Tag: Soccer

  • ODDS and ENDS: Project Management, Love for Bill Withers, and Watching Soccer

    (When I wake up in the morning…)

    We are going to try running our family’s schedule and tasks by using a project management app. ( And in a related story; The robots are winning the war against humanity… or I should stop worrying and learn to love the efficiency that our new robot overlords provide.) There is so much going on right now that the wife and I are having a hard time wrapping our arms, and minds, around it all. We started out joking about using a PM app to help us, but then it started to settle in that maybe this wasn’t so terrible of an idea. I’m not totally comfortable with running our family like a project/business as that sounds lifeless and bland. Yet, the other side of it is that I keep running behind on everything, or feel like events or holidays sneak up on me, and then feel overwhelmed with trying to get it all done, but it just feels half-assed. Our hope is that we can get ahead of things, which in the end, will allow us more time to do… nothing. Just sit on our ass.

    The Simpsons Lisa Floreda Sticker - Sticker Mania

    And this is my personal nightmare – That I will forget that I promised the kid I would help her with a project, have to half-ass it the night before, and then I end up sending her to school like this – Lisa’s “Floreda” Costume

    Just felt like today was a good day to remind us all of how great Bill Withers is.

    We are going to watch so much soccer this weekend. No Tottenham this weekend, but the kid wants to watch NJ/NY Gotham, and she’s got a school soccer tournament to play in. I think I am slowly making the kid a soccer fan.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Playlists, Sports with the Kid, and Playing Pretend

    (When you stop believing…)

    I used to take making mix tapes, mix cd’s and playlists, very seriously. And on the flip side of that, I really treasured receiving mix tapes from friends. There is a shoe box of mine, packed away in our storage space, that contains a mix tape from my high school girlfriend, which is still the most eclectic collection of music I have ever been gifted. Having made mixes for close to thirty years, I admit that there are a handful of songs that appear on nearly every iteration I create. I have landed in a playlist rut, one of my own making, as you can only mix songs you’ve listened to, and if you aren’t adding material to the source to draw from, variety becomes stagnant. I should go back to listening to albums all the way through again.

    The kid wants to watch sports with me this weekend. College basketball would be the obvious choice, but you’d be wrong. She wants to watch soccer. She recently join a team and now wants to submerge herself in as much soccer as possible. The truth is I’ll take any extra time with the kid. I just need to find out if a women’s league is playing Saturday.

    I’m 47 and sometimes I still pretend that I’m in a rock band.

  • Women’s World Cup: Spain v England – Final

    Couple of things here –

    I call bullshit on Prince William not going to Australia to support England’s team. That whole, saving the environment by not flying there, thing is just the laziest of excuses. We all know that shit wouldn’t have been pulled on the men’s team. It would have been an easy win for the Prince to show up at the final with his daughter cheering on the Lionesses. Besides, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia of Spain were able to make it. Just saying.

    Honestly – who picked Spain the win this thing?

    And furthermore, we all should have picked Spain to win this thing. Clearly, they knew something we didn’t.

    As for the match, Spain was the better squad. Really, England was never in this game. Sure, Mary Earps had a hell of a match stopping that penalty kick, England’s only bright spot, but they didn’t start to get their act together well into the second half, and at that point it was too late. Spain was in control of this game from the start, and it never ceased to feel like they knew they were going to win this. In the end, the better team won, which I guess is what you want to see in a final. Nevermind all of Spain’s drama off the pitch, because in the end, what matters is how you play the game on the field.

    And last; I got up at 6am to watch the Final. I also woke up my daughter, and the two of us snuggled up on the couch to watch these two teams play. For all the craziness that happened in this World Cup, this was the moment that I had been waiting for – watching with my kid. I don’t know if this will have a deep impact on her, but it was a moment in time where we were together, watching the best players in the world go at it, and give it everything they had. It was fun and I’m glad that we shared it together.

  • Woman’s World Cup: Day 5

    I am having trouble with the time differences when it comes to the matches. I don’t want to sound like I’m copping out on watching. I try to stay up, but I fall asleep. Or I’ve been sleeping through my alarm. If the match isn’t at 9pm, then odds aren’t good that I will be able to watch live. What I am left with is reading and watching highlights. Not very exciting for me as I did watch all Team USA matches in 2019 and 2015. I am very proud of that fact, and sadly I am not sure I will be able to continue. USA plays Portugal on 8/1 at 3am Eastern. I’m planning on being there but I will have to fight for that one.

    So, what have I seen?

    USA v Vietnam: Seems the consensus about this match was that the USA was rusty, as they should have blown Vietnam out of the water. And that consensus is stupid by the way. 3-0 is a pretty serious drumming, and I get that Group E might come down to the point differential, but only Team USA would get scolded for not scoring enough points. My second take on this match is that Team USA would have had 7 goals is it wasn’t for Vietnam’s goalie, T. Thi Kim Tran. There was only so much Tran could do, and what she did was stop the American’s from rolling all over them.

    England v Haiti: Caught the tail end of this one. I would have thought that England would have scored more, but a win is a win.

    France v Jamaica: This was the second surprise of the tournament, after New Zealand beating Norway. Only saw highlights, and a tie is not a loss for France, but still surprising.

    Germany v Morocco: Don’t mess with Germany. Germany made a loud statement with their 6-0 win that they came to win this Cup.

    Brazil v Panama: And Brazil also made their statement with their 4-0 win, too.

    Columbia v South Korea: Looking forward to this one. I know that these two are not high ranked teams, but South Korea has always been a scrappy team in my eye – fun to watch. Maybe them or Columbia could be the Dark House of the Tournament.

  • Personal Review: Ted Lasso Season 3 and The Whole Thing

    (SPOILERS! You shouldn’t have to ask…)

    I finished it. Over the weekend, I finally got around to watching the final episode of the 3rd season of Ted Lasso. I had a complicated relationship with the 3rd season. I was watching in three-episode chunks over a two-week period, and then I would get off the wagon for a week or two, only then return. In fact, I waited two and a half weeks before I was able to see the last episode. And that, in a nutshell, gives you an idea of my dedication to this final season; It was on and off.

    Sadly, the third season of Ted Lasso was uneven, made all the worse by my deep desire for the final twelve episodes to be amazing. That was my fault, and my mistake. I didn’t let the show just be what it is, but went in with expectations that were pretty hard to live up to. That affected my experience, and when an episode wasn’t “perfect”, it made me hesitate to come back to the show. Perhaps I need to watch the third season again – just marathon through it, and not think too hard. Maybe.

    As of now, I have to say that the third season of Ted Lasso was the “Return of the Jedi” of the group. It wasn’t as good as “Star Wars” (Season One) or “Empire” (Season Two) but if you compare it to other shows, it was a pretty good season.

    There were things that I did like; the episode in Amsterdam was great, Colin’s story was a nice addition, Trent being added full time to the cast was another nice touch, and I will say that each of the endings that the characters were given felt satisfying and true to who they were, and who they became. The show was about being positive, and it ended that way.

    But, there were also some glaring issues – Keeley was totally wasted which was a real shame as she was such an important part of the show. She was left floundering with a storyline that never meshed with the rest of the show. Also, Nate’s redemption arch seemed rushed. We all knew he was coming back into the fold, but it just felt a little off. And then there was that Zava thing, which felt half baked, and was only there to get the team to a competitive place for the season end. For a show that was about slow burn realizations, trusting the process, and putting in the work, it didn’t feel like the team earned their place in the League – it was just handed to them.

    With the series now over, and it is over, I have to say that they, the whole Ted Lasso team, did a very good job. It was a show in the mold of a work place comedy which never lost sight of a very simple message – be kind. It arrived at a perfect time – in the middle of Covid and they final year of Trump’s administration. Because of those factors, I think we collectively wanted to believe that being around good people was worth it. It was the type of show that was needed at a specific moment, and it delivered. This is a show that I know I will re-watch, whenever I need to laugh, or just remember that people can change for the better.