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A few years ago I started tracking the champions of European soccer leagues in a database to see if I could see any definite trend in competitiveness after the introduction of major advertising revenues via television rights deals, which exploded in the early nineties. I also wanted to compare them against the major US sports to compare turnover, meaning how many times new champions were crowned. I dropped them into a grid going back to 1984 (twenty-six years) and the results surprised me. (full tables below the cut)

First off, from looking at a list of champions alone, you can’t say that things changed dramatically for European soccer. In each of the big five leagues, the champions have always come from a very select few teams. In England, they’ve had 3 different teams win the title in 6 years; not so bad considering that the number only increases to 7 if you go all the way back to 1984. Also, I was surprised to see that the other European leagues had been just as static over that time period. Italy leads the pack with 9 different champs since 1984. The numbers look even worse if you toss out the teams that have only won one championship; Spain’s the worst offender as it really just boils down to two teams in Real Madrid and Barcelona, with Valencia winning twice and Atletico Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, and Atletico Bilbao only topping the table once.

This stands in stark contrast with US sports, whose leagues have tried to maintain a higher level of parity. Even though it seems like dynasties are fairly common in US sports, the table shows quite a bit of turnover: fourteen and fifteen different champs for NFL and NHL, a whopping nineteen for MLB, leaving only the NBA as having numbers similar to the European leagues with 9. Only the Champions League (formerly European Cup) comes close to those numbers with fourteen different winners. Of course, there are a couple important variables: it’s cup competition not a league, and it runs concurrently with a domestic league season.

This data also discounts the fact that many of these title races go right down to the wire, but it also reveals the fact that certain teams always seem to win out in the end. Still, it’s hard to see how an eighteen-team, single-table European league wouldn’t be significantly more competitive and perhaps more interesting. I also can’t see a salary cap being put in place anytime soon, considering the clout these major European teams have, and there’s also no denying that the rich have become richer and that vying for these domestic league titles is a very, very expensive proposition.

Draw what conclusions you will.

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It’s the last day of 2008 and, overall, I can’t say that it was a fabulous year.

The highlights of the year were undoubtedly our trips to Spain (here) and Costa Rica (pictures forthcoming). We hadn’t planned for two international trips in one year, but our Costa Rica trip got pushed back a year due to tight finances and our Spain trip was celebrating Amy’s graduation from grad school, so it just kind of happened that way. No big trips for 2009 planned.

All in all, an absolutely lousy year for writing. My one and only sale happened in January and was for a reprint. I had a measly twenty-six submissions on the year—that’s twenty-six, my lowest output since 2004, the year I really started writing—and a lot of those were older stories that were circulating through my top markets. Compare that with the previous two years (51 subs and 39 subs, respectively) and it’s no wonder I haven’t sold anything recently.

On the brighter side, I did see my story “The Hodag” published in Black Static #7 and “Of Silver Bullets and Golden Teeth” in The Beast Within, an anthology by Graveside Press. I also received an Honorable Mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror for my story “Black Jack Davy,” and I was also mentioned in Ellen Datlow’s introduction to the book. So those things buoy me somewhat. But now that my coursework is winding down, I hope (hope, hope) to regain some time for writing.

My books read list was 54 this year, down from 64 in 2007. The highlight in this area was being introduced to the work of Louise Erdrich, as I read seven of her books in 2008. I also read seven books by Cormac McCarthy, but I still count Blood Meridian (which I reread) as being head and shoulders above the rest. Other high points include Wild Indians and Other Creatures by Adrian Louis, Fools Crow by James Welch, The Age of Wire and String by Ben Marcus, The Journalist by Harry Matthews, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman and Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, and Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

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2008 was an indifferent year for the teams I support. Tottenham won the League Cup but had an abysmal league season and, for the season currently underway, hover just above the drop zone. Also, Dish Network dropped GolTV, depriving me of watching the Spanish league and I find it much harder to keep focused on it now that I can’t see the action on a weekly basis. No doubt about it though, the highpoint of the soccer year was watching Spain slice apart the competition in Euro 2008. It’s so very rare that my absolute favorite teams accomplish anything, so it was a great joy to see Spain finally get their just rewards on the international stage.

Let’s not even talk about football. The Packers went from being a few plays away from the Super Bowl to being 6-10 under dolts Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson. Letting Favre go was probably the right move, but they couldn’t have handled it much worse. The Badgers were truly awful this year and it’s remarkable they started the year so highly rated.

I took some very good classes in 2008 and I like to think I did some good work. Over this year I got a good grip on two major areas of study—Global postmodern fiction focusing on magical realism, the surreal, and the fantastic, and Native American lit—and plan on fleshing out the third (something to do with the aesthetics of texts and visual narratives) in 2009. Best of all, I got a teaching position and survived my first semester of English 101, which means (in theory) I have a lot of teaching options open in the next couple years.

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And of course, I can’t talk about 2008 without mentioning the passing of our kitty Heineken. It still tears me up to write about it and we miss him terribly. His death cast a pall over the entire year as it always seemed like something was missing as we transitioned from season to season, and the house still feels a little empty without him. Rabbits have taken up residence in his garden, and we need him now more than ever. We love you Heiner.

His sister Athena turns five in February and is just as goofy and crazy as ever. Nothing to report with her, except that she made a fantastic haul this Christmas, receiving an unprecedented number of toys. Good work Bean, you deserve it!

To whoever reads this space, thanks very much! Blog hits rose again in 2008 (probably because of the four-year archive I’ve built up) which is a nice thing. Hopefully the trend will continue in 2009. See you all on the other side!

Current Mood: Singing Auld Lang Syne |

Giving out pot shots, of course.

If I was the kind of person to burn someone in effigy, I would be constructing a dummy resembling Mike Sherman. Once again, the Packers were winning and were successfully coached into the ground. How many times did they have the game won on Monday night, only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? McCarthy has to be complimented for finding new and unusual ways to lose.

Two utterly predictable headlines from MLS:
* Parkhurst to join Denmark’s FC Nordsjaelland
* Hip surgery to sideline Ljungberg for 10-12 weeks

For laughs, read the comments for the article on Parkhurst where people apparently try and convince each other that the Danish league is better than MLS, most MLS teams are the caliber of the English League One, and that Parkhurst is making this move for competitive reasons. Funny, funnier, and downright wrong. Parkhurst is probably doubling his salary by moving to Denmark; that’s the long and short of it. Back in 1998, I remember players transferring to semi-professional Belgian teams were making more than guys in MLS. Ten years later, it’s a very safe bet that first division teams in the lesser leagues are still able to pay far, far better and with the salary situation being what it is in MLS, the Revs are always going to spend more of their meager money on a striker (Twellman) than a defender (Parkhurst).

The second news bit is hilariously predictable. Freddie Ljunberg, in his days with Ars*nal, was a force to be reckoned with, a dynamic exciting player who could set a league like MLS alight. However, the reason he’s no longer playing in England? A series of serious injuries. MLS is nowhere as fast or skillful as England, but in terms of the rough stuff, it’s in the neighborhood. How many games until he’s out? Ten? Less?

Merry Christmas Eve to all. We’re with family, warm, and happy.

Current Mood: Content |

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this season, it’s that I’m unwilling to watch the Badgers play god-awful football week in and week out whereas I feel it’s almost an obligation to watch my beloved Packers stumble to a losing season.

Mike McCarthy is not a good coach and unfortunately Ted Thompson, the man who can correct the situation, is a bigger moron. How many close games do the Packers have to lose this season before someone wakes up and realizes that McCarthy and his team of coaches is a huge part of the problem. Lousy defense, excessive penalties, awful special teams, and horrible play calling have killed the Packers this season and all of that points to bad coaching.

That last one is especially true today. How many times have we seen the Packers in a short yardage situation with a down or two, where they line up clearly showing a run up the middle and then fail to get it? It happened at least twice today, and Rodgers narrowly QB sneaked a third. Erm, if it hasn’t worked all season, might you not try to switch things up? McCarthy is an idiot.

I’m working on my assignment sequence for next semester and I plan on incorporating some online component, a space where students post things to a secure course discussion board and then comment on each others’ writing. Studies show that if you do this the right way, students get really involved and pitch in with ideas they might be hesitant to say in class. However, if you do it the wrong way then students don’t interact, they just post random responses without engaging each other. And there’s definitely risk involved: one study suggests that online first-year comp courses take 85% more time to teach. I didn’t find any results for hybrid courses (some online content mixed with classroom time) but that stat is enough to give anyone pause.

It’s amusing to think back to my undergrad years when I would complain about TAs and professors making students sign up to lead discussion for one class period. I felt this was a cop-out, a way for them to get out of work. Now that I’m on the other side of the fence I see that’s only partially true. One theory behind having students lead class discussion is that students are more likely to chip in and add to the discussion when it’s one of their peers struggling to get people to talk, whereas they’re far more likely to fold their arms and clam up when it’s the course instructor attempting to spark discussion. My class this semester was good about talking, but I teach later in the afternoon next semester and folks have told me that it’s hard to keep students engaged later in the day.

I just finished up my final final paper moments ago, coming in at a cool 18.5 pages. I’m so close to being done for the semester I can taste it. And boy, won’t that be nice.

Current Mood: Fine |

I watched Chelski vs. Arsn*al today and it was a fantastic game. After thinking about it and determining that there was no way both teams could lose, I was pulling for a draw since that would harm them both almost equally. I figured if Chelski won then it would be yet another loss for the Arse, and if they lost then that would give Liverpool the opportunity to take a lead at the top.

What I will state emphatically, categorically, and beyond any doubt whatsoever, is that this win does not put Ars*nal back in the title race, no matter what small-minded twits are saying. Let’s be excruciatingly clear—in order for this to be the case, both Chelski and Liverpool would need to drop seven points (and Man Ure would need to clear out of the way as well) coupled with the small matter of Ars*nal not dropping any points at the same time.

What this match showed me is that the Arse are legitimate contenders for the Champions League trophy as the squad has the ability to elevate their game when playing quality opponents. What should be painfully clear to anyone with eyes is that this team fails when they play against teams who like the rough stuff. Unfortunately for them, Ars*nal play in England and that means there are plenty of Wigans, Boltons, Fulhams, Stokes, West Broms, Hulls, and Sunderlands around who don’t mind putting the boot in, and squads like Pompey, Spurs, Everton, Villa, Man City, and even Boro on their day who can also pass the ball. As odd as it sounds, I think Ars*nal would fancy facing Barcelona over any of these lot. What this weekend also showed is that I don’t think Villa or any of the chasing pack are any better, so I think the Big Four will remain unsettled for another year.

What about Chelski though? They went south so, so fast and showed practically no life after the second goal put them behind. Worrying times if you’re Big Phil, and I hope to God that Rafa doesn’t look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth and chooses a less than a full-strength squad. Yes, it’s only West Ham and they’ve been abysmal lately, but for God’s sake man, if the draw at Fulham hasn’t woken Rafa up (or, say, the last three years in the league) to the need to take full points in every game, there’s no hope for him.

Spurs are only out of the drop zone on goal difference. Can’t take the foot off the pedal yet lads…

Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy. I’m a big fan of one and not so much for the other. Care to guess which is which? One of these gentlemen did his job well today. The other? Not.

The Packers aren’t going to the play-offs this year and for my money the biggest reason is lousy offensive play calling, lousy defense, and god-awful special teams. (Hint: the quarterback isn’t in charge of any of these.)

Current Mood: Procrastinating |

This site gets severely neglected in crunch times, and it’s crunch time. I was freaking out earlier about how I was going to get everything done by the end of the semester (Dec. 12 or so) but after mapping it all out I think I’ll be good to go. I realized today that a slow, steady approach is not what’s called for. I have about three major projects that I need to care of, and it makes way more sense to dedicate about a week to each while abandoning nearly everything else. This plan should keep me sane.

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I love my Packers, I really do, and to see them mercilessly whip up on the Bears was a joy to behold. They looked like world-beaters, even though I’m convinced that the NFC North has three average teams that aren’t going to the Super Bowl.

The Badgers have been so god-awful this season that I can hardly stand to watch. The only consolation this weekend was that you can always count on the Golden Vomit to botch things up worse than Wisconsin. Their complete capitulation inspired much laughter in my house.

Speaking of the corridors of Hergenrader echoing with laughter, how great was Aston Villa’s Arse smacking on Saturday? A fairer score probably would have been 4-0 as Villa played their hosts off the park. Seriously, to put in such a limp performance at home…why are there still headlines saying “Ars*nal Title Chances Dented”? I suspected that their win against Man Ure last weekend did more damage to the champions’ hopes of retaining the title than it did about Ars*nal’s credentials for staying in the race, and this result suggests I was right.

For the yutzes who haven’t yet come to grips with how these European leagues work—it doesn’t matter how pretty you play or the big teams you beat, it all comes down to the season-long table. If you’re like the Arse and you’re nine points off the pace with a third of the season gone, not only do you need to basically be flawless from here on out, you need to have the three teams ahead of you all drop more points than you do. For a side that’s already lost four (two at home), that doesn’t seem too likely, does it?

The major misconception is that unlike baseball, basketball, or American football, there is no “peaking at the right time” in regards to the regular season. Mediocre teams like the NY Giants managed to get hot in December and that paved the way to the Super Bowl. Not so in the league for footie. That holds true for the cup competitions, but it’s quite often that teams are mortally wounded by November and December and there is no coming back. The only recent exception is Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle blowing a ten-point lead in the ‘95-’96 season, but I can’t see Benitez’s Liverpool or Scolari’s Chelski wobbling that badly. Nor can I see this Ars*nal crop making up the ground.

Still awfully tight, tight, tight though.

Current Mood: Sure |

The secret to watching the United States play some good attacking soccer? Have them face a tiny Caribbean nation playing with one man down. The US whipped up on Cuba to the tune of 6-1 last night and featured some pretty decent attack play. I was really happy to see DaMarcus Beasley bang in two well-taken goals and Heath Pearce, who I have been moaning about for the last several months, had a really good game, serving in great balls from the wing.

Still, I can’t be all positive. The US started with essentially the same lineup that’s been boring us to tears since qualification began. I was excited to see Altidore, Adu, and Torres in the squad, disappointed that none of them got the start. I thought Altidore and Adu played quite well in the minutes they did get, scoring and getting an assist respectively, and Torres looks like he could be handy too. But I don’t want to draw too many conclusions as Cuba was well-beaten and exhausted at that point. My sincere hope is that these fellas don’t step off the field for the next two irrelevant games and force their way into the starting lineup for the final round of qualifiers.

I watched portions of England’s win over Kazakhstan and was fairly unimpressed. The first couple goals game off set pieces and the team looked awfully plodding until the goals finally started dropping in late in the second half. So a big scoreline, yes, but watching England reminds me a lot of the current US squad and I find myself asking this question: what happens when these teams play somebody good?

Like Spain. 3-0 against Estonia might not have been a devastating performance by the Spaniards, but they sure do look tasty all the same. Iniesta and Xavi are ridiculous in the midfield. During the Euros I said you couldn’t get the ball off them if you had a pool cue to help trip them up; I’m raising that to a shotgun. If you want to criticize (and I don’t) you could accuse them of trying to walk the ball in the net, but it’s still fun to watch, and they still won handily—away, on a rain-slicked pitch. I wish the World Cup was this summer…

The less said the better. My prediction was that it would be ugly so I watched the US national team instead. It turned out to be uglier than I ever would have dreamed. Pure awful. After the Michigan loss I said that this team tends to lose in streaks, and boy, have I been proven right.

Mad City FC won again yesterday, 5-1, and I had nothing to do with it since I wasn’t in town. I should make the next two games though and hopefully close out the season with a pair of wins.

Current Mood: Fine |
Currently Listening To - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - “Global A Go-Go”

Mad City United won again, this time 5-2. I again opened the scoring early in the first half, and again it had to be one of the most god-awful goals in league history. I shot from about 20 yards out (again, almost the same exact circumstance) but didn’t hit it all that well. The ball dipped at the goal line and the keeper, expecting it to bounce up into his arms, had to be mortified when it nutmegged him for a goal. Oops.

MCU played really well today with lots of fluid passing but we were a bit profligate in front of goal. We passed instead of shooting, and shot instead of passing. The opposition got only a handful of shots on goal and they were awarded two penalties (one pretty clear-cut, the other not so much). From the run of play they had made a shot or two, and scored on a corner with the last kick of the game to make the score seem somewhat closer than it was. On that same play, a dickhead on their team who was routinely going in with perhaps too much gusto decided it would be a good idea to shove me from behind as hard as he could to get open, and now my neck and back are out of whack. Had the game gone on another two minutes I likely would have found reason to return the favor. So it’s probably better it ended when it did. And I need to do more physical therapy on my right leg—it seems noticeably weaker in the last few weeks and I am having the occasional twinge of pain walking up and down stairs. Not good, not good.

Speaking of profligate strikers, can you believe Ars*nal surrendered their perfect home record at the Emirates to Hull City today? Hilarious. I was just starting to think that maybe, just maybe, they could actually be title contenders this year, but today offered a good dose of reality—they did not address their defensive problems on set pieces, they don’t deal well in general with physical teams, and as the season wears on and injuries come into play. They still play some pretty stuff when they’re on their game, but I honestly don’t see them being able to keep pace with Man Ure and Chelski.

This article on Spurs suggests why the club is always in a state of crisis, but Hubbard misses the real point: business has always taken precedence over the squad for at least the last decade. They have bought up every young player in England (and increasingly the continent) they could get their hands on with the intent of selling them. The Berbatov bit was a good piece of business, and the bottom line is that for all the talk of going fourth, Spurs have not bought any of the big-time, world-renowned players who would help them get there. The reason? It’s too much of a risk and doesn’t make enough business sense.

I skipped through most of Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan today. In truth, Michigan tried handing them the game about a half-dozen times but the anemic offense couldn’t seal the deal. Blowing a 19 point lead is ridiculous, and it’s this same ultra-conservative play calling that the Packers do to protect a lead that allows teams to get back in the game. Stupid, stupid, stupid and what’s worse is that losses tend to beget losses for Wisconsin, and that doesn’t bode well for next week’s game versus Ohio State.

Current Mood: Okay |

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You know you’re getting old when you have to force yourself to stay up to watch a 9:30 kickoff. I watched the Badgers play at Fresno State in a bar and it was all I could do to keep from falling asleep in the second half. There were a lot of similarities between that game and the one today between the Packers and the Lions.

One, both Wisconsin teams had near-catastrophic collapses in the second half. The Packers’ was much more alarming, and in fairness, much of Wisconsin’s problem stemmed from a badly blown call. But their porous D didn’t help, nor did the questionable WAC officiating. Instant replay had a big hand in both games. In the Badger game, the referees somehow overruled a catch/fumble decision in favor of an incomplete pass, even though the replay seemed to be crystal clear. In the Packers game, Aaron Rodgers surely stepped out of bounds when scrambling for a first down. It’s these kind of situations that make me rethink the use of replay in soccer.

Both offenses were incredible when on song, and abysmal when out of sorts. The highs and lows are somewhat alarming, as is the fact that both defenses completely fell apart for a quarter of each game. Still, wins are good. We’ll take wins.

I’ve gotten around to watching most of US vs. Trinidad & Tobago and I still refuse to be impressed. T&T looked so god awful that I think most pub teams could have turned them over. While the US never looked rattled, they never looked silky smooth either. They should be better than this.

Brian Ching showed once again that he’s up to par unless the team is playing hoof and hope, and Heath Pearce has got to be one of the most frighteningly average defenders in recent memory. He offers virtually nothing going forward and has not looked all that comfortable against these tiny CONCACAF opponents. God help us whenever we play strong, fast teams. If I was a manager facing the US, I would tell my team to attack that flank every time down the field. Worse, DaMarcus Beasley put in another pretty rotten performance, although he did get a (lucky) assist. Still, why is he straying offsides so much?

Thus far, Bradley has been more Sampson than Arena. By that I mean he’s sticking with tried (and tired) US stalwarts rather than turning the roster over. Lest we forget, Sampson qualified the US very early for the 1998 World Cup and went on to a shockingly bad tournament performance. In contrast, Arena’s squad struggled mightily before 2002 and then went on to one of the most successful World Cups in American history. It’s still early days, but I wouldn’t be reserving my tickets for South Africa just yet. The US will be there—that’s practically guaranteed—but that’s a long way to travel for disappointment.

Current Mood: To Continue a Theme, Tired |

I have to say, DVR makes watching a full football game a joy. Critics can say what they want about soccer, but for me a major knock on American football is that the time between plays is about four times longer than the plays themselves.

Anyway, what can be learned from Wisconsin’s demolition of Akron? Not much. They moved the ball at will on the ground (PJ Hill had 100 yards with five minutes to go in the first quarter) and only a couple of botched plays on the 1 yard line from the Badgers kept the Zips (yes, Zips) in the game. I don’t know what this says about the season to come, but it’s better than struggling, that’s for sure.

Well, unless Spurs absolutely tonk Chelski tomorrow (which is highly unlikely), the Ars* will win the week three award for most improved team. They ran poor Newcastle ragged today but (surprise surprise) I am not among those who think they’re right back in the title chase. At best, this squad will do what they did last year and leap out to a quick lead but fade in the end. Still, they looked pretty damn smooth.

Elsewhere, the league is entirely unpredictable. West Ham’s 4-1 win over Blackburn do the visitors a disservice since it could have easily ended 1-1, and Everton’s season is already in shambles after getting bombed 3-0 by Pompey, their second home loss. And Hull’s confidence must be cracked—nay, shattered—after suffering a 5-0 pounding at home to Wigan of all teams. This is not that unusual for this time of year where teams are still settling in and finding their feet, and there’s also the small matter of the transfer window closing tomorrow night at midnight. Still, I wouldn’t want to be betting large sums of money on any of these games right now.

Speaking of transfers, I’ll tell you what Tottenham need sharpish—two strikers and a holding midfielder. I’m not all that excited about Pavlyuchenko (nor am I that excited about Arshavin) because I thought these guys ran far too hot and cold. If the Berbatov transfer doesn’t go through—although I’m betting it will—then I hope he can man-up and give it his all.

I haven’t heard anyone saying this (although I haven’t been listening too hard) but I think Tottenham’s next biggest void is in the center of the park. For my money, the defensive midfielder role is probably the hardest to fill since so few players really excel at this position. Didier Zokora was supposed to be this box-to-box enforcer but it really hasn’t worked out that way. He’s useful but not dominant, and Spurs need a big-time heavy to put some steel in their speedy but lightweight midfield.

And of course a striker who could hit an elephant’s ass with a banjo would help too.

There’s still a good chance that we’re switching to DirecTV in order to get GolTV so I can watch the Spanish league, but I’m still going to follow it the best I can in the meantime.

I’ve decided that I’m really pulling for Valencia this year. Although Tottenham is my team in England, I also root for Liverpool and Newcastle whenever they’re not playing Spurs. In La Liga, I have always been a Real Madrid fan mostly because I love Madrid (and Spurs currently occupy the room in my heart for a perennially underachieving team in my heart, Atlético) but after that it’s always been Valencia and whoever is playing Barcelona. (Interesting fact: I have noticed that fans of Ars*nal in England also tend to be fans of Barca in Spain.)

Anyway, my feeling for Valencia became clear last year when they were within touching distance of relegation, yet rebounded to win the Copa del Rey. I was fearful and ecstatic for them, and I find myself relieved that striker extraordinaire David Villa has re-upped his contract. They’ve got Morientes, Joaquín, Silva, Albiol, Marchena, Albelda, Helguera, del Horno…the list of players I admire goes on and on. Not all of these guys are firing on all cylinders anymore, but still. This is a good club that’s given me many happy footie-watching memories, so I’m pulling for them big time this term—even though I’ve never been to Valencia.

Current Mood: Bushed |