The Drubbing

Crime and Punishment

Colin Ingram, Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 12:25 PM Comments (0)

Today FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, laid down some serious pavement over a persistent problem in the world of professional soccer.  It announced today that Chelsea Football Club has been banned from participating in the next two available transfer windows (January and Summer 2010) as a result of a little tapping up on a player.  Back in 2007, Lens striker Gael Kakuta was allegedly encouraged and “induced” to break his contract with the club by Chelsea officials.  Tapping up directly undermines the integrity of the game and casts a shadow over the clubs that take part in it.  If deals are being honed without agents or team officials involved, then its begets a feeling of anarchy to the whole transfer system.

Wow. I stand in awe at the sheer brilliance of the move on FIFA’s part.

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UEFA Champions League Draw

Colin Ingram, Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 4:54 PM Comments (0)

For a sport whose U.S. detractors find it exaggerated, overly dramatic and slow, football (read: soccer) truly knows how to make these attributes work in their favor.  Even if they’re just drawing names out of a hat.

What makes this situation unique is that rather than a playoff situation in American sports where you can see your likely opponent coming for as much as a month out from the post-season, here you’re actually finding out along with the rest of the world as it unfolds in front of you. It’s akin to the NCAA Basketball Selection specials that precede The Tourney.  Here, the big wigs (Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester United, Milan, etc.) sit with their contingent relatively unmoved by who shows up on their plate.  Whereas the flip side to this cool approach finds the clubs like Rubin Kazan visibly sweating and bug-eyed when their name gets called. “F@#$, we have Barca and Inter?!?!”
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Adidas Teams Up KG and CFC for Limited Edition Footwear

Colin Ingram, Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:33 PM Comments (0)

In an absolutely genius trans-Atlantic marketing move, Adidas has capitalized on a mutual connection between NBA superstar Kevin Garnett and Chelsea Football Club.

Our friends over at EPLTalk.com brought this news to our attention and revealed that Adidas, Garnett and Chelsea FC will be teaming up for some limited-edition kicks.
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Christmas Morning for Soccer Fans in US

Colin Ingram, Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 10:28 AM Comments (2)

Fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts everywhere awoke this morning to find ESPN2 airing funny accents, dribbling and goals rather than the usual rods and reels. I can only imagine the horror they felt.

In a move that will make any US soccer fan weep with joy, ESPN has recently, and at the 11th hour, secured the rights to up to two English Premier League fixtures per week.  The two time slots fall at 7:45 AM EST or 10:00 AM EST on Saturdays and all of the Monday 3:00 PM EST fixtures.  With the top league in the world now on a major cable network for all to see, soccer will have its day here in this country. Even if it is quite early on Saturday morning, especially for the West Coast viewership.

But this morning, while watching Chelsea v. Hull City in HD, I couldn’t help but think how great it is that the highest level of soccer will be on display for those who find little joy in the currently mediocre talents of the MLS. The sight of Didier Drogba scoring from a vicious set-piece to draw Chelsea level at 1-1 had me yelling at the top of my lungs before the 9 o’clock hour had even rolled around, leaving my wife truly worrying about my mental state.
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Slaying Goliath… US 2 – Spain 0

Colin Ingram, Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 11:14 PM Comments (0)

Let me be the first to admit that the United States Men’s Soccer Team looked outstanding today against a Spain side who were blind-sided by the Yank onslaught.  Contrary to my gloom and doom post yesterday, the US played with piss and vinegar making Spain seem incredibly ordinary at times.

Was it a case of Spain coming out flat and underestimating the Americans?  Was it the Americans finally playing a flowing game of soccer that we’ve all been looking for since their pre-2006 World Cup days?  Perhaps a bit of both.  
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Fumbling, Bumbling, Tumbling… Into the Semis.

Colin Ingram, Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 8:54 AM Comments (0)

Dear US, prepare to be dismantled. Love, David Villa.

The United States Men’s National Soccer Team find themselves in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.  However, when they meet Spain on Wednesday in Bloemfontein (a completely real city, despite its seemingly fictitious name) they will not subsequently find themselves advancing to the finals.  Anything can happen in sports, but the fact that the US are in the semi-finals is a bit of a false indicator to the lay soccer fan.  In all honesty, they made it here by mistake.
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It’s Week 7 of the NHL and Alllllll’s Weeeeelllll!

Colin Ingram, Monday, November 17, 2008 at 3:14 PM Comments (0)

Seriously.

Admit it.  Hockey isn’t nearly as boring, hard to follow, trivial, unimportant and irrelevant as you’d like to make it.

We’re now three season’s separated from an NHL work stoppage that many thought would spell the end of hockey in the U.S. for good.  With a plummeting fan base and a TV contract that found its way to rivaling the rodeo for air time, the NHL looked to be in ridiculously thin ice.
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