that the Giants were on the radio made it more palatable than it might have been otherwise, and it distracted me from the paucity of driving skills and ethics among my fellow road-prisoners.

There is something soothing about baseball on the radio; the gentle rhythm of the game and the conversation of the announcers, interspersed with the roar of the crowd and the crack of the bat, all add up to a perfect Sunday outing.

Easter Is For Sports

An uncomfortable loss for the Giants saw them swept at home by Atlanta. Sigh. Fortunately, the only friend I know who lives in Georgia is not a baseball fan particularly, or maybe she doesn't feel the need to trash talk. Then again, I haven't talked to her in about a year or two, so she could very well be trash-talking in Georgia, drinking non-alcoholic mint julips and throwing cotillions, or whatever it is they do there. Anyway, that's my fear.

But oh well. Tuesday is another game, on the road versus Pittsburgh. In the meantime, here are some random sports thoughts, for the purpose of typing more on my new MacBook Air. I'm addicted to typing on this baby.

1) Why would anyone pitch to Albert Pujols? I mean, I'm glad they do, because it would be boring if they didn't, but still. So much for baseball being ruled by statistics and probabilities. Then again, even good hitters only succeed roughly 1/3rd of the time, and pitchers are competitive cranky people, or so I would imagine.

2) I hope Albert Pujols stays in St. Louis. The Giants can't afford him, so let him stay where he is an icon. If he goes to New York or Chicago, that would just seem wrong. The Cubs would be more acceptable than the Yankees, but still.

3) Oh, Arsenal. Once again, they play pretty football, but fall short, can't quite keep up with Manchester United and Chelsea. Not quite enough functioning firepower for Arsenal, ironically. But please, oh please, don't let Barcelona play the big bad wolf again this summer, huffing and puffing and trying to pry Cesc Fabregas away from London. It just looks tacky.

4) A draw with Manchester United and another draw with Blackpool seems to have put Newcastle in solid shape to stay up. They are seven points up on the third-from-bottom team, with four games--and a maximum of twelve points--still on the table. But the draws didn't do much for my fantasy team, with no goals or assists for Shola Ameobi.

5) The NFL Draft is coming up again on Thursday. Again, they are now showing it in "Prime Time", which means the first round opens at 5 p.m. on a Thursday evening on the Pacific Coast. This means that most of the really exciting stuff would be done before people out here could get home to see it. Lame east-coast pandering. I used to love watching day 1 of the draft on Saturday mornings, meeting Vaughn for coffee and/or breakfast beforehand. One more bit of nostalgia and enjoyment for the league now threatening a tacky lockout goes pfft.

When Californians Root For Earthquakes

The crowd began stamping and shouting, "Earthquakes."

"Where?" I might have asked, turning my head quickly in alarm. You never know with California.

But in this case, they were not announcing seismic activity; they were urging the local Major League Soccer team on to greater action. San Jose stuck by the motif that you should name your sports team after something fearsome, possibly what you fear most: hence "Earthquakes." By this same logic, the Seattle baseball team fears invasion by sailors--Mariners--and the Chicago American football team fears being devoured by bears.

Some of you might argue with this premise, but I would point out that I have a blog, and as far as I know, you do not, so I win.

The point is, on Saturday I went to see a live professional soccer game for the first timein my life, a fact which appalled Marina, considering I spent a semester in Wales. She had seen DC United in action out in Washington, D.C., and took in el classico while studying in Spain--Barcelona versus Real Madrid.

San Jose plays on the campus of Santa Clara University at Buck Shaw Stadium. Wembley Stadium, it is not, but I'll take it:





The atmosphere differed from a baseball game in that it was much more low-key, and yet the crowd was happy and enthusiastic, draped in Earthquakes gear. It had something of a grass-roots festival feel, with little mini-activities for kids before the game, as well as good beer, food carts, and the usual concession suspects: hot dogs, garlic fries, candy, hot chocolate, beer, etc. Marina had a close encounter with the mascot, as well.




At 7:30, the game commenced. San Jose was hosting Toronto FC, who recently traded their star Dwayne De Rosario--a former Earthquake--to New York. It was fascinating compared to watching it on TV. It was at once faster and more compact than I realized from seeing games on the screen.

It was a hard-fought game, with a lot of possession exchanged in the midfield, a lot of fouls, a lot of tempers flaring. Three players stood out for me for San Jose: Bobby Convey, Simon Dawkins, and Ryan Johnson.

Bobby Convey I've watched since he was a teenager playing for D.C. United and the national team. He went to England for a while, and then returned to MLS. He made several deft runs and quick cuts, looing dangerous down the right flank.

Simon Dawkins is a young Tottenham Hotspur player on loan with the Earthquakes, and he looked skilled and strong in the center of play, holding possession and fighting off challenges, distributing the ball well, and driving past two defenders to score San Jose's only goal of the game. I liked the idea that he could well play in the Premier League in a few years, and I would be able to say I saw him play.

Ryan Johnson is a tall and fast forward. He brought the ball under control and burst past the Toronto defense down the left flank on several occasions.

Toronto had several good players as well, including a Swiss midfielder named Alen Stevanovic, who had good speed and good moves, but earned the ire of the home crowd for going down and writhing in pain and then returning quickly to the field, and Alan Gordon, a striker who capitalized on a defensive blunder to give Toronto an early lead.

Some fan behind us must have not been able to say a word this morning, because he was yelling in rage for most of the game. Two highlights, which I couldn't quite interpret:

(to Stevanovic when the Toronto player was on the ground): "This ain't La Liga!"

(to both teams when the Earthquakes were passing the ball around among their back line: "You aren't Fulham and Arsenal!"

I can assume that in the first example, he was implying that players in Spain tend to simulate injury, and that he shouldn't do that here, because the MLS is better than that. As for the second quote, I'm baffled.

In the end, it was a 1-1 draw, which was fair. San Jose looked far more tired than Toronto in the second half, their defense looked fragile at times, and Chris Wondolowski and Khari Stephenson wasted two clear chances to score. It was a disappointing result but an exciting match for my first live MLS game. Plus, we had hot chocolate.

Perspective On Trial: Chronicles of A Recovering Bad Loser

So, the universe tested my resolve fairly quickly. No sooner did I sit down with a cookie than I saw Buster Posey take a called strike three on a full count, while the Giants trailed the Padres 3-1, a deficit they would not close. The pitch looked, shall we say, just a bit wide, in the same sense that the Pacific Ocean is just a bit damp.

Keep in mind that I was alone in the house. So, I'm pleased with myself that all I said was: "Huh. Interesting." The Giants' play-by-play announcers, who are totally more objective than most other announcers I've seen, were dubious that it crossed the plate, but said it was probably too close to take, so we'll leave it at that.

Oh, well. We'll get the Padres tomorrow, or not.

I've decided, also, that the key to keeping cool is to not read Internet chat rooms. There are plenty of insightful, articulate comments, but there are a lot of people who use the anonymity of the Internet to let fly with vitriol, abuse, smack talk, horrific grammar, and all-around misery. And those are some of the so-called Giants fans. I'm not even talking about the people who spend a lot of time commenting on soccer articles with remarks about how boring and what a waste of time they find soccer.

Tim Lincecum forbid that I act in real life like the trolls do online.

I should watch the Ken Burns documentary again, or re-read Summer Of '49. That's the way to swaddle myself in historical context and the greater poetry of the game, and think about last fall, and dream about tomorrow.

Bread And Circuses

Enough with the doom and gloom over perspective on sports. Back to the fun, with random sports thoughts and observations while watching the Giants-Dodgers on Sunday night:

1) We're finally going to a Major League Soccer game. Marina kept asking me why we haven't gone to an Earthquakes game, and I realized that I don't have a good answer. I love professional soccer. The Earthquakes are a professional soccer team. Logic dictates that I would love to see them play live. One could say that logic has no place in the emotion-driven world of sports fanaticism, but that wouldn't make sense. And so we bought tickets for next Saturday's match against Toronto FC.

2) I love Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff. I love the fact that they are both back on the team and in the lineup, and I love the fact that Brandon Belt is here and has already hit his first home run--and stole a base, too. I do not love the fact that our corner outfielders are Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff. That scares me from a defensive standpoint. The range will be limited. I'm looking forward for Cody Ross' return, although that could create a logjam of bats. Where do you put everybody to keep them in the lineup? This is why the designated hitter is such a luxury for the American League.

3) Barry Zito gave up three runs in the first inning, after recovering from an auto accident--a taxi ran a red light and crashed into him, fortunately leaving him apparently unscathed. After that first inning, the Sunday Night Baseball crew went on and on how he does not have good stuff anymore and how he will just have to try to keep the Giants as close as possible for as long as possible. The announcers have not mentioned that he is pitching much better after three innings. It's like the world has Zitophobia.

4) I'm excited that the Giants extended the contract of Freddy Sanchez through 2012. He was injured for the beginning of last year, but ever since, his defensive prowess has been a joy to watch, and he has been hitting. He knocked in three runs, including a home run, in yesterday's win, by way of giving instant reward for the Giants' investment.

5) Pablo Sandoval could be back to his 2009 form. He lost forty pounds over the summer, looks good, and smoked a home run in his first at-bat tonight.

6) Kuroda is looking good on the mound for the Dodgers. He hit Torres leading off, but Torres was stranded at second--a well-executed sacrifice by Sanchez was wasted when Huff and Posey did not come through. Other than that, Sandoval's home run has been our only hit through four innings. We need to make him work and get more hits.

7) Matt Kemp hit a home run in the first inning. Zito just made him look bad on a swing in the bottom of the fourth, and eventually got him to weakly fly out to center. Just goes to show how every at-bat and every game is different.

8) I think it's awesome that there is so much coverage for the West Coast to start the season. Normally, through the first four games, ESPN and Fox would have shown the Red Sox-Yankees play six times.

9) I used to like the Seattle Sounders in the MLS until I saw their two central defenders tag-team Chris Wondolowski in the box last night, denying him a chance to get to a cross. The referee really should have been in a spot to see it, but he seemed to have a difficult time of it last night. The game got ugly, and a rivalry was born. The West Coast of MLS could become interesting.

Also, Seattle-based Starbucks wants to buy Berkeley-based Peet's. That would be annoying.

10) There is a leisurely pace to baseball games. Not as leisurely as cricket, mind you--few things this side of snails are as leisurely as cricket--but still, if you can get past the need to live or die with every pitch of every single game, watching baseball can be quite relaxing. That's my goal for this year.

11) A friend of mine just got engaged to a sports fan from Ireland. By way of congratulating them, I will once more mention that Thierry Henry should be ashamed of himself, and the French collapse in the World Cup was an argument in favor of the existence of karma.

A Matter Of Perspective

Two Dodgers fans beat up a Giants fan and put him in a coma.

There is so much wrong with that, I don't know where to start. For the sake of this essay, though, let's start with the fact that that I felt the need to point out that the assailants were Dodgers fans, and the victim a Giants fan. That shouldn't matter; it should be an irrelevant detail in the story of vicious and imperfect humanity. Except that it appears that the victim's allegiance to a baseball team was the motivation for the attack.

It's just a game. It's easy to forget sometimes, but it is just a game.

I'm guilty of, well, being petulant and whiny when the Giants aren't doing well. I shut off the game on Friday night after the seventh inning, when Buster Posey struck out with the bases loaded. I shut it off rather emphatically.

"Don't be a baby!" Marina teased.

"I'm NOT being a baby," I insisted. "Now let's watch Toy Story 3."

Other than that bit of comedy at the end, this followed the formula of previous overreactions whenever things haven't go entirely the Giants' way. Now that they have won the World Series, I can see even more clearly how ungracious this is.

It isn't that this is how I inherently relate to sports. For instance, with Newcastle United's 4-1 win today over Wolves, taking another step towards ensuring safety and a comfortable mid-table finish in the Premier League, I felt a cozy sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. They aren't going to qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League. Nevertheless, I felt good about today's step towards a finish in the middle of the standings, whereas on Thursday, after the Giants lost the season opener to the Dodgers, I was depressed, as if 1/162 of the season would be indicative of expected results for the entire season.

Sports are weird that way. There are pros and cons to the way sports divides us into groups.

Pro: Sports are a sublimation of our instincts for war.

1) Our instincts for dominance can be channeled into games, entertainment, arbitrary challenges for testing our individual skills against those of another without actually trying to kill or be killed.

Con: Sports are a sublimation of our instincts for war.

2) That channeling doesn't always work.


Sports should be first and foremost entertainment, a game. While it's okay to be disappointed with a disappointing result, there are limits to how much it actually means. The Giants' win-loss record doesn't indicate anything about my worth, nor does their status as my favorite team indicate anything other than my great good taste.

It is, of course, easier to be philosophical about this AFTER the Giants beat the Dodgers yesterday 10-0. Which makes it all the more important to keep a sense of perspective about it.

I am able to get such satisfaction from Newcastle's battle for survival because I am less attached to them by geographical roots. I can view it as a story, because the reason why I chose to follow them in the first place was because of the story of Alan Shearer, the first player I enjoyed watching on TV, who went home to Newcastle, carrying goals. With the Giants, I always felt a deeper investment, because I grew up in Santa Rosa until I was nine.

It's all about finding a balance, especially since I have nothing personally at stake, not until I learn to throw a baseball at 100 mph or blossom into an athletic phenomenon at 31. It could totally happen. What? It could! But until then, I will be embarrassed to be invested in sports rivalries to even a fraction of the degree reached by the two men who beat up the fan of a rival team.

Spring In The Ukraine, and A New Season of Soccer Tales

Quick. Shakhtar Donetsk. What country is the team from? More to the point, which part of the name is the name of the city? How many of you know?

I thought so.

The other night, I watched the Roma--Shakhtar Donetsk Champions League match on DVR from a couple weeks ago. It was not a pretty sight for someone who grew up fascinated by the glamour of Italian soccer names: Serie A, Roberto Baggio, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Paolo Maldini. Names are a big thing in soccer. In all sports, really. Sports are about mythology. The Italian mythology was dragged through the mud once more in the game against the Ukrainian champions from Donetsk.

Daniele De Rossi of Roma, who elbowed Brian McBride in the face in the 2006 World Cup, got away with another such elbow against Darijo Srna. De Rossi is now my candidate for dirtiest player in Italian soccer. Then again, Gennaro Gattuso head-butted an assistant coach for Tottenham. So it's a tight race, which is appropriate wording, since Italian fans give us some of the worst problems with racism in the game.

It's a sad thing when one's sports illusions are tarnished. Baseball has felt the brush of steroids mar the legacy of the last two decades. Soccer is not immune to that humanizing touch of corruption.

When I was younger, I would invent soccer tournaments. I would go through World Soccer magazines and pick random teams from leagues around the world, sometimes by blindly opening the magazine and pointing my finger at an article or a list of standings for a country, sometimes with the roll of a die. I had rules, such as no more than three teams from one particular country. I had these teams organized into groups, with different rounds, set up just like the World Cup or the Champions League.

Matches were settled by a roll of a die for each team to determine how many goals were scored. For national teams, I went so far as to assign goals to players, by picking players from the box scores of international matches. Points were earned or lost with wins, losses, draws. There were consequences for poor performances: if a team went through a tournament and earned zero points, falling at the group stage, they were not allowed to be selected for a tournament for two or three iterations.

I took my soccer rather seriously, yes. Also, I lived in a small town.

My point is that I loved the big names of soccer, that seemed mysterious, evocative of powerful story lines, and Italian teams and players were among my favorites. With my quarter-Italian heritage, I've always followed this hierarchy for determining which teams to root for: 1) USA; 2) England; 3) Italy.

A few years after the height of my die-rolling soccer tournament heyday, I read The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro, which was an entertaining book, despite the smarmy self-righteousness of the American author. However, the indications of a lack of integrity in Italian soccer were disturbing, with reports of teams paying other teams for points to ensure safety from relegation or to ensure promotion. Then I read the absolutely outstanding A Season With Verona, which was engaging, but which pointed out some racist incidents with Italian fans, underscoring the rumors and reports I had heard elsewhere. These reports have only increased over the last years.

Then there was the match-fixing scandal of a couple years ago, which saw the might Juventus, the famous "Old Lady" of Italian soccer, relegated to Serie B as a punishment for malfeasance.

Sports are a business. I'm not sure whether I should be grateful or angry at Italian soccer for exposing the corrupt motivations to such a blatant degree.

But enough of the darkness.

Roma are guilty of hubris. When they were paired with Shakhtar Donetsk for this second round tie--a tie is a set of two games, one home game for each team--a Roma executive said that he was not going to lie; Roma were pleased with this draw.

Objectively, one appreciates the honesty, and one wouldn't have been surprised. There were other potential opponents with stronger pedigrees than that of the team from the Ukraine. But still, this is why we have cliches. The Roma team could have said that they had great respect for their opponents, that it would be a tough match. We might not have believed them, but the veneer of humility would have reduced the David versus Goliath factor for impartial fans.

As it was, I think it is great that Shakhtar Donetsk thrashed Roma quite thoroughly over the two legs, and is advancing to the quarterfinals. Underdog stories are the best part of sports, and it comes at a great time: the Ukraine is co-hosting the European Championships next year, and any publicity or momentum would surely be welcome.

I'll be interested to see how they do in the next round.

Speaking of names, the new season of Major League Soccer kicked off tonight, and I'm interested to see if David Beckham can win a title in what is likely to be his last season playing with the LA Galaxy. I think it could be a good year for Major League Soccer, with new teams in Vancouver and Portland, adding weight to the west coast balance. The three teams I'm most interested in this year are the San Jose Earthquakes for obvious reasons--and I will try to get to a live game this year--the Seattle Sounders, and the Galaxy. So many potential storylines. Let's kick it off.

Mexican Football: Crossing The Desert, Or; You Say Futbol, I Say Football. Let's Call The Whole Thing Offsides.

In the Chronicle, the sports on TV section doesn't even list the Mexican football games, even though there seem to be at least three or four games every weekend. That seems odd, given the Latino influence in San Francisco, but I guess it is at least artistically appropriate, given the difficulties I've had in finding traction as a wannabe fan of Mexican football, which will lend an air of profundity to this blog.

It just makes sense that I should follow Mexican football, aka soccer. I love soccer. Major League Soccer can be okay, but the quality of play in the Mexican games I've seen has always felt a step above in terms of fluidity and overall skill of the games. Plus, Mexico is a heck of a lot closer than Europe, and I've now been to the country.

Still, the challenges are several. For one thing, I have only a rudimentary understanding of Spanish. I can get the gist of some of what the soccer announcers are saying, helped by the fact that I understand the context, knowing soccer as a game. And in my week in Mexico, I managed to follow some of Marina's conversations with Mexicans. But still, the announcers talk so damn fast.

Also, I'm not familiar with where the teams are, so I have no sense for the identity of the clubs, and no sense of connection, even with my recent trip--an Internet search indicates there were no major teams near where we traveled to Baja California Sur, which is not surprising, as remote as it was. So I don't have any club to feel any particular allegiance to, although Chivas de Guadelajara at least is connected with Major League Soccer, serving as a parent club for Chivas USA. But Chivas USA is in Los Angeles. Ick.

But there are some points of possible connections that I can pursue. With so many games being shown, I could watch the same teams over and over, which would give me the chance to cultivate an appreciation for how a certain team plays. And there are some Americans who play in Mexico; Jonathan Bornstein, for instance, recently moved from MLS to a Mexican team. Or there is a team from Monterrey, whose name reminds me of Monterey in Alto California (California for the gringos)--I love Monterey, so maybe I would like Monterrey. Or there are the comments of the staff at a restaurant we ate at in Loreto, who were watching a game and saying that Club America was a good team. Maybe I should take their advice, except that my stumbling efforts to talk to them about soccer were kind of embarrassing. "Chicharito Hernandez!" (thumbs up).

Some teams are sponsored by Corona, which tastes great with fish tacos, although based on my own experience, if there were a team sponsored by Pacifico, I might have to go with them. Pacifico is refreshing. (Back to the Internet: Pacifico and Corona are from the same large brewery.)

In any case, I have finally found a section of soccernet.com, and another website, goal.com, that seem to have more coverage of Mexican football, so I'll start trying to follow it more. Heck, with American football having just gone into a lockout, committing a potential corporate-sports suicide like baseball did in 1994, I need another source of football, it seems. Might as well be the beautiful version from Mexico.

Where Have You Gone, Andy Carroll?

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. However, I will pointedly not write at length about the NFL. For god's sake, the pre-game coverage on Fox started 4 1/2 hours before kickoff. That doesn't take into account the weeks of hype on all sports channels. Nothing in sports is interesting enough to merit that much coverage, except for the World Cup and the San Francisco Giants.

I say this as a football fan, but I cannot bring myself to be interested in the hours and hours of announcers hyping the game. Today's pre-game coverage is likely to be longer than the actual time of play, and almost as long as the halftime show. The last few years, the Super Bowl pre-game coverage has felt like nothing more than an extended commercial for chips, beer, and other stereotypically American-male pursuits.

So instead, I will write about the other football.

Newcastle United sit mid-table in the Premier League, 5 points above the teams in the relegation zone but with a game in hand--which means they have played one game fewer so far, which means they have an extra chance to earn points to pull further away from danger. That's a decent position to be in, but to ensure safety, they need goals, and they just sold their leading goalscorer, Andy Carroll. Not only is he a Newcastle native--which means that he should have stayed to lead the line for Newcastle, despite some rougher aspects to his personality--but his sale seriously depletes Newcastle's offensive capabilities

True, they sold him for a ridiculous amount: 35 million pounds to Liverpool--although to be fair to Liverpool, they basically used the 50 million pound sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea to buy Carroll and Luis Suarez, turning one talented striker into two. (By the way, I love the fact that Chelsea just lost to Liverpool, 1-0, at home at Stamford Bridge, in Torres' first start for his new team.)

35 million pounds is a hefty sum of money for reinforcing a team. The problem is, with the sale of Carroll happening on the last day of the January transfer window, Newcastle had no time to buy a replacement player. Yes, they have funds now to make a considered purchase or two in the summer, but now there is a deepening injury crisis. Shola Ameobi, the natural replacement for Carroll, broke his cheekbone in the first game after the sale and is out for months. The young and encouragingly-named Leon Best has scored a few goals, but just picked up a hamstring injury. Since the transfer window is now closed, Newcastle's only options are emergency loans of players from other clubs or signing a player who is currently out of contract. As a general rule, you would have to think there would be a reason why a player would be out of contract at this time.

Where will the goals come from to keep Newcastle in the Premier League? And more importantly, how can I find a good Newcastle player to represent my fantasy team? While Carroll has been out injured, there has been no one. I wanted to change that, but to whom? I want to pick someone who is likely to earn points. It's not just about waving the flag, you know. I ruthlessly changed the captaincy of my team from Andrei Arshavin to Carlos Tevez, who promptly scored a hat trick to earn me 38 points on his own. And that is what sports is really all about, fulfilling my sense of self-worth and cunning.

Yes, even with a depleted arsenal, Newcastle managed to rally for four goals to draw with Arsenal--yes, the pun was intended--but can that continue? I'll be interested to see who they can find to score goals. At this point, I want them to scrape enough points to stay up, and then buy some strong replacement players in the summer. That would feel like a great accomplishment.

And yes, I'm aware of the irony of complaining about boredom over the commercialization of the NFL, only to write about the implications of buying and selling players in soccer. What can I say? I care about Newcastle United. I emphatically don't care about cheap, watery beer and men who care passionately about chips.

Random Observations On Watching Sports; Or, Why Aren't I Being Paid For This?

--While watching the halftime coverage of the Miami Heat versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, I witnessed the following:

Michael Wilbon, on what he gathers from the fact that the Lakers viewed a tape of one particular game from last year's Finals before today's rematch with the Celtics: "It means Phil Jackson wants to win this game."

As opposed to every other game of the season, which he wants to lose.

--The Oklahoma City Thunder should really still be in Seattle as the Sonics. Nothing about sports should change from when I was a kid without getting my approval. This would not have earned my approval.

--Except for the Giants winning a World Series. That is an example of change in sports from when I was kid that is totally acceptable and needed no prior approval.

--I do like seeing the Thunder give the Heat all they can handle. Russell Westbrook is fun to watch. He stole the ball from James, drove the length of the court, and dished the ball to a teammate on the wing for a three-pointer even while colliding with a Heat defender. That is the sort of elegance that I enjoy in basketball, hard work and a keen pass, intelligent movement away from the ball by Westbrook's teammate, that doesn't rely exclusively on pure athleticism and spectacle.

--Watching Mexican soccer, I can pick up the gist of what the announcers say sometimes, from a smattering of Spanish I've learned, along with the context of the game. But there are certain moments when the announcers start screaming as if the world has come to an end, and I find this bewildering, because there are no goals, no blatant fouls, no alien invasion erupting in the middle of the pitch.

--The NFL's Pro Bowl is on today. It is absolutely pointless. Therefore, as an American sports fan, I am expected to derive some sort of enthusiasm all on my own. The timing of the game is weird, as it is the week before the Super Bowl, which means that the players from the Steelers and the Packers will not be there. The game serves neither as a welcome break partway through the season, a fun little sideshow, nor as a final bit of dessert to cap the season. Yet, somehow, the NFL moved the Pro Bowl to this time as a marketing ploy? It baffles me.

--I'm torn on the Super Bowl. Marina has a friend and a cousin--specifically, a cousin-in-law (shouldn't such a term exist?)--who are Packer fans, but Vaughn is a Steelers fan. Vaughn has a prior claim on borrowing my allegiance for the game, but Ben Roethlisberger, while a remarkable athlete, is apparently pretty sleazy as a human being. Decisions, decisions. Maybe I should auction off my allegiance?

Human Traffic

There's a rumor that Tottenham offered Newcastle 30 million pounds for striker Andy Carroll. There are two things that should strike that as odd to the American sports fan: one, why would anyone want to leave Newcastle for Tottenham (other than the prospects for Champions League soccer, the London life, more money, a more organized and more dynamic team contending to the top of table: trifling matters, all); two, could you imagine the Yankees, say, buying Cliff Lee from the Rangers in the middle of the season for $45 million dollars?

Actually, it doesn't seem that much different than a mid-season trade between teams, such as when the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee from the Mariners for several players this past season. The difference is the composition of the exchange. In soccer, it is typically a sale, although the occasional exchange of players does occur. In baseball, of course, sales of players have happened, most infamously when the Red Sox owner sold a young pitcher named Babe Ruth to the Yankees for enough money to finance a Broadway play.*

So in either case, teams have the ability to bolster their squads during the season. With soccer, there is the January transfer window, a time of hot gossip and rumors and salacious details about who's moving where and for how much money. In baseball, there are the rumors about which failing teams are prostituting their talented players to which contenders for future prospects. Basically, the same transactions, except on the one hand, it is for money, and on the other, for players.

What's the difference? Both involve money, really, but with soccer it is a more direct involvement, cutting out the representative markers of actual players.

Is there a reason for the difference, be it cultural or economic?

My first thought was that of the salary cap. In football, a salary cap means that trades of players must involve contracts of approximately the same value. In this case, an exchange of players requires a flexibility when it comes to the roster that isn't required in European soccer, where teams can simply buy a boatload of talent--up to a limit, of course, based on rules dictating the number of "homegrown" players that must be included on a 25 man roster--and there we get into all sorts of European labor issues that, while fascinating, are beyond the scope of a random sports blog.

The problem with this comparison is that there is no salary cap in baseball. There is a luxury tax for teams whose payrolls exceed a certain limit each year, which could act as a salary cap, except that the teams that have paid it, the Yankees and the Red Sox, for example, don't care about a salary cap, because they basically print their own money as baseball marketing empires.

Is it cultural? Free agency marked a big change in American sports scene. Prior to the struggles of Curt Flood and his successors, teams could hold on to a player even without a signed contract; players had no leverage, no unions, and could be sold or not sold depending on the desire of the owner. Free agency means that players have a lot more control over their careers by seeing out a contract and being free to go where they wish.

This does not seem like it would preclude players being sold in the middle of their contracts, though, assuming the buying team could reach an agreement with the player, much as a soccer team will generally try to negotiate contractual terms with the player after having a bid accepted by the team and before the transfer is actually complete. Furthermore, soccer does have a form of free agency, ever since the Bosman Ruling.

So what is it about American sports versus soccer that promotes the use of trades in the one and transfers or straight sales on the other? Does it matter? Does it have a root in different labor cultures? I genuinely want to know.



* No, No, Nanette for those trivia buffs among you

Et Tu, NFL?

Ever since Major League Baseball's 1994 season was cut short due a labor dispute, it has had to work hard to regain a following, and many in the media now say that American football, in the NFL, is now America's Game.

Now it looks like the NFL may follow baseball's shortsighted path, with the owners set to possibly lock out players next year for some or all of the season. In today's paper, I read that ESPN personality and former quarterback Ron Jaworski is guessing that between two and seven weeks of next season will be wiped out.

That seems like very poor timing. When the minimum salary is still several hundred thousand dollars, and when the owners are exceedingly wealthy men, to think of the stadiums sitting empty and desolate on weekend after weekend, when there are fans who need their circus to escape thoughts of their own economic worries, well, that just seems wrong.

I'm all for the rights of labor unions to negotiate for equitable pay and good working conditions. And yes, the owners have the right to close their businesses, in theory, if you want to look at football from a business standpoint, which you have to do. And yes, it is an expensive business for the owners who do have to pay high salaries, and yes, the players deserve to be paid very well for sacrificing their health and their bodies, gladiators except for not being slaves.

But let's just say that the NFL is not hurting in terms of revenue, and if I wasn't sympathetic to the Muni unions who wanted to strike when the drivers make almost three times what I make in a year, I would be hard-pressed to sympathize with people who make at least 30 times what I make in a year.

It is a fascinating thing in a troubled economy to watch all these people with so much money scrapping to make even more. It's why the Republicans got so much support, although how they managed to convince middle-class and lower-class Americans to vote against their own best interest is remarkable.

If I can't afford to go to games now, I'm certainly not going to be able to with the inevitable price increases that will be seen, regardless of how the labor negotiations go. And even if I could afford it, I don't think I would want to anyway. As long as there is baseball and soccer, I'll be just fine, and any such lockout will simply cement football's place as my third favorite sport.

Am I missing anything? Is there any rational justification for the owners to lock out the players? Or rather, any rational justification that does not involve treating the game as a business only and the fans as customers to be served poorly?

The Pendulum Swings

2010 has left, borne into the glorious past on the shoulders of a World Series victory for the Giants, leaving behind the forgettable details of a 49er football team mired in futility, and whose change of head coach and presumably quarterback will hopefully end this recent reign of error at Candlestick.

Spring Training begins in a matter of months, and no one gives the Giants any shot of repeating. The Phillies have been anointed champs already with the signing of Cliff Lee, so I guess there's no point in playing the games, then.

Alas, Edgar Renteria claims to have been insulted that the Giants offered him "only" $1 million dollars to come play one more season. All the people who attempt to justify his indignation need to adjust their definition of disrespect.

In the meantime, it is time to refocus on the English Premier League. Newcastle is in the thick of a relegation dogfight, with all teams ranked between 11th and 18th in table all within three points of each other. So that will be an ongoing narrative of survival, a question of adjusting life bit by bit, earning enough points to stay up in the Premier League, which is, of course, what most of us are trying to do in the metaphorical Premier League of life.

Without an apparent chance of Newcastle winning the title or qualifying for Europe, and with more anti-management anger after Chris Hughton was abruptly fired, the season becomes, for me, a matter of neutral enjoyment, with a tendency to hope for Arsenal or even Manchester United to beat Chelsea to the title.

And so it was that I watched Manchester travel to play West Bromwich Albion today, in the hope that I would see fine attacking soccer from a high-quality team, thinking that West Brom's injury crisis in defense would allow Manchester to play a free-flowing game and hopefully provide me with lots of fantasy points through Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Darren Fletcher.

The game was entertaining, but as always, nothing was simple. West Brom was clearly struggling on defense, conceding within three minutes to a fine header from Wayne Rooney, but for the bulk of the game, the Baggies, playing in front of a home crowd, looked much more enthusiastic on offense, harder-working, more dangerous. In particular, Chris Brunt, James Morrison, Jerome Thomas and Graham Dorrans were out-hustling the more famous names of Patrice Evra, Gabriel Obertan, and Dimitar Berbatov to the 50-50 balls, and Morrison scored the best goal I've seen this year on a long-range volley, and Manchester United was extremely fortunate to avoid being down to ten men when Gary Neville escaped unpunished for a tackle in the box that should have resulted in a penalty kick and a red card.

But the difference in quality in these teams showed through, as it so often does in the other 9 times out of ten encounters between a David and a Goliath. And it showed through in just a couple of details, a few moments that made all the difference. West Brom justly earned a penalty kick in the second half when Jerome Thomas cut past Rio Ferdinand who blatantly tripped him. This should have been the moment of redemption, a moment of justice for the earlier penalty that was not awarded. But Peter Odemwingie, in stepping up to take the penalty, twelve yards away from the goal, rolled the ball woefully wide of the post. And moments later, perhaps distracted by that failure, perhaps suffering from an abrupt withdrawal of momentum, West Brom's defense collapsed on a corner kick, allowing Hernandez to direct an unchallenged header into the goal for the win.

So in this game, as in so much of life, the (Red) Devil was in the details, but there was a lot of joy to be had in the big picture as well, for an entertaining game that could have gone the other way just as easily.