White Suburban Punk

The disaster continues, and it is now possible that Rafa has lost the locker room.  My DVR screwed up, so I could only watch the first half hour of the game.  Lille’s stadium only holds 18,000 but the place was rocking.  They started out really well, too, making Pepe Reina make a save in the first minute.  Liverpool started going forward a bit as the game wore on, with Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel setting up a good shot by Babel that he should’ve done more with.  Torres also had a header that was saved in the first half.  They lost on a free kick in the 85th minute, and now trail going into the second leg.

Lille dominated the possession in the game, 57% to 43%, although at least Liverpool got six shots on goal this time.  Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce poured salt in the wound with comments about how he doesn’t like Rafa and the team won’t make it into the top 4 after the loss to Wigan.  This is one ugly season.  I don’t want to lose Rafa, but maybe it’s the best thing at this point.

Photo from ESPN Soccernet

What a day.  Nomar signs a one day contract to retire as a Red Sox and 38 year old Corey Haim is found dead of an apparently accidental drug overdose.

“Nomar’s Better” is probably the most fun chant I ever participated in.  It propped up our player and disparaged a yankee with just two words.  But we really believed it, too.  And for several years, it was a legitimate argument.  Today, it seems that everyone just remembers the ugly end of his time in Boston, but he was an absolute icon and really the only good offensive player on Jimy Williams’ teams.  Nomar and Pedro led Jimy’s Sox to the playoffs in 1998 and 1999 and right now I can’t think of another team with two superstars and really no one else that had as much success as those teams did.

He had his OCD superstitions and his disparagement of the media, but the fans loved Nomar, especially kids.  It was legitimately sad when he was traded in 2004.  It certainly worked out for the team, but it seemed that Nomar never recovered.  He continued to have injury problems and his performance was never anything near what it was in his early heyday in Boston.  There have been suspicions about PED use, but they have only been based on the circumstantial evidence of his career path.  It went south really fast. 

Numbers: He played in at least 135 games from 1997 to 2000 and 156 each in 2002 and 2003.  2001 was lost to a wrist injury, I believe. He played in 81 games in 2004 (43 with the Cubs) and 62 in 2005 in Chicago.  Then he went to LA and played in 122, 121, and 55 from 2006 – 2008 and then had just 65 games last year for Oakland.  He hit over .300 just once after leaving Boston, while he never failed to hit .300 in a full season with the Sox.  He made the playoffs three times with the Sox, 1998, 1999, and 2003.  He played in all 25 playoff games in those years, going 31-96 (.323), with 16 runs scored, 6 doubles, 7 home runs, and 21 RBIs.

Anyway, he was the only good thing about the Red Sox for a number of years, and I was glad he got a ring from the 2004 team.  He deserved it.  So long, Nomar.

That is, yet another new low on a season of new lows.  After seeming to have turned things around with just one loss (at Arsenal) in their previous 10 league games, Liverpool lost at lowly Wigan yesterday, 1-0, in what had to be the worst performance of the season.  Zero shots on goal, five yellow cards, countless turnovers and give aways.  They were actually outplayed by a team fighting against relegation.  It was a truly inexplicable performance, and a top four finish is now in serious jeopardy.  They have only nine league games remaining and are in sixth place, but have played more games than their rivals.  They are indeed in serious trouble.  The usually reliable Dirk Kuyt’s turnover led to Wigan’s goal, but there was blame all over the field.  Gerrard, Torres, Carragher, Mascherano, Lucas, Kyrgiakos, no one played well.  The squad looked frustrated and pissed off throughout, with Gerrard even yelling at Kuyt at one point.  Today’s newspapers are claiming that Gerrard made an obscene gesture to the ref after picking up a questionable yellow card.  He made a V sign (see picture), which is somehow interpreted as the middle finger.  Some British thing, I guess, we Americans don’t know that one.

What happens if Liverpool don’t finish in the top four?  Obviously, no Champions League football next year.  But what are the consequences of that?  Does Rafa Benitez leave or get fired?  Does the team sell Gerrard and Torres?  Will Torres even want to stay if there’s no Champions League competition?  I don’t think anyone knows the answers to these questions, and fans don’t want to find out.

Picture from ESPN Soccernet

The Badgers displayed a workmanlike, clinical precision in a quality road win at Illinois that effectively ends the NCAA tournament hopes for the Illini.  They will lose again to the Badgers Friday in the Big Ten tournament and then will be NIT bound.

Jon Leuer was almost the entire offense in the first half, and it was clear throughout that Illinois had no answer for him.  He was still hurt when Illinois won in Madison earlier in the year.  Demetri McCamey, who scored 27 points for the Illini in Madison, had two points in the first half and 11 overall.  His decision making and shot selection were atrocious and then he compounded it by acting like a brat on the bench.  The game was considered a must-win for Illinois and they seemed to play very tight under the pressure.  Simply put, they don’t deserve an NCAA bid if that’s how they played in their biggest game of the year, at home. 

The Badgers built a 16 point lead in the second half and Illinois made a run to get within 55-50 after picking up the aggessiveness and getting a lot of calls from the refs, who were extremely inconsistent both ways.  Both Leuer and Trevon Hughes picked up 4 fouls before the halfway point of the second half.  But as soon as Illinois got back into the game, they started doing dumb stuff again.  McCamey forced a colossally stupid shot, then on the other end Keaton Nankivil got an offensive rebound and put back of a missed free throw.  On the ensuing possession, Illinois turned it over in the paint and McCamey intentionally fouled Jason Bohannon.  McCamey went to the bench pouting and tried to walk through Bruce Weber and then refused to make eye contact with him as Weber tried to talk to him.  Poise!

The Badgers cruised from there and won, 72-57.  Jordan Taylor played all 40 minutes and finished with 20 points, Leuer also had 20 on 8-13 FGs, and Hughes had 14 points and 11 boards.  Wisconsin dominated the offensive glass, picking up 17, including 7 by Hughes.  Wisconsin outrebounded Illinois 40-30 total.

The rematch is in Indianapolis at 2:30 Friday afternoon on ESPN.  Badger hockey clinched the #2 seed in the WCHA with a win Friday night at Minnesota and will host Alaska Anchorage next weekend in the best 2 of 3 conference playoff.

Iowa City, Iowa.  Evanston, Illinois.  Madison, Wisconsin.  Ann Arbor, Michigan.  State College, Pennsylvania.  And Piscataway, New Jersey?  Are you kidding me?  The established Big Ten cities are destinations, quaint Midwestern towns suggesting intellectualism, camaraderie, beautiful architecture, and dynamic campuses within vibrant urban areas.  Rutgers is largely a commuter school, suggesting not a destination, but a place one must endure and escape from.  New Jersey is New York’s septic system.

Let’s talk accents.  The Minnesota and Wisconsin accents are cute, almost lovable.  WiscAHNsin is beloved by Sconnies and East Coasters alike.  The Minnesota accent became a countrywide phenomenon in the movie Fargo.  The New Jersey accent, on the other hand, makes me want to smash someone in the face with a baseball bat.  It is all about anti-intellectualism, the celebration of ignorance, spray-on tans, big hair, and loud, obnoxious, belligerent people.

Rutgers would boast the cast of MTV’s The Jersey Shore.  Mike ‘The Situation’ and Snooki would be celebrated guests at sporting events.  In basketball, they are 5-11 in the Big East conference this year, 15-14 overall.  In the previous five years, their conference records are 2-16, 3-15, 3-13, 7-9, and 2-14.  Overall records over the same time period are 11-21, 11-20, 10-19, 19-14, and 10-19.  That will really increase the conference’s prestige.  Their basketball arena, the Rutgers Athletic Center, was built in 1977 and seats 8,000.  Their football program had a good year in 2006, finishing 5-2 in conference and 11-2 overall.  They’ve had one winning conference record since then.  They were 4-3, 7-5 in 2005 and had losing records 2002-2004.  U.S. News and World Report’s 2009 rankings of public schools places Rutgers behind Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, Purdue, and Minnesota.  This is far from a seamless fit.  Another argument is that the Big Ten wants to open up the New York media market.  New York sports fans follow Rutgers?  Really?  I mean, really?  More than Syracuse?  Really?

Unfortunately, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney is from South Orange, New Jersey.  Given his keen insights in the past, this is probably as good as done.  But Piscataway, New Jersey will make Urbana/Champaign and East Lansing look like Berkeley and Austin.

Look out, Jon Leuer is back.  Wisconsin destroyed Iowa on Senior Night at the Kohl Center, 67-40.  Leuer was fantastic, scoring 18 points on 8-9 field goals, grabbing 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocked shots.  He scored ten unanswered points at one point in the first half, with 2 dunks, a blocked shot, and then 2 three pointers.  Not only was it his best game since his injury, but it was his best game of the season.  The game was tight for a little while, with the Badgers holding a 12-10 lead before a 14-0 run, including the aforementioned 10 in a row by Leuer.  They ended up with a 24-6 run over the final 12+ minutes of the first half and cruised in the second.  It was the last home game for seniors Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon.

Wisconsin’s last regular season game is Sunday at Illinois.  The Illini need the game badly, as they are certainly on the bubble for the tournament.  But Wisconsin will be looking for revenge after Illinois became the first unranked Big Ten team to win in Madison under Bo Ryan.  And the Badgers didn’t have Leuer for that game.  No matter what happens Sunday, it looks like these two teams will hook up again in the 4/5 game of the Big Ten tournament.  Time for a bold prediction: Wisconsin will win Sunday, win the Big Ten tournament, and go to the Elite Eight in the NCAAs.  Why not?  In the past, Wisconsin teams under Bo Ryan have tended to peak a little early and other teams have been improving more than they have as we reach March.  Not this year.  Of course, that’s probably a function of the timing of Leuer’s injury more than anything.  But this has turned into an absolutely solid team.  A requirement for a deep tournament run is strong guard play, and the Badgers have that in spades, with the seniors Hughes and Bohannon and the sophomore who plays like a senior, Jordan Taylor.  Leuer is definitely back, and Keaton Nankivil is a solid player who learned to step up in Leuer’s absence.  Plus, they’ve got some good bodies off the bench in Ryan Evans, former starter Tim Jarmusz, Rob Wilson, and Mike Brueswitz.  Given that the Badgers were generally picked to finish seventh or eighth in the Big Ten, Bo should win conference coach of the year and should also get consideration for national coach of the year.  The national media won’t be able to keep ignoring him for much longer.  The run starts now. 

Photo from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Behind goals from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres (how good does that sound), Liverpool beat Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn 2-1 yesterday at Anfield.  Javier Mascherano started at right back and did a great job, but the story was Torres.  He was El Nino right from the start, and it’s probably not a coincidence that Gerrard got his first league goal in almost four months.  Blackburn took it to Liverpool, though, maybe even creating more chances in the game, but Gerrard scored at 20 minutes on a beautiful, sublime, lightning fast goal that involved passes from Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun.  Fabio Aurelio left the game later in the first half with an apparent thigh injury and Blackburn tied it on a penalty kick at 40 minutes after Jamie Carragher handled the ball on the ground in the penalty box.  Liverpool was very sloppy throughout the game in their own half, which certainly contributed to Blackburn’s chances, and the penalty actually followed a Benayoun turnover.  But Torres scored at 44 minutes on a pass from Maxi Rodriguez that caught keeper Paul Robinson far out of position and Liverpool held on in the second half.  Torres was magnificent all day, with his incredible speed and brilliant moves.  Blackburn had to foul him virtually every time he touched the ball. 

As is typical of Blackburn, their players committed some vicious fouls in the second half, but they received no red cards (5 yellow).  Rafa Benitez and Sam Allardyce hate each other, and their players acted it out on the pitch.  Steven Nzonzi got Lucas Leiva in a headlock and then shoved him to the ground by the face and only received a yellow.  Maxi later got a stud mark on his chest.  Credit the Liverpool players for keeping their cool and not retaliating.  Pepe Reina took a beating, too, and also had a fantastic save in injury time that saved the result for Liverpool.

There are ten matches to go in the season, including Manyoo at Old Trafford and Chelsea at Anfield.  The battle for fourth place is extremely tight, but only one of the teams battling for that spot has Fernando Torres.

Photo from ESPN Soccernet