Category: Sports

  • I Don’t Understand the Premier League

    So, I can admit that I was wrong. Or maybe I was living in denial. The Sun and everyone else is reporting that Harry Kane is going to Manchester City for 160 million pounds. I had thought it was a ploy by Kane to get the owners of Totenham to spend the money to build a team, as Kane still had one year left on his Spurs contract.

    Clearly, I was wrong.

    Now, here’s the thing that I don’t understand; with Kane going to Man City, what does Tottenham get in the deal? Is MC sending players, or cash or what? I am sure this has to do with me being new to the sport, but in the States, if a player is under contract, and another team wants them, then there is a buyout or a swap of players. From what I have read, it sounds like Man City is offering a lot of money and Tottenham’s owners are letting it happen.

    That can’t be right, right? I feel like I am missing something.

    The only good news in the world of Tottenham is that Son Heung-Min signed a four-year extension on his contract. Now I just need to find out if Lucas, Dele, and Bale are going to hang around as well. I know Lloris will be there, as he’s out there modeling the away kit on the team’s website.

    I am looking forward to the start of the season. That will be on August 15th, against, irony of irony, Manchester City.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Summer Day Camp’s Last Day, Vacations, Tottenham Anxiety

    “Odds and Ends” is my continuing series of random thoughts and follow ups…

    Today is the final day of the kid’s Summer Day Camp, and it went wonderfully well. I think the wife and I over did it asking the kid if she wants to go back next year. The answer is yes, and hopefully, we can give her a month there, instead of two weeks. The other thing that made me happy about the camp is that our daughter had no qualms about being away from us for 6 hours, and in fact, wanted it to be longer. To me that says she is in a healthy place with being away from her parents; She wants to separate and have her own experiences, like a normal kid.

    Now we start the stretch of vacations. Yes, that is means more than one this Summer. We were lucky if we got away for one vacation a year in the past. And most of the time a “vacation” was just leaving home for a few days, and could also mean visiting family, which sometimes can be the opposite of relaxing. For us to go someplace and actually relax and not doing anything has been rare. This summer, we’re getting two trips. I feel very spoiled in saying that, even a little self-conscious. I know this is due to Covid and being trapped home for the past 15 months, but wow! I really want to get the hell out of this apartment for a couple of days.

    So… Tottenham is a bit of a shit show right now. Have they even picked a manager yet? Is it Nuno? And Harry Kane rumors are all over the place, but Tottenham has him on contract for one more year, and I still hold that Kane made that, “I want to be on a teams that wins championships” statement to get management to do something, like build a team, or keep the talent they have (like Son) and solve that defense issue they have in the last ten minutes of every match! Friendly matches start up next week, so I hope to see some changes myself.

  • England Lost

    It was just heartbreaking. There was a pit in my stomach when extra time started. I knew, just knew, that if England didn’t score in the extra period, that they would lose in penalty kicks. I don’t know a ton about international football, but what I do know is that England has a bad history when it comes to shoot outs.

    And that history continued.

    I don’t blame the game plan that Gareth Southgate had for his English team. It has been working since The World Cup in 2018, and in each following match, their defense got better and better. Think about it. In the Euro 2020/21 Tournament, England only gave up two goals. That’s pretty amazing. That was the plan, and it was working. England scored super early, and played its defense. Even after giving up a goal, The Three Lions were bending, but they didn’t break.

    But Penalty Kicks. It had to be Penalty Kicks.

    And England’s goalie, Jordan Pickford, did an amazing job, and kept them in it. But Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy’s goalie, had the better day.

    And that’s how matches go. You can have your best day, but if there other guy has a better one, there’s not much you can do.

    And I felt awful for Bukayo Saka, when he missed the final penalty kick, sealing England’s loss. He’s a kid; 19 and playing the biggest game of his life. I just felt awful for him. The only solace I found was how the whole English squad rallied around him after missing the kick. Saka was in tears, but all of his team mates were there consoling him. They even showed Southgate giving him a hug. And if there is one name in England who knows what that feels like, it’s Southgate. And if there is one man who can tell Saka that one play doesn’t define you, it’s also Southgate.

    Thus comes to an end for Euro 2020/21. I had a lot of fun watching the matches, learning about the players, and even enjoyed rooting for a team that came so close.

    All I can say is that I am looking forward to the Men’s World Cup in 2022, and Women’s World Cup in 2023.

  • England v Denmark Today

    So… I really don’t know that much about international football, let alone European football, but that isn’t a good reason to stop me from talking like I’m an authority on EURO 2020/21.

    In that sense, I was wrong about Belgium, and very wrong about Italy. It feels like it’s the 80’s again with Italy playing well, and maybe winning a championship. Also, Denmark is the sentimental favorite of the tournament. They whole thing with Christian Erikson collapsing and almost dying on the field is just crazy to begin with, but Denmark seems to have found their stride.

    Which does make me nervous for England. (It’s the Cub fan in me coming out.) Sure, the Three Lions beat up on Ukraine, but that match wasn’t as much as a test as compared to the Germany game. And England is playing at home today, which should give them an edge. But Denmark has the better story, and is the underdog, and they lost their best player but somehow keep finding ways to win.

    So, I’ looking forward to the match.

    Problem is that the game is at 3pm, and that is when I need to get the kid from day camp. And she wants to go to the park after camp today.

    I might have to bribe her with ice cream so dad can watch the match in air conditioning at home.

  • England v Germany; Final Thoughts

    I would like to claim that I called the match. That might not be accurate, but I don’t care. Sterling scored again, and Harry Kane found the back of the nest as well. 2-0 was a pretty solid win for England over a German team that had two very good chances to at least tie the match.

    I have my money on Sweden beating Ukraine later today, which, no offense to anyone, does give England a pretty good chance to make it to the final. Okay, I’m calling an England v Belgium final. There you have it.

    Anyway, that was fun, and that’s what watching football over the summer should be like.