Okay, the Packers suck. Even in HD. They should have had Seattle buried in the first half and it’s their own fault they let the Seachickens back into the game. However, a team this bad doesn’t deserve to get killed by the refs. Two calls on the Seattle drive—a blatant holding no-call on the drive’s longest passing play and the wrong-call on the roughing the passer penalty—totally put the knife in them. And that sucks.

I am wholly unconvinced by Mike McCarthy. I wasn’t a huge fan of Sherman but he held the team together for a number of years. The team has nose-dived thanks to a series of bonehead front office moves and I don’t trust that the vaunted blocking scheme we’ve heard so much about will ever pan out. Ray Rhodes got the axe his first season in charge because the team looked rickety. I’d say the same about McCarthy, but he’s keeping his job. Let’s hope I’m wrong.

A busy weekend in England. Spurs rolled over Wigan 3-1, the Ars* threw in the towel on the title race, and Chelski earned a point at Man Ure. Advantage: Chelski.

Will the second half of the season be as interesting as the first? I bet not. Watford and Charlton need to turn things around quickly if they want to climb out of the drop zone, and I bet that doesn’t happen. If this is true, then that means there’s only remaining club to go down, and it’s got to be Sheffield United. The clubs above them will likely be able to do what they need to and keep out of the drop zone and I can’t see Sheffield United doing enough differently to get out of their predicament. I think they’re a quality side but they just can’t seem to get over that hump and win games.

At the top of the table, I can’t see Man Ure keeping the pace. I can very easily imagine Chelski picking up another 40+ points before May but I can’t say the same about United. As was mentioned all over the place this past weekend, Man Ure has a weak bench compared to the Russians and that will make the difference over the long haul. No one is within touching distance of either of them, so it’s a two-horse race. Better than a one-horse race, I guess.

Chasing the final Champions League and UEFA Cup spots will be the most gripping table drama, I suppose. (yawn) If I had to pick today, I’d take the Ars* and Bolton for spots 3 and 4, and Liverpool or Villa for 5th. Pompey can’t keep it up and hot-and-cold Spurs aren’t likely to make a serious push as long as their distracted by European competition.

The picture will be much clearer in a few weeks. If you’re unfamiliar with the English league, there’s a fixture crunch around the holidays that sets the stage for the second half of the season. The points won and lost in the period usually consign a team (or two) to almost certain relegation and the title contenders step to the fore. I can’t see any major shake-ups at the very top or very bottom, and I feel the usual suspects will fill their assigned roles (this means mid-table mediocrity for Spurs in case you were wondering).

Maybe I’m just being pessimistic. The Champions League should be fun from here to the end, though. All the English sides look a good bet and I also wonder if this is the year Lyon can shake off their Champs League funk and actually make a serious run. Not that I’m rooting for them. I spent a few days in Lyon once. It rained and we were treated like merde by the waitstaff at the city’s only open restaurant. And I’m disturbed by Juninho’s monobrow.

I gave up on A Tale of Two Cities and wonder whether Dickens might be something I need to read rather than listen to. Instead, I started For the Whom the Bell Tolls and practically smacked myself in the head as I listened to the first couple chapters. As in, “Why didn’t I read this sooner?” I know what the story is about, but I didn’t put two and two together until I remembered what it was about ().

It’s early days, but I’m really digging it. Hemingway had me hooked at formal Castilian. The soldiers as depicted are overwhelmingly…well, Spanish. And therefore stubborn, proud and fascinating. And lines like this: “There are two rules for getting along with the Spanish: give the men tobacco and leave the women alone.”

Lord, why didn’t I pick this book up sooner? (smacks self in head) And why have I been putting off Death In The Afternoon for that matter?

Much reading to do, and wasting too much time blogging. Signing off.

Current Mood: Full |