Beat Porto 5-nil to win on aggregate 6-2 and advance. Bendtner made up for his failures on the weekend against Burnley by scoring three. Into the final eight we go.
March 9, 2010 March 9, 2010 My ears are ringing so badly that sitting in this room may very well drive me mad. Best to turn on the air conditioning if only for the slight hum that it makes.
Last night was loud and hot. Truth be told, it was hotter than it was loud. I was so wet when I walked out of the back of the venue on my way to the bus that I had to take my shirt off because wearing it was making me cold. It was exactly the same feel that you experience when you get out of a swimming pool and feel as though you’re in the arctic even though it’s 25 degrees outside.
As luck would have it, I am actually sitting in a hotel room that has excellent Wifi. Who would have thought that in Lloydminster, of all places, that would be the case? Certainly not I, but it’s a welcome relief from the limited satellite based access on the bus. Rather than waiting ten minutes for a page to load, I am giggling at the speed with which websites are popping up – pathetic, I know.
Of course, a lot of fans have been emailing me and asking if I’m following Euro 2008. We’ve been watching it on the bus when we’re up early enough, but I haven’t been able to follow it live as much as I’d like. For the most part I read post-game reports on the BBC. Right now I am watching Germany and Portugal, and am sort of stunned that the Germans are up a goal. If I had to put my money on anyone it would be the Dutch, but you never know what’s going to happen in major tournaments, so.
That said, the prospect of a shower right now sounds better than winning the lottery, so I’m off.
June 19, 2008 46 Comments
There is no greater tradition in sports than the FA Cup. No other competition of such prestigious history exists that allows teams from all divisions of play to compete against each other in an attempt to covet the sport’s oldest prize.
The FA Cup brought us the term ‘giant killer’, employed to denote the defeat of top-flight clubs by those of significantly less notoriety. This year’s final represents that tradition, as it will feature Portsmouth and Cardiff, the latter of which hasn’t appeared in the FA Cup final since 1927.
The road to the final this year saw the defeat of world-renowned sides such as Manchester United and Liverpool by teams that most casual observers of the sport have never heard of. But that’s the wonderful reality of the FA Cup; all it takes is ninety minutes of heart to defeat those that are perceived as invincible.
So Portsmouth and Cardiff will battle for the prize this year, and won’t it be something if Cardiff, who is currently in 12th place in the Championship (what used to be known as the First Division, and was the Second Division for decades before that), wins. While I have a soft spot for Portsmouth given who their assistant coach is – Tony Adams – one can’t help by imagine the jubilation that will grip Wales if Cardiff are victorious.
To me, nothing purer in professional sport exists.
Vancouver’s Little Known Sports Legacy
While most of this city is transfixed on the Canucks, a sporting legacy has existed in the Lower Mainland for the better part of a century that most know nothing about.
I was born and raised in what was, at the time, the Municipality of Coquitlam. When I was a kid, it, and the city of New Westminster, had more lacrosse boxes in them per capita than probably anywhere on earth.
Most aren’t aware of it, but the program in New West is considered one of the best in the world. It draws aspiring players from all over the country because of its storied reputation – the Salmonbellies date back to 1888 (making them 21 years older than the Montreal Canadiens) and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, more than any other team in Canada (though their last Mann Cup victory was 17 years ago).
In New Westminster, the popularity of lacrosse among its youth is double that of hockey. Registration is so high, in fact, that it is actually detrimental to New West’s other youth sporting programs.
April 7, 2008 23 Comments
For those of you in Kamloops and the surrounding area, a date has been added on the shows page.
I was taking a look at incoming links on our Mint page this morning and came across this list of Canada’s top 25 political blogs (which, as always, should be taken with a grain of salt). Being that I tend to rarely read Canadian political blogs, it was interesting to visit some of them, though I must confess that I am baffled at the popularity of blogs such as Small Dead Animals, though I suppose there is a niche for those that like conservative middle aged women that enjoy shooting things – obviously the National Post is among such admirers, which doesn’t come as a resounding surprise. I don’t much favour blogs that merely post entries that generally consist of little more than a handful of lines that simply include quotes and hyperlinks. If one has an opinion, it’s always nice to be able to read detailed reasoning that supports it. Plus, there’s something altogether tacky about posting accolades about yourself on your sidebar (in my opinion anyway).
Last night Rod came up with a few interesting entrepreneurial ideas. Hopefully, for the sake of humour alone, he’ll post about them today.
It’s March the 2nd. I start the upcoming string of US dates in Seattle on Saturday Friday night (oops). I suppose this means that I actually have to rehearse rather than just thinking about it. I don’t know, maybe not rehearsing would be more fun. I mean, what’s me fucking up the better part of 70+ songs amongst friends? To be honest, what I want to know is what the hell is up with this flu/cold that everyone has that never seems to go away?
Our draw with Villa yesterday has placed us on thin ice. We’re now only a point up on United, who thrashed us in our FA cup meeting with them recently. Nail biting time.
Something seriously has to be done about cell phone rates in this country. The fact that the rest of the world pays so much less than we do is ridiculous, especially with regards to data packages.
March 2, 2008 56 Comments