I Think Jan Mucha Would Like To Have This One Back

I think we all remember Rob Green's blunder in the 2010 World Cup against the United States. right?  Well, over a year later, and Everton's Jan Mucha decided he wants to make Rob Green feel a bit better about himself.  I mean, after all, at least Clint Dempsey was shooting the ball on net, as weak a shot as it was.  In yesterday's Carling Cup fixture between Everton and Chelsea, Salomon Kalou was just trying to send the ball into the box.  And, well, this happened.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Hilarious stuff from the Slovakian keeper.

Chelsea ultimately went on to win a very bizarre Carling Cup match 2-1 in extra time.  The draw for the quarter-finals will take place this Saturday.

Today In Scary Sports Injuries: Didier Drogba Is Knocked Unconscious For 30 Minutes

Well here is a frightening sports moment. In the 64th minute of Chelsea's match with Norwich City today, Chelsea forward Didier Drogba took a frightening knock on the head courtesy of Ruddy, the Norwich goalkeeper. The result was Drogba being unconscious for 30 minutes.


Given that punch and that fall, that the initial diagnosis of Drogba ended is only a mild concussion is good news to say the least. Chelsea would go on to win the match 3-1 and remain unbeaten in thus far this season in the English Premier League.

Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United: I Can't Stop Smiling

In all likelihood, Chelsea are not winning the English Premier League. Chelsea have a mountain to climb if they want to win the Champions' League. Chelsea are out of the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. But, despite all that, there is no better feeling than watching what happened today when Chelsea came back from a 1-0 half time deficit to beat Manchester United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. After a strike by Rooney put Man U up 1-0 in the 1st half, Chelsea responded in the 2nd half with a brilliant volley by Essien to Ivanovic to newly acquired central defender David Luiz who looked more like a veteran striker in tying the game at 1. Then with 10 minutes left in the game, substitute Yuri Zhirkov carried the ball into the box only to be tripped up and drew the penalty. The penalty, taken by Frank Lampard, was a beautiful. Edwin van der Sar, knowing that Lampard likes to shoot to the goalkeeper's right, dove there, and for a change of pace, Lampard slotted it top shelf, ensuing van der Sar never had a chance. 2-1, and after 10+ agonizing minutes which featured more offensive chances for Chelsea than Manchester United, the home side were able to hang on and preserve the 2-1 victory. If you want to see the awesomeness for yourself, here are the goal highlights (watch ASAP because they will surely be down 15 seconds after I hit publish).



Manchester United fans will likely be upset at the referee of the match for not giving David Luiz a 2nd yellow after two questionable fouls after he earned his first yellow card. To them, I say tough luck. Manchester United have seen plenty of calls go their way, including Wayne Rooney avoiding a red card for elbowing Wigan's Jamie McCarthy last Saturday.

Enough talking about Manchester United, though. For me, this was the best win for a team I support since Roy Halladay's post-season no-hitter in October. Fantastic stuff from the Blues and a huge win that not only has them back in the race for the 2011-2012 UEFA Champions League, but has also blown the 2011 English Premier League title race wide open again with Arsenal only 4 points behind and holding a game in hand over league-leading Manchester United.

Fernando Torres And David Luiz! Fernando Torres And David Luiz! Fernando Torres And David Luiz!

David Luiz had to be pulled back from his flight in order to sign paperwork with Benfica, but the deal is done. David Luiz, the young Brazilian central defender and Fernando Torres, the superstar Spanish striker, are on their way to Stamford Bridge. With this, Chelsea have gotten a central defender for the future (who could probably start today) and a future replacement for Didier Drogba, who could very well be on his way out this summer.

Torres and Luiz! Chelsea are all of a sudden back in the thick of things in the English Premier League, with both of their fixtures against Manchester United yet to be played.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sticky mess in my pants that needs cleaning up.

UEFA Champions League Round Of 16 Schedule

The Round of 16 draw for the Champions League was held today and Chelsea made away like bandits, drawing FC Copenhagen, arguably the weakest team in the entire field of 16. Meanwhile other English football clubs did not get so lucky. Manchester United got a decent draw with Marseilles, but Tottenham Hotspur is saddled with AC Milan, the best of the Group Stage runners-up, and Arsenal won the FC Barcelona sweepstakes.

While this is single elimination, the format of this is different than most American knockout tournaments. Instead of 1 game being played, 2 games are played. Seeing as the draw matched a group winner with a group runner-up, the group runner-up gets home field in the first leg, while the group winner gets home field on the 2nd and final leg. The team that advances is the team that wins on aggregate score of both games. In the case of a tie in the aggregate, the team that advances is the team that scored the most away goals. If away goals are tied, then the game goes to 30 minutes of extra time, split into 2 15-minute halves. If no goals are scored during 30 minutes of extra time, a penalty shootout will determine the winner. If goals are scored during the extra time, but both teams score the same number of goals by the end of 30 minutes, the away team advances by default of having more away goals in the total aggregate. If one team scores more goals than the other during these 30 minutes of extra time, that team will advance.

Now that I have thoroughly confused everyone reading this who is not a fan of soccer, let's get to the Round of 16 schedule (contrary to how it is done in America, the home teams are listed 1st; all times ET)

Leg 1

February 15
AC Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur 2:45
Valencia vs. Schalke 04 2:45

February 16
AS Roma vs. Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45
Arsenal vs. Barcelona 2:45

February 22
FC Copenhagen vs. Chelsea 2:45
Lyon vs. Real Madrid 2:45

February 23
Marseille vs. Manchester United 2:45
Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich 2:45

Leg 2

March 8
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. AS Roma 2:45
FC Barcelona vs. Arsenal 2:45

March 9
Tottenham Hotspur vs. AC Milan 2:45
Schalke 04 vs. Valencia 2:45

March 15
Manchester United vs. Marseille 2:45
Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan 2:45

March 16
Chelsea vs. FC Copenhagen 2:45
Real Madrid vs. Lyon 2:45

Champions League Group Stage Day 3 Open Thread

My apologies for the lateness.

September 28
Group F: Spartak Moscow vs. MSK Zilina 12:30
Group E: FC Basel vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
Group E: AS Roma vs. CFR Club 2:45
Group F: Chelsea vs. Marseille 2:45
Group G: Auxerre vs. Real Madrid 2:45
Group G: Ajax vs. AC Milan 2:45
Group H: FK Partizan vs. Arsenal 2:45
Group H: Braga vs. FC Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45

ESPN Getting In Touch With Their Darke Side

Some circles have known this bit of news for quite a while, but now it has been made official. Ian Darke is leaving Sky Sports to join ESPN. But, not only is he joining ESPN, he is taking over their soccer coverage in a massive, massive way. Via ESPN press release: (bold emphasis is mine)

Ian Darke will be the primary play-by-play voice on ESPN’s U.S. networks for Barclays Premier League matches, the U.S. National Teams (Men’s and Women’s), marquee Major League Soccer events, 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He joins ESPN after commentating on Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches for the past 18 years. Darke was widely praised for his work on ESPN during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, especially for his commentating on the U.S. Men’s National Team matches vs. Slovenia, Algeria and Ghana.

“Having Ian Darke as our year-round signature voice for soccer programming reaffirms ESPN’s commitment to elevate our overall coverage of the sport in the U.S.,” said Drake. “Ian’s experience, authenticity and passion for the sport, which were evident throughout the World Cup, will resonate with our viewers, who have come to expect top-quality soccer commentary from ESPN.”

Darke added: "I am delighted and excited to be joining such a polished and talented team as ESPN. It was wonderful to be calling the USA’s dramatic World Cup campaign for American audiences – and I am flattered to be asked back on a permanent basis.”

Darke’s debut as ESPN’s signature voice for soccer will be Saturday, Sept. 25, at 7:30 a.m. ET, when he’ll provide play-by-play commentary for Manchester City vs. Chelsea, live from the City of Manchester Stadium. In his new role, Darke will be in the booth live from Barclays Premier League match sites each week for ESPN’s U.S. audience – a first for the network. His co-commentators (analysts) for each ESPN soccer programming series will be announced at a later date.

Holy amazing awesomeness, Batman! ESPN was blasted almost universally for their piss poor, deplorable coverage of the 2006 World Cup. And now, 4 years later, their 2010 World Cup coverage has been almost universally praised and now they have hired one of Britain's top voices to be their lead for every major soccer event they cover. Talk about a tremendous transformation. On a personal level, Ian Darke quickly became one of my favorite all time announcers during the 2010 World Cup, and now I will be able to hear him again on American airwaves, starting tomorrow as I wake up at 7:30 AM to see Chelsea take on the New York Mets of the EPL, Manchester City.

Champions League Group Stage Day 2 Open Thread

I got flipped off for wearing a Frank Lampard jersey in class today. I love soccer. GO CHELSEA!

Group E: Bayern Munich vs. AS Roma 2:45
Group E: CFR Cluj vs. FC Basel 2:45
Group F: Marseille vs. Spartak Moscow 2:45
Group F: MSK Zilina vs. Chelsea 2:45
Group G: Real Madrid vs. Ajax 2:45
Group G: AC Milan vs. AJ Auxerre 2:45
Group H: Arsenal vs. Braga 2:45
Group H: Shakhtar Donetsk vs. FK Partizan 2:45

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Master Schedule

Schedule by Group (home team listed first; all times PM ET)

Group A

1. Tottenham Hotspur (England)
2. FC Twente (Netherlands)
3. Inter Milan (Italy)
4. Werder Bremen (Germany)

September 14: FC Twente vs. Inter Milan 2:45
September 14: Werder Bremen vs. Tottenham Hotspur 2:45
September 29: Tottenham Hotspur vs. FC Twente 2:45
September 29: Inter Milan vs. Werder Bremen 2:45
October 20: Inter Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur 2:45
October 20: FC Twente vs. Werder Bremen 2:45
November 2: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Inter Milan 2:45
November 2: Werder Bremen vs. FC Twente 2:45
November 24: Inter Milan vs. FC Twente 2:45
November 24: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Werder Bremen 2:45
December 7: FC Twente vs. Tottenham Hotspur 2:45
December 7: Werder Bremen vs. Inter Milan 2:45

Group B

1. Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel)
2. Lyon (France)
3. Schalke 04 (Germany)
4. Benfica (Portugal)

September 14: Lyon vs. Schalke 04 2:45
September 14: Benfica vs. Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2:45
September 29: Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Lyon 2:45
September 29: Schalke 04 vs. Benfica 2:45
October 20: Schalke 04 vs. Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2:45
October 20: Lyon vs. Benfica 2:45
November 2: Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Schalke 04
November 2: Benfica vs. Lyon 2:45
November 24: Schalke 04 vs. Lyon 2:45
November 24: Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Benfica 2:45
December 7: Lyon vs. Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2:45
December 7: Benfika vs. Schalke 04 2:45

Group C

1. Valencia (Spain)
2. Manchester United (England)
3. Rangers (Scotland)
4. Bursaspor (Turkey)

September 14: Manchester United vs. Rangers 2:45
September 14: Bursaspor vs. Valencia 2:45
September 29: Valencia vs. Manchester United 2:45
September 29: Rangers vs. Bursaspor 2:45
October 20: Rangers vs. Valencia 2:45
October 20: Manchester United vs. Bursaspor 2:45
November 2: Valencia vs. Rangers 2:45
November 2: Bursaspor vs. Manchester United 2:45
November 24: Rangers vs. Manchester United 2:45
November 24: Valencia vs. Bursaspor 2:45
December 7: Manchester United vs. Valencia 2:45
December 7: Bursaspor vs. Rangers 2:45

Group D

1. Rubin Kazan (Russia)
2. FC Barcelona (Spain)
3. Panathinaikos (Greece)
4. FC Copenhagen (Denmark)

September 14: FC Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos 2:45
September 14: FC Copenhagen vs. Rubin Kazan 2:45
September 29: Rubin Kazan vs. FC Barcelona 12:30
September 29: Panathinaikos vs. FC Copenhagen 2:45
October 20: Panathinaikos vs. Rubin Kazan 2:45
October 20: FC Barcelona vs. FC Copenhagen 2:45
November 2: Rubin Kazan vs. Panathinaikos 12:30
November 2: FC Copenhagen vs. FC Barcelona 2:45
November 24: Rubin Kazan vs. FC Copenhagen 12:30
November 24: Panathinaikos vs. FC Barcelona 2:45
December 7: FC Barcelona vs. Rubin Kazan 2:45
December 7: FC Copenhagen vs. Panathinaikos 2:45

Group E

1. FC Basel (Switzerland)
2. Bayern Munich (Germany)
3. AS Roma (Italy)
4. CFR Cluj (Romania)

September 15: Bayern Munich vs. AS Roma 2:45
September 15: CFR Cluj vs. FC Basel 2:45
September 28: FC Basel vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
September 28: AS Roma vs. CFR Cluj 2:45
October 19: AS Roma vs. FC Basel 2:45
October 19: Bayern Munich vs. CFR Cluj 2:45
November 3: FC Basel vs. AS Roma 2:45
November 3: CFR Cluj vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
November 23: AS Roma vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
November 23: FC Basel vs. CFR Cluj 2:45
December 8: Bayern Munich vs. FC Basel 2:45
December 8: CFR Cluj vs. AS Roma 2:45

Group F

1. Chelsea (England)
2. Marseille (France)
3. Spartak Moscow (Russia)
4. MSK Zilina (Slovakia)

September 15: Marseille vs. Spartak Moscow 2:45
September 15: MSK Zilina vs. Chelsea 2:45
September 28: Spartak Moscow vs. MSK Zilina 12:30
September 28: Chelsea vs. Marseille 2:45
October 19: Spartak Moscow vs. Chelsea 12:30
October 19: Marseille vs. MSK Zilina 2:45
November 3: Chelsea vs. Spartak Moscow 2:45
November 3: MSK Zilina vs. Marseille 2:45
November 23: Spartak Moscow vs. Marseille 12:30
November 23: Marseille vs. MSK Zilina 2:45
December 8: Marseille vs. Chelsea 2:45
December 8: MSK Zilina vs. Spartak Mowcow 2:45

Group G

1. Auxerre (France)
2. Real Madrid (Spain)
3. Ajax (Netherlands)
4. AC Milan (Italy)

September 15: Real Madrid vs. Ajax 2:45
September 15: AC Milan vs. AJ Auxerre 2:45
September 28: Auxerre vs. Real Madrid 2:45
September 28: Ajax vs. AC Milan 2:45
October 19: Ajax vs. Auxerre 2:45
October 19: Real Madrid vs. AC Milan 2:45
November 3: Auzerre vs. Ajax 2:45
November 3: AC Milan vs. Real Madrid 2:45
November 23: Ajax vs. Real Madrid 2:45
November 23: Auxerre vs. AC Milan 2:45
December 8: Real Madrid vs. Auxerre 2:45
December 8: AC Milan vs. AFC Ajax 2:45

Group H

1. FK Partizan (Serbia)
2. Arsenal (England)
3. Braga (Portugal)
4. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

September 15: Arsenal vs. Braga 2:45
September 15: Shakhtar Donetsk vs. FK Partizan 2:45
September 28: FK Partizan vs. Arsenal 2:45
September 28: Braga vs. FC Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45
October 19: Braga vs. FK Partizan 2:45
October 19: Arsenal vs. Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45
November 3: FK Partizan vs. Braga 2:45
November 3: Shakhtar Dontsk vs. Arsenal 2:45
November 23: Braga vs. Arsenal 2:45
November 23: FK Partizan vs. Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45
December 8: Arsenal vs. FK Partizan 2:45
December 8: Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Braga 2:45

Schedule by Day (home team listed first; all times PM ET)

September 14
Group A: FC Twente vs. Inter Milan 2:45
Group A: Werder Bremen vs. Tottenham Hotspur 2:45
Group B: Lyon vs. Schalke 04 2:45
Group B: Benfica vs. Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2:45
Group C: Manchester United vs. Rangers 2:45
Group C: Bursaspor vs. Valencia 2:45
Group D: FC Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos 2:45
Group D: FC Copenhagen vs. Rubin Kazan 2:45

September 15
Group E: Bayern Munich vs. AS Roma 2:45
Group E: CFR Cluj vs. FC Basel 2:45
Group F: Marseille vs. Spartak Moscow 2:45
Group F: MSK Zilina vs. Chelsea 2:45
Group G: Real Madrid vs. Ajax 2:45
Group G: AC Milan vs. AJ Auxerre 2:45
Group H: Arsenal vs. Braga 2:45
Group H: Shakhtar Donetsk vs. FK Partizan 2:45

September 28
Group F: Spartak Moscow vs. MSK Zilina 12:30
Group E: FC Basel vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
Group E: AS Roma vs. CFR Club 2:45
Group F: Chelsea vs. Marseille 2:45
Group G: Auxerre vs. Real Madrid 2:45
Group G: Ajax vs. AC Milan 2:45
Group H: FK Partizan vs. Arsenal 2:45
Group H: Braga vs. FC Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45

September 29
Group D: Rubin Kazan vs. FC Barcelona 12:30
Group A: Tottenham Hotspur vs. FC Twente 2:45
Group A: Inter Milan vs. Werder Bremen 2:45
Group B: Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Lyon 2:45
Group B: Schalke 04 vs. Benfica 2:45
Group C: Valencia vs. Manchester United 2:45
Group C: Rangers vs. Bursaspor 2:45
Group D: Panathinaikos vs. FC Copenhagen 2:45

October 19
Group F: Spartak Moscow vs. Chelsea 12:30
Group E: AS Roma vs. FC Basel 2:45
Group E: Bayern Munich vs. CFR Cluj 2:45
Group F: Marseille vs. MSK Zilina 2:45
Group G: Ajax vs. Auxerre 2:45
Group G: Real Madrid vs. AC Milan 2:45
Group H: Braga vs. FK Partizan 2:45
Group H: Arsenal vs. Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45

October 20
Group A: Inter Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur 2:45
Group A: FC Twente vs. Werder Bremen 2:45
Group B: Schalke 04 vs. Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2:45
Group B: Lyon vs. Benfica 2:45
Group C: Rangers vs. Valencia 2:45
Group C: Manchester United vs. Bursaspor 2:45
Group D: Panathinaikos vs. Rubin Kazan 2:45
Group D: FC Barcelona vs. FC Copenhagen 2:45

November 2
Group D: Rubin Kazan vs. Panathinaikos 12:30
Group A: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Inter Milan 2:45
Group A: Werder Bremen vs. FC Twente 2:45
Group B: Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Schalke 04
Group B: Benfica vs. Lyon 2:45
Group C: Valencia vs. Rangers 2:45
Group C: Bursaspor vs. Manchester United 2:45
Group D: FC Copenhagen vs. FC Barcelona 2:45

November 3
Group E: FC Basel vs. AS Roma 2:45
Group E: CFR Cluj vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
Group F: Chelsea vs. Spartak Moscow 2:45
Group F: MSK Zilina vs. Marseille 2:45
Group G: Auzerre vs. Ajax 2:45
Group G: AC Milan vs. Real Madrid 2:45
Group H: FK Partizan vs. Braga 2:45
Group H: Shakhtar Dontsk vs. Arsenal 2:45

November 23
Group F: Spartak Moscow vs. Marseille 12:30
Group E: AS Roma vs. Bayern Munich 2:45
Group E: FC Basel vs. CFR Cluj 2:45
Group F: Chelsea vs. MSK Zilina 2:45
Group G: Ajax vs. Real Madrid 2:45
Group G: Auxerre vs. AC Milan 2:45
Group H: Braga vs. Arsenal 2:45
Group H: FK Partizan vs. Shakhtar Donetsk 2:45

November 24
Group D: Rubin Kazan vs. FC Copenhagen 12:30
Group A: Inter Milan vs. FC Twente 2:45
Group A: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Werder Bremen 2:45
Group B: Schalke 04 vs. Lyon 2:45
Group B: Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Benfica 2:45
Group C: Rangers vs. Manchester United 2:45
Group C: Valencia vs. Bursaspor 2:45
Group D: Panathinaikos vs. FC Barcelona 2:45

December 7
Group A: FC Twente vs. Tottenham Hotspur 2:45
Group A: Werder Bremen vs. Inter Milan 2:45
Group B: Lyon vs. Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2:45
Group B: Benfika vs. Schalke 04 2:45
Group C: Manchester United vs. Valencia 2:45
Group C: Bursaspor vs. Rangers 2:45
Group D: FC Barcelona vs. Rubin Kazan 2:45
Group D: FC Copenhagen vs. Panathinaikos 2:45

December 8
Group E: Bayern Munich vs. FC Basel 2:45
Group E: CFR Cluj vs. AS Roma 2:45
Group F: Marseille vs. Chelsea 2:45
Group F: MSK Zilina vs. Spartak Mowcow 2:45
Group G: Real Madrid vs. Auxerre 2:45
Group G: AC Milan vs. AFC Ajax 2:45
Group H: Arsenal vs. FK Partizan 2:45
Group H: Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Braga 2:45

Champions League Groups Revealed

As always with these draws, it took an hour to reveal something that should take no more than ten minutes to, but hey, anything to kill time and add unnecessary pageantry, right? However, the bottom line is we (eventually) got there and the 8 groups are determined.

Group A
Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Tottenham Hotspur
FC Twente

Group B
Lyon
Benfica
Schalke 04
Hapoel Tel Aviv

Group C
Manchester United
Valencia
Rangers
Bursapor

Group D
Barcelona
Panithanikos
FC Copenhagen
Rubin Kazan

Group E
Bayern Munich
AS Roma
FC Basel
CFL Cluj

Group F
Chelsea
Marseille
Spartak Moscow
MSK Zilina

Group G
AC Milan
Real Madrid
Ajax
Auxerre

Group H
Arsenal
Shaktar Donesk
SC Braga
FK Partisan

Group G, featuring AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, and Auxerre is clearly the Group of Death. That being said, the Group D matches between Manchester United and Rangers could possibly feature a group of deaths. I wish I could take credit for that joke, but sadly, I can't.

As far as my teams go, both Chelsea and Barcelona got very favorable draws. Each of Chelsea's opponents were ranked in the bottom 2 of their respective pot and 2 out of 3 opponents for Barcelona were ranked there as well, with the only exception being Pot 4's Rubin Kazan of Russia. Both Chelsea and Barcelona have opposition in Russia and may even end up having to there in very cold weather, which may not necessarily bode well, especially for Barcelona, but given that Spartak Moscow and Rubin Kazan do not match up with the quality of Barcelona and Chelsea, there is no reason why Chelsea should not be able to easily defeat Spartak Moscow at Stamford Bridge and no reason for FCB to not defeat Rubin Kazan at Camp Nou. Both teams should come in 1st place in their respective group with ease.

Because there is more coverage of them and the EPL in the U.S. and SB Nation has a fine blog for them, if push comes to shove, I want Chelsea to win over Barcelona. That being said, watching Champions League games will not be easy as once I move back to college in the next 48 hours, as I will be without Fox Soccer Channel, so I will be forced to hope that UEFA does not take down the illegally available online streams. If anyone knows any sites that legally stream Champions League games for free and is available in the United States, please let me know what they are as it will save an incredible headache for me. Thanks!

Once the full group stage schedule is known, I will make a post similar to what I did for the World Cup.

Tales From The London Sports World

(The author of the post just returned home after spending 2 whole nights in London.)

It does not need to be said but football (or as we dumb Americans call it, soccer) is the most popular sport in London. Rugby is also quite popular in the area, though nothing comes close to football. Though I spent the majority of time in London in the Boroughs of Westminster and London (yes, London has boroughs like NYC and yes, one of London's Boroughs is named London; as one can imagine, it is in the center of the city), where no football team is directly based, which made things quite interesting when shopping in souvenir stores because not one team's materials dominated the area. I obviously did not go into every souvenir/sports store in London, but those that I did go in did not seem to favor any one team over the other. The four teams most prominent were the EPL's 4 biggest teams: Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Arsenal. For some reason though, of those 4, I saw the least Liverpool items. Maybe it is because their English accents are ridiculously hard to understand. Or because no one outside their own fanbase likes them.

Regardless, I managed to pick up a Frank Lampard Chelsea jersey (I am wearing it now) for a very cheap price. Before the Philadelphia Union, I was never really into club soccer that much, just the international tournaments. Philadelphia had no team. I did not have any connection with any team at all. It was just something that I could not get into. But now I have found myself being drawn to club teams. Maybe it is just that it is coming off the World Cup. Maybe it is that I have been to several European cities now and am getting a better feel for the leagues over there. Maybe it is starting with the Union that now that I have one, I am finding more and more. Whatever the reason may be, at this point, my three favorite clubs are: Philadelphia Union, FC Barcelona, and Chelsea.

Aspeaking of FC Barcelona, I saw something in London that I never thought I would ever see in London: a Lionel Messi FC Barcelona jersey. Funny thing, though, there was something even stranger for London right next that: a Lionel Messi Argentina jersey. Yes, this is London, England I am talking about.

I was hoping to watch an EPL game while I was over there, but BBC was not showing any games when I was watching TV and for some reason the hotel TV could not pick up a signal from Sky Sports on Sunday.

Enough about soccer and onto a sport that I always wanted to know more about, but never saw an actual game of it until my time in London: cricket. Having been to Europe several times, I can safely say that baseball is not popular at all there. That being said, cricket is a pretty big sport overseas that shares some similarities with baseball. There are different forms of cricket and while the 5 day matches would be a little too much for me, a recently new brand of cricket caught my attention: Twenty20 cricket. One night when there was nothing going on, myself and My Brother The Vikings Fan were channel surfing and saw a cricket match on Sky Sports. Seeing as cricket is a sport that I wanted to know more about, I wanted to watch more of it. As things turned out, it was the championship match of the Friends Provident t20 Cricket league between Somerset and Hampshire. I only later found out that this is a cricket league in its first year, but the match was thoroughly intriguing for me with an incredibly wild finish.



I can't say for sure how popular this form of cricket is or how diehard cricket fans feel about cricket games lasting only 3 hours and 30 minutes (the approximate length of a twenty20 cricket match), but the match I saw was thoroughly entertaining. Also helping was the incredible closeness of the match and the wild finish.

Something that I was very curious about heading into London was the popularity of the now annual NFL game played at Wembley Stadium. Over here, I think it is seen as more of a pain in the neck than anything else, especially for the teams and the fans of those teams playing in that game. Over in London, it is actually a pretty big deal and is fairly popular among the London faithful. No one is ever going to mistake London for Green Bay, but the NFL's marketing attempts do seem to be working. The couple of people that I talked to about this do care when the NFL makes their yearly trip to London. It garners attention, it garners media, it garners publicity, etc. People in the USA may not like or care about the NFL's game in London, but Roger Goddell's attempt to gain international attention for the NFL seem to be working.

I was hoping to see a rugby match. Never got a chance. I was also hoping to drive past Stamford Bridge or Wembley Stadium. Never got there (though unbeknownst to me at the time, I did spend some time in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which borders the Borough Hammersmith and Fulham; the site of Stamford Bridge).

Eight Is Great As Chelsea Wins Their 4th EPL Championship

London must now me immersed in a sea of Blue as Chelsea clinched the English Premier League championship with a beyond emphatic 8-0 stomping of Wigan. Chelsea took control of the game from the beginning and Wigan never threatened to score until late in the game when Chelsea already had a touchdown advantage on their lesser adversary.

The game was essentially over in the 31' minute when Caldwell of Wigan committed a penalty on Frank Lampard. Lombard converted the penalty kick to make it 2-0 Chelsea and that would essentially be the end of it. Chelsea would not be through with Wigan though as they added 6-second half goals, including 3 from Didier Drogba that clinched the golden boot for him, to emphatically proclaim that they are the EPL Champions. And when you go unbeaten in a year against the rest of the EPL Big 4, chances are you darn well deserve it. Here is the video of the clinching penalty kick that gave them the 2-0 comfort zone that would never be threatened.



It was a stunning offensive performance all the way around for Chelsea consisting of several beautiful goals and I eagerly anticipate returning from London this August with a Chelsea blue Didier Drogba jersey. Despite his occasional selfishness, he is an extremely entertaining player to watch. I first saw him in the 2006 World Cup, and it is nice to see that he has not changed since (FYI, before anyone starts calling me a bandwagoner and leveling me with the same insults I hurl at Washington Capitals fans, I have all sorts of soccer jerseys because frankly, in the summer, I hate the heat and these jerseys are nice and light, not to mention they are comfortable as hell to wear; I have a Peru jersey, France jersey, FC Barcelona jersey Zlaton Ibrahimovic Inter Milan jersey, and a Tunisia jersey among others).

Aspeaking of the World Cup, we are currently a month and 2 days away from the 2010 FIFA World Cup and even though I probably could not name a single player on some of these teams now, I am stoked nonetheless.

Because honestly, I do not know a whole lot about some of these teams, I will take a different route to preview the World Cup and look at each of the cities and venues in South Africa hosting the World Cup games complete with some prose, facts, and pictures.

The 2006 World Cup was the first time I ever watched soccer and I could not have been more pleased or entertained with the result, and now that I have beyond a firm grasp of the basic rules of the sport (something I did not as I tuned into to see Germany host Costa Rica in Munich), I am sure that I will enjoy this year's even more.