Well….after the debacle a couple of weeks back where the US lost to Mexico and Costa Rica in world cup qualifying, a change was finally made at manager when Jurgen Klinsmann was fired…and I say not a moment too soon. But, who do they bring back to lead the team? The guy they fired to bring in Klinsmann, Bruce Arena. Now, I was never a fan of Klinsmann, who seemed to be a whiner and could turn good performances into losses with his changes to the setup of the team….but, how much will a management change do when you have the same players in place? I mean, there are only three players on the team who are good enough to play in the elite European leagues…so there is little talent to choose from and that makes the rating of 29th in the world sound just about right. I’m not sure what Arena can do, but I am sure he will be better than Klinsmann…
Category Archives: Sports
A little sports…
Well…I can’t remember a time when all the teams I follow have been so bad…okay…except Michigan, but they lost this past weekend so maybe I should add them to the list. Normally, there is at least one that I can watch and depend on to do well…let’s do a count…how many teams do I follow? Man U, the Lions, the Red Wings, the Tigers…USA mens soccer, Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame,….hmmm…I would add some other BPL teams, too, but they are more just fillers when I’m bored…so…9 teams…and they all are pretty terrible right now…but what do you do? I should be used to terrible teams by now after following the Lions for so long but Man U sucking for the third year in a row? And the Red Wings playing no better than .500? I guess it just goes with everything else that is happening in the world right now….I did find headlight bulbs at Rock Auto for 5 bucks a pair including shipping so I guess everything isn’t terrible…just almost everything….
Let’s Go Red Wings!
Well…as I do every year before the first Wings game, now is the time to take a look at the Wings prospects for the year…what the pundits are saying and my own impressions from what I’ve read over the past month or so. Today, there was a long interview with Hank Z in the Free Press that struck me for it’s wistfulness…and Hank’s realization the the game has changed since he entered the league in 2002….he talked about Stevie Y and Nicky and it sure sounded like he was trying to put a good face on the teams prospects for this year but it was clear that this year will be a struggle to stay even where they were last year…and barely making the playoffs can’t be the goal for the year. But, what do you do to change that when the talent just isn’t there? As always, I am holding out hope that a miracle will happen and the youngsters will step up and gel into a team that can go farther than the first round of the playoffs….still looking forward to the season but with more reality intruding than I can remember….but, I will get out the gear and watch every game I can…Let’s Go Red Wings!
Bye, bye Pavel…
Well…it’s the day we all saw coming but we hoped would never get here…Pavel Datsyuk announced today that he is retiring from the NHL to go home to Russia. There is something about Russia that seem to pull it’s people back to their homeland, and Pavel is no different…he just wanted to go home to be with his teenage daughter and the rest of his family…and who can fault that? I will always remember his magic on the ice, and his sense of humor that came through even his broken english….he could do things on the ice that earned him the nickname “the Magic Man” and, as he has gotten older, he wanted to take what’s left of the magic and play in front of Russian fans to finish out his career…he is 37, after all, and age catches up with even magic…we will miss him playing for the Red Wings, but the highlight reels are still there to help us remember what he meant to us…bye, bye, Pavel…and good luck!
RIP Mr. Hockey
Well…Hockeytown is mourning this morning with the news that Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe has died. He was one of the greats of all time, playing for the Red Wings from 1946 to 1971 and winning Many Stanley Cups including 4 in a row in the 50′s. Sadly, his playing time with the Wings ended before I became a hockey fan but his story has been told many times since my son got me interested in hockey in the early 90′s…and what a story. RIP Gordie….
Congrats Manchester United….
Well…you’ve heard me talk of my frustration with the season that Manchester United had this year…not knowing what team was going to show up on any given day. Today, the right one showed up and Man U won the FA Cup…the tournament that starts with all of the teams that play in Great Britain. It took them overtime, though, and playing through Smalling getting ejected and down to just 10 men…but the winner was just a gorgeous strike by Jesse Lingard that bailed the Red Devils out….and made my day….and now soccer is done until the fall and I’ll have to find new things to keep me amused on Saturday and Sunday mornings…congrats Man U!
Congratulations Leicester City…
Well…haven’t done much on the premier league this year since Man U has been kind of stinky…but, I had to say a couple of things about Leicester City who won the league this year in what could be called a shock…even the bookies in London thought it would never happen giving odds of 5,000 to 1 that they would go all the way. This time last year, they were bottom of the league having to win 7 of their last 9 games just to stay up in the premier league and this year champions…a feel good story for a small team that has been playing for over a hundred years with success only in the lower tiers. So, congratulations Leicester…good job….
Thanks Pavel….
Well…it’s sad day for Red Wings fans with the news that Pavel Datsyuk will be leaving the Wings at the end of the playoff run. Not really a surprise to those of us who follow the team closely, it is still a shock to see one of the best players in franchise history leave with a year left on his contract. But, reading the great article by Mitch Albom in the Free Press this morning, I hope that we all can understand why he is doing it…the pull of family and home just got too great for him to stay…when he talked about his 13 year old daughter and not being able to be there for her, you could hear the longing in his voice and how can you fault someone for that? It has been a great run for the “Magic Man” in Detroit and we will surely miss him…thanks Pavel…..
Let’s Go Red Wings!
Well…it has been a nail biting couple of weeks watching the Wings try to get into the playoffs for the 25th year in a row….their play has been inconsistent and infuriating at times but, with two games to go it comes down to winning one of them. Last night, they put in one of their best performances of the year beating the Flyers 3-0 and looking like a complete team for one of the first times that I have seen. Tonight, they go up against the Bruins in Boston and, if they win, they’re in since Boston is tied with us and that will be the four point swing we need….so, the only thing left to say is…Let’s Go Red Wings!!
Daytona 24 Hours
Well…one of my favorite days of the year has rolled around again and I am getting excited…it is the start of the racing season with the 24 Hours of Daytona running this afternoon to tomorrow afternoon….to me, this starts the end of winter and and that just can’t come soon enough….this first race of the year gives you the chance to catch up on all of the changes to the series that have happened over the winter…like Scott Pruitt no longer driving for Ganassi….a team he has been with for many years…and the only thing I know about the change is a one line news item I read a few weeks ago….and we have the introduction of the new Ford GT which will run in the GTLM class…one down from the prototypes….it looks pretty cool from the pictures I have seen and bring back the memories I have of them running back in the 60′s…and fox sports has the first 8 hours live so I will have something to take a nap to this afternoon….and will give me something to watch tonight with cocktails…..can’t wait…