MLS Expansion Draft

The Seattle Sounders selected 10 players in the expansion draft that took place Wednesday, choosing one player each from 10 of the 14 MLS teams. The four teams with no players selected were the Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, D.C. United and FC Dallas.

Each of the 14 teams was allowed to protect 11 players. Seattle's choices will be added to Seattle Sounders FC roster, Sebastien Le Toux, Kasey Keller, Freddie Llungberg and Sanna Nyassi, are already on the roster.

The specific format for the expansion draft is as follows:

• Only one player may be selected from each team. Four of the league's 14 current teams will not have a player selected.

• Teams will be allowed to protect 11 players from their 28-man rosters. Generation adidas players are automatically protected, though players who are graduated from the program to the senior roster at the end of the 2008 season are not.

• Teams with 4 or more international players must protect 3 of them. If a team has 3 or fewer international players, then it must protect all but one.

• Any developmental players selected must be moved up to the senior roster for the 2009 season.

Here is the complete list of who the Seattle Sounders picked in the expansion draft and what team they came from:

Nate Jaqua (Houston Dynamo)

Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)

Jeff Parke (New York Red Bulls)

Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC)

Khano Smith (New England Revolution)

Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Tyson Wahl (Kansas City Wizards)

James Riley (San Jose Earthquakes)

Stephen King (Chicago Fire)

Brad Evans (Columbus Crew)

Trade Talk Continued

As the baseball off season continues to drag on there are more and more trade rumors that circle around in the media. I wrote a post a while back about some of these rumors and now there seem to be even more of these rumors. So I thought it would be fitting to fill you in on some of these new rumors.

There was a false rumor that the San Fransico Giants had signed short stop Edgar Renteria. The spokesman for the Giants said that Renteria was a fall back just in case that they couldn't get Rafeal Furcal. Renteria's agent stated that the signing was not true.

The Angels have come out as a contender in the fight for starting pitcher CC Sabathia. But the Angel's main concentration is still on free agent Mark Texeira. The Angels are expected to make an offer to Sabathia but then the Yankees will probably have a counter offer ready.

Another starting pitcher that isn't sure where he'll end up is Andy Pettitte. Pettitte is starting to consider teams other than the Yankees such as the LA. Dodgers. According to the reporter Ken Rosenthal, Pettitte spoke to Dodger's manager Joe Torre multiple times about coming to Los Angeles. Rosenthal notes that Pettitte has a history of leaving teams when he feels unwanted, and the Yankees are taking a laid back approach toward him this off season.

Jermaine Dye may be parting ways with the White Sox. Some teams that he might end up with are the Philidelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, or the New York Mets. The White Sox expect to get a good deal from somebody for Dye.

The Chicago Cubs managed to resigned Ryan Dempster and are looking to deal with the Padres for starting pitcher Jake Peavy. The Padres are trying to get a third party involved in the deal for Peavy in order to get what they want. If the Cubs were able to get Peavy they would likely have to part ways with starting pitcher Jason Marquis.

The Los Angeles Dodgers stopped pursuing Jack Wilson when the Pirates asked for a third player in the package of Chin-Lung Hu and Delwyn Young as compensation for the Dodger's request for cash to reduce Wilson's contract.

Another rumor is that the Cinncinati Reds might be interested in Jermaine Dye. The source for this rumor is Lance McAlister who said there are trade talks between the White Sox and the Reds. McAlister's source says the White Soxs initiated talk to trade Dye for the Red's Homer Bailey and another player. It is said that Dye had a list of six teams that he will not be traded to but the Reds are not believed to be one of them.

Well there you have it. Now that I've told you about some of the circulating rumors there will probably be ten more tomorrow. I just can't wait until the off season is over and the next season begins so that all these rumors die down and I know who plays for who.

Houston Dynamo 1-0 Luis Angel

The CONCACAF Champions League a brand new tournament, replacing the Champions’ Cup which ceased to exist after the 2008 edition. The competition will see a Confederation record number of 24 teams from all sectors of the CONCACAF region participating.

The CONCACAF Champions League will feature four teams from Mexico and USA; three Caribbean sides; two clubs each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama; and one representative coming from Canada, Belize, and Nicaragua.

The CONCACAF Champions League winner will qualify as the CONCACAF’s representative to the 2009 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Brian Ching scored in the 13th minute, and the Houston Dynamo held on for a 1-0 win over CD Luis Angel Firpo in the CONCACAF Champions League Group B.

With the win, Houston finishes 2-1-3 in Group B play with nine points to finish in second place and advances to the quarterfinal round of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament. Luis Angel Firpo was knocked out from the tournament and finished 2-2-2 with eight points for third place in the group.

The match was physical throughout with Houston whistled for 27 fouls and Firpo for 12 fouls. The two teams combined for eight yellow cards and two red cards. For nine minutes in the second half, Houston actually had to play a man down after Eddie Robinson was issued a straight red card in the 82nd minute, but Firpo's Carlos Calderon was issued his second yellow in the 91st minute and was sent off the field and evened the teams for the rest of the stoppage time.

Brian Ching scored on a header off a corner kick by Dwayne De Rosario. De Rosario kicked the corner from the left side and hit Ching in the middle of the box where Ching headed it off Firpo goalkeeper and into the net.

Football Einstein: Thanksgiving Edition

The tradition in the NFL is play a few games on Thanksgiving day. As usual we have the Lions and Cowboys playing games against the Titans and Seahawks, respectively. But the recent addition of the NFL network gives us the much needed third game. This one is between the Cardinals and the Eagles. Who would want to spend time with their family on Thanksgiving? I would, too bad my family consists of Brian Urlacher and Kyle Orton. Looks like i'm forced into actual family bonding. But for those of you who aren't, here are my picks for the three games:

The first game of the day is the Lions and the Titans. The Lions always play on Thanksgiving, it's part of their history. Another part of their history is always losing on Thanksgiving. Too bad it doesn't get any easier this year. Those jokers who make the schedule decided to let the Titans humiliate the Lions in front of the world. Come on, they're 0-11, let them rest in peace. Now i would love to see the Lions get their first win of the year against the formerly undefeated Titans. Too bad they suck. I just don't see anything that crazy happening. The Lions can't stop anyone and they can't score. And the Titans can run all over you, they recently found out they can pass and they have a great defense. This all spells defeat for the Lions.
Titans 28 Lions 14

The next game is the dinner time matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks. Good thing this one is during dinner because it might not be worth watching. You can even take a nap after dinner for this one. It'll be worth it, trust me. The Cowboys got Romo back and contrary to my beliefs, he saved their team. They're on a roll and they are going to roll right over the Seahawks. Seattle is limping in at 2-9. And the Cowboys are playing pretty good football. Not great but it was good enough to beat the Redskins and the 49ers so they should be good enough to beat the Seahawks. Plus the Seahawks are a very poor team on the road, and Dallas isn't the easiest place to play.
Cowboys 35 Seahawks 17

The final game is easily the best game of the holiday. The Arizona Cardinals go on the road to take on the struggling Eagles. Too bad this one is on the NFL network so no one can see it. Both teams are coming off of losses. But the Eagles loss was much worse than the Cardinals. The Cardinals took on arguably the best team in the NFC in the Giants on Sunday. They went out and stuck with them the whole way but came up short, 37-29. The Eagles went into Baltimore and got their asses kicked 36-7 in a messy game that featured Donovan McNabb getting benched at halftime. They said he was going to start this week but they're a mess right now. The Cardinals also have too much to play for. They're trying to make the playoffs for the first time in forever. They're a better team than Philadelphia and they won't lose with this much on the line.
Cardinals 27 Eagles 17

So let's recap the picks. I got the Titans over the Lions, the Cowboys to crush the Seahawks, and the Cardinals to take down the Eagles. Have a happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your football, and thank God you aren't a turkey.

St. Louis MLS expansion bid gets backed by Albert Pujols

Honestly if you want your town to get a bid for an expansion slot for the MLS, why not use a huge baseball star from that town. That's exactly what St. Louis is doing. Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is adding his star power to a group working to bring an MLS expansion team to the area.

The announcement on came a day after Pujols won his second NL MVP award. Pujols' reputation, plus a significant financial investment that was not disclosed, is expected to strengthen St. Louis Soccer United's chances of winning a franchise in 2011.

"I am very proud and excited to join the effort to bring Major League Soccer to the St. Louis area," Pujols said in a statement. "This means a lot to me and my family, as we all love soccer and we believe in MLS."

Seven cities are competing for two expansion teams with selections expected by the end of March. Also applying were Vancouver, Montreal, Atlanta, Miami, Ottawa and Portland.

I don't think both Vancouver and Portland could win bids for an expansion team because they are way to close together. Plus Vancouver has NBA star Steve Nash backing that team up, so Vancouver would get picked over Portland. Ottawa is a huge hockey town and somehow I just do not see them switching from hockey to soccer, so they do not have much to offer. Miami has zero chance in my book because Miami did have the Fusion and they only lasted about 3 years. The rest I really am not too sure about.

The St. Louis group believes that adding Pujols, the highest paid player in Cardinals history with two years to go on a seven-year, $100 million contract, will eliminate doubts about its financial footing and encourage area business leaders to become involved. The team would play in an 18,500-seat stadium yet to be built in Collinsville, Ill., near St. Louis.

"This is something that will be great for our community, especially our youth," Pujols said. "St. Louis is an unbelievable sports town and we'll be a great city for Major League Soccer."

The St. Louis group submitted a formal bid for an expansion franchise on Oct. 15.

"It is frankly impossible to imagine a better partner in our effort than Albert Pujols," Cooper said. "Albert's commitment is a testament to the strength of the league, the interest and promise of Major League Soccer in St. Louis and the overall quality of our team, stadium and youth complex plan."

MLS Cup: Columbus Crew 3-1 New York Red Bulls

It is now in the history books. The Columbus Crew have won their first ever Major League Soccer Championship 3-1 against the New York Red Bulls.

Your Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player Barros Schelotto recorded three assists to help deliver a championship in his second season in MLS. Rightfully so he also claimed MVP honors for the MLS Cup as well. What a surprise considering he had a league leading 19 assists during the regular season, which five of those were game winners.

Columbus easily dominated during the regular season but did not have much success against the Red Bulls, who won two of three meetings one of which was a 3-1 win. Sorry New York, but I guess that's karma.

Alejandro Moreno, who was the leading goal scorer on the team with nine goals, opened the scoring in the 31st minute. He hit a shot from the right side of the 18 yard box with virtually no angle, but still managed to fit it just barely inside the left goal post.

After New York forward John Wolyniec tied the match in the 51st minute, The Crew immediately answered and reclaimed the lead, dominating the rest of the game. Just a minute later Chad Marshall snapped the 1-1 tie. Schelotto delivered a perfect corner kick right in front of the goal to Marshall, who powered home what proved to be the game winning goal.

But the Crew were not done yet, they still searched for the goal that would seal the deal for them. In the 82nd minute Schelotto lofted a pass over the Red Bulls defense to Hejduk, who scored on a header to ensure that the Cup would be rightfully theirs.

It was a perfect ending to what was a dominant regular season for the Crew, who had 17 victories and 57 points during the season. That included a nine-game unbeaten streak that lasted more than two months. Strangely enough it was the New York Red Bulls that ended that winning streak during the regular season.

Should Maple Bats be Banned?

During the 2008 season many players switched to bats made out of maple wood. And also in the 2008 season there was an increase in the number of bats being broken. But is the maple wood to blame? Yes the maple might be causing the bats to break more often but some experts believe that it is the model of the bats that is causing them to break. The model of the bat has more to do with the shattering of bats than the kind of wood used does. So it is likely that there won't be a ban on these bats but there will likely be specifications for the model of the bats. One thing they can change is the difference between the length and the weight of the bat. According to the MLB rules, bats can be no more than -3.5, which means the difference between the length in inches and the weight in ounces cannot be greater than 3.5.

Brian Hillerich, who is the owner of a bat company that makes the Louisville Slugger (type of bat typically used in the MLB), said this, "We've been told that they probably won't ban maple, that they will come up with some recommendations for changing what we do now."

Some of you might be saying why does it matter if player's bats break? The answer is because when a wooden bat breaks it sends little splinters of wood flying everywhere and it can be very dangerous to not only the players on the field but also to fans sitting in the stands. There were several of these incidents in the 2008 season where people were injured due to a shattered bat. A piece of the broken bat of the Pittsburgh Pirate's Nate McLouth hit coach Don Long in the face while he was standing in the dugout minding his own business.

Personally, I don't think maple bats should be banned because I don't think maple bats are any more breakable than the ash bats that were used before. I agree that they need to make some specifications for the bats such as handle width, barrel length, etc.

A New Rule in Baseball

A while back I wrote a post about game five of the World Series. If you remember, that game got postponed due to a rain delay in the sixth inning. But according to the rule book it was officially a complete game. The commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig, overruled this rule and they played the rest of the game the next night.

Well now Bud announced that there has never been a rain-shortened game in the postseason and there never will be because there is now a new rule in effect that states that postseason games can not be shortened by bad weather. He also said this rule will also include the all-star game and tiebreaker games. Here is part of Selig's official statement,

"All postseason games, All-Star games and that, will be full-length affairs, and the rule will be so written."

According to baseball's rules, games are official as soon as the trailing team has made 15 outs (5 innings). This was the case in game 5 when the Rays had just tied the game in the sixth inning and it started to poor rain. Since the game was tied, it would have been finished later anyways, but Selig said that if the Phillies would have still led 2-1 when it started raining, the game would have been continued later even if it took several days.

Columbus Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto wins MVP

Of course it would be an older guy that used to play professional soccer outside of the US that wins the MVP. The Columbus Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto, a midfielder who was a big star in Argentina, won the Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player award Thursday.

Schelotto, who is 35, had 19 assists and seven goals for Columbus as the Crew bounced back from a 9-11-10 record the previous year to finish with an MLS-best 17-7-6 record. He and his teammates face the New York Red Bulls this afternoon in Carson for the MLS Cup.

Schelotto beat out second place Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Cuauhtemoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire in the voting by the league's coaches and general managers, players and media.

"My teammates and coach had a lot to do with it. They made the transition much faster, a transition that could have been very difficult," Schelotto, speaking through a translator, said. "They understood that I don't understand English and that I had another style of play.

As much as I would have liked to see Cuauhtemoc Blanco win the MVP award, I really cannot argue with Schelotto winning it. He had five game winning assists during the regular season, and I am one of those people who think assists are by far one of the most underrated stat in soccer. And he has set up all of two of the the Columbus Crew's goals in this years playoffs. I mean what else is there to say about this guy, he can take anyone one on one and with his pinpoint accuracy he will find you regardless if you are open or not.

Matt Cassel: Superhero

There's something really weird happening in New England these days. The New England Patriots are winning games without Tom Brady in at starting quarterback. That isn't supposed to be happening. As soon as Brady went down with that knee injury, their season was supposed to be over. But Matt Cassel, the man who never started a game in college is leading them, and more importantly, winning some games.

So who would have seen this coming? All of the injuries combined with an aging defense, but they are still pulling off a 6-4 record and they are right in the middle of the playoff hunt. So there are a lot of reasons that they are still playing well but i think the biggest one is Matt Cassel. He came out and showed that he can still play. He is also coming off of a career game. And this isn't even a rookie level career game, this is the kind of game a hall of famer would like to have. In the Pats last game against the Jets, Cassel threw for 400 yards and also rushed for over 60 yards. He was the first player in the history of the NFL to do that. And it was only his 9th start. Even though his team lost the game, he clearly outplayed one of the greatest of all time, Brett Favre. He has been playing solid games all year long but he is flying under the radar because he isn't Tom Brady.

But what does this mean for his career in the future. When Brady comes back, New England is going to start him again, there's no reason that they wouldn't. But what does that mean for Cassel? Will he really want to come back to New England as a backup after showing everyone that he can play this well on a consistent basis? He might get an offer from some team that is struggling to find a good starting quarterback, like the San Francisco 49ers, and take a starting job there. That's what i think is going to happen. He is too good of a player to be a backup, he has shown that. I would expect to see Matt Cassel wearing different colors next year, he's earned it.

Dear Roger...

Dear NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, how many more chances are you going to give Pacman Jones? He obviously doesn't learn anything from his mistakes, why would you keep giving him chances to embarrass your organization?

Look at the things that he has done, some of the dumbest shit that i have ever heard of anyone doing. First off, a few years back, he goes to a strip club, which already is a mistake. But then, of course, it got worse from there. He decided to show how much of a straight up baller he is and started making it rain, with 81,020 dollars, on some of the strippers. Doesn't he have something better to do with his money? I'm not saying he has to donate it to needy kids but come on. Then he got irate at them when they tried to pick up the money. After that there was a huge frenzy in the club and then shots were fired that killed two people and left another paralyzed.

Now you think after something like that happened and you got suspended from the NFL for an entire year, you would learn a thing or two. But not Pacman. After he got reinstated guess what happened, he done it again! He got in a fight with one of his bodyguards and then got suspended again. And those aren't even the only two. The Dallas Morning News says that he has been arrested 6 times and involved in 13 incidents since he was drafted by the Titans in 2005. Hey Roger, he isn't going to learn.

I don't know how much more obvious it could be. He has gotten in trouble a bunch of times before, what makes you think this last one out of 13 has made him a changed man. Wake up, Roger, he's done.

Who Cares?

Something very rare happened last Sunday in the NFL. The game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals ended in a 13-13 tie. Now that's odd enough in itself but what some people find even more outrageous is that the Eagles starting quarterback Donovan McNabb wasn't aware of the leagues overtime rule. He said that he didn't know that if a game is tied after the first overtime, the game ends in a tie. Now i know that he should have known and that there have been games during his career that have ended in ties but i think that this whole thing is being blown out of proportion.

Now he is Donovan McNabb and he should have known the rules but he didn't and that doesn't bother me one bit. He has plenty of people on his side. Fellow quarterbacks like Ben Roethlisberger have come out and say that they think maybe even 80 percent of players don't know the overtime rules. So Donovan was one of them. Who cares? If anyone was supposed to know the rule it should have been the head coach Andy Reid.

What's worse is that i even hear some talk about this ruining his legacy. How would that work? He didn't know one rule and his underachieving team tied with another underachieving team. I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal out of this. This isn't going to kill the Eagles this year, they're already dead. There are at least two if not three teams in that division that are better than them. Their road to the playoffs is tough to begin with and they weren't expected to come out on top.

So Donovan didn't know a rule that almost 80 percent of players didn't know. You're right, he's a failure. So now if you'll excuse me i have to leave and keep on not giving a shit.

And the MVP is...

Albert Pujols. Enough said. This guy is amazing. Can you tell how much of a Pujols fan I am? Albert Pujols is arguably the best in baseball. He has been putting up amazing numbers since his rookie season and he still seems to be going strong at 28 years old. If he continues to play the way he has been for the rest of his career and he stays injury free, then I think he will with out a doubt be the best baseball player ever. Ok, so you might think I'm going a little over bored here. But I don't care because I absolutely love this guy. Not only is he a really good baseball player he is also a really great guy. Along with winning the NL MVP this year he also won the Roberto Clemente Award. This award recognizes the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individuals contribution to his team. He is also involved in many charitable organizations such as the Pujols Family Foundation which is dedicated to the love, care and development of people with down syndrome.

Sorry I got a little side tracked there. Lets get back to Pujols winning the MVP award. His magnificent season earned him his second MVP award Monday night. He beat out Philadelphia's Ryan Howard, who finished just ahead of him in the MVP race last year. Pujols has finished in the top 10 in the voting in every single one of his eight seasons in the major leagues. This is another good argument of why he is the best in baseball. Pujols became the 11th player to win two NL MVP awards and he's one of only three active players with two of these awards. And something tells me there will be more MVP's sitting on Pujols' shelf before he retires. I'll leave you with a comment from Pujols,

"I have to thank my teammates. Obviously this is not an award that you win by yourself. My teammates were involved everyday, day in, day out, supporting me, getting on base and driving me in. These kinds of numbers, you can't do it by yourself."

Sean Franklin wins MLS Rookie of the Year

Well at least the Los Angeles Galaxy have something going for them this season. Their own defender Sean Franklin has been named the 2008 Gatorade Rookie of the Year. Sean started 26 out of 27 games and recorded one assist.

The 23 year old native of Palmdale, California and 2008 graduate of Cal State Northridge was the Galaxy's first pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft and the fourth overall selection. He is the first Los Angeles Galaxy player to win Rookie of the Year.

The MLS Gatorade Rookie of the Year winner received the most votes from polling of media, players and coaches and general managers.

At least the Galaxy's future looks a little brighter and that their might be some talent on the horizon other than David Beckham and Landon Donovan. A team with those two players should hardly fall below second place in their conference, let alone tie for last in the entire league.

MLS Playoffs: Conference Finals

This weekend the Conference Finals for the Major League Soccer have finally concluded and we now know our two teams that will be heading to face off against each other for the MLS Cup. We have the Columbus Crew taking on the New York Red Bulls.

Columbus Crew 2-1 Chicago Fire

After having the best record during the regular season it is only rightfully so that the Columbus Crew are going to appear in their first ever Major League Soccer Cup championship.

The Fire opened the scoring on a header from Brian McBride in the 29th minute. The former Crew forward sent the ball from the top of the box over goalkeeper Will Hesmer's head for an early 1 to 0 lead. It was McBride's 10th career playoff goal. One of the most popular players in Columbus history, McBride was booed heavily by the Crew faithful every time he touched the ball.

Columbus answered quickly in the second half, as defender Chad Marshall headed in a service off Guillermo Barros Schelotto's direct kick for the equalizer. Six minutes later, a pair of headers set up Gaven, who faced tight defense inside the box but drilled a shot past the Chicago Fire goalkeeper just inside the left post for a 2-1 lead.

"This is absolutely huge," Schmid said. "We talked at halftime about trying to get behind their defense and we also thought we were getting closer on set pieces. Then the first goal is off a set piece and the second goal is Gaven getting played in behind."

Chicago had been the only MLS team that Columbus hadn't beaten this season. Both teams played two games of 2-2 draws during the regular season.
New York Red Bulls 1-0 Real Salt Lake

Dave van den Bergh scored halfway through the first half and the New York Red Bulls got a few fortunate bounces as they clinched their first ever appearance in the MLS Cup with a 1 0 victory over Real Salt Lake.

Real Salt Lake came close to tying the game manyl times, but hit the post four other times. The loss was difficult to accept for an emotional Real Salt Lake team that controlled possession from early in the first half.

"It was chance after chance after chance," second-year Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis said. "I drove myself to laughter on the bench. It was either that or cry."

Driving the anxious crowd absolutely mad, Morales barely missed tying the match in the fourth minute of stoppage time after he volleyed his own rebound off the left post from the top of the penalty area. Moments later, the referee's whistle sounded and New York players rejoiced while Real Salt Lake could only think about all the chances they had missed.

"They were inches away, literally, from scoring goals," Cepero said. "Some nights there are nights where it's just not going to go in for a team. Fortunately for us, it was that kind of night for Real Salt Lake."

New York will play the Columbus Crew for the championship on November 23 in Carson, California. The Crew claimed the Supporters' Shield for most points after the regular season. If I was asked who would win this game, I would have to say the Columbus Crew. They were the best team during the regular season and they just beat the Chicago Fire who I thought was the only team that had a shot to beat them. I just don't see New York having the same fire power that the Crew do.

Trade Talk

As the MLB is now moving deeper into the off season there are many trades already being made and there are many trade rumors circulating. I have been following most of these trades and rumors closely because I am anxious to see where all of the big name free agents are going to end up. Here are a few of the trades that have already taken place and also a few of the trade rumors that are going around.

The Oakland A's were able to acquire the Colorado Rockie's star Matt Holliday on Monday. The A's traded Greg Smith, Hutson Street, Carlos Gonzalez for a one year deal with Holliday. In my opinion the Rockies got the better end of the deal here because I don't think Holliday himself isn't enough to help the A's contend this year.

The Yankees were able to trade for Nick Swisher, and Kanekoa Texeira from the White Sox. I think this will quite the rumors of the Yankees trying to trade for Mark Texeira because the Yankees will need to use a lot of their money for starting pitching. They have already made a hefty offer to CC Sabathia. They offered him a six year 140 million dollar deal and I'm not to sure if he can turn something like that down.

The Chicago Cubs traded Jose Ceda for Kevin Greg. I think this trade makes the rumor of the Cubs parting ways with long time Cub, Kerry Wood, almost a sure thing. Wood had been heard saying he would do almost anything to stay with the Cubs but I don't see the Cubs resigning him. Another rumor going around is that the Cubs might be looking to sign veteran pitcher Randy Johnson. They are considering a one year deal for the 45 year old lefty who only needs 5 wins to reach 300 career wins.

There is a rumor going around about Edgar Renteria returning to the St. Louis Cardinals if the Detriot Tigers don't make him an offer.

There have been many rumors about Jake Peavy so far this off season as everybody seems to be interested. And of course one of the teams interested in Peavy is the Yankees but of course who aren't the Yankees interested in. I don't understand why they are after Peavy if they have already made a huge offer to CC Sabathia.

Only time will tell where all these players will end up and that really sucks because I'm a very impatient person. There is just to much suspense for me and it is driving me crazy. I just can't wait until next season starts and I know who is on every bodies rosters.

Beckham dropped for next exhibition game

David Beckham was dropped from England's international team for next week's exhibition game in Germany because his coach says he's not in shape. Beckham has come on late in the half as a substitute in all four of England's World Cup qualifying victories. If England advances to the 2010 championship in South Africa, Beckham is in good position to make the team.

But the coach of the England squad, Fabio Capello, said the former England captain will not play against the German international team because the Los Angeles Galaxy's season is over in Major League Soccer and Beckham has not played and will not play until he joins AC Milan on loan in January.

Coach Fabio Capello did admit that he would play Beckham if the Galaxy did make the playoffs. That way Beckham would still be up to par on his game.

"He last played three weeks ago. ... If he had played in the playoffs, it would have been OK for me," the coach said. "It's my system for my job. If you play, you will be in the squad. He is a good player. He will play for AC Milan. We have time to check him."

Hmm, now it may seem that there is an even stronger reason for Beckham to stay with AC Milan. If he stays with the Galaxy his international chances are shattered. If he stays with AC Milan he can creep back up into the international scene.

So what's it going to be Beck's, stay with the Galaxly or pack your gear up and stay back in Europe?

Football Einstein: Week 11

This week i picked a tough one. It isn't a marquee matchup by any means but it seems like it is going to be a close one. I'm talking about the Monday nighter between the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills. Both of these teams are in a bit of a funk right now and they need this win to get back on track.

On offense, Cleveland is looking better than it used to. Putting Brady Quinn in at quarterback seems like a good move so far. Granted he has only played one game, but he played very well in the starting role. He could provide the spark that they need. But it's going to be tough for him to do it on his own. And that looks like what he is going to have to do because the Browns can't run the ball. Averaging 101 yards per game is good enough for 21st in the league. Good luck Brady. The Bills certainly aren't an offensive machine by any means though. They can put up points but they are ranked 24th. A lot of their points are set up by their great special teams. But still, when they get it close, they can punch it in. Advantage Bills.

Defense is not a strong suit for the Browns. They played awfully last week against the Broncos. They lost that game for their team and it was so bad, it looked like they were doing it on purpose. They are 27th in the NFL in total defense and sometimes, that seems too high. They just plain suck. The Bills D isn't nearly as bad. They aren't at the top of the league but they do a much better job than Cleveland. And playing against a weak offense like the Browns, they shouldn't have too hard of a time shutting them down. Advantage Bills.

So I think that Brady Quinn is going to play well again. But he can't do it all unless he goes out at linebacker and jacks up some suckas. The Bills have lost 3 in a row but i think that this is the game that they will use to turn it around. Even if the Browns are up, they will probably hand the game to the Bills anyway. That is what that team likes to do. The Bills take this one.
Bills 28 Browns 17

Romo Can't Save the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are finally getting their savior back. After missing several weeks with a broken pinky finger, Tony Romo is returning to his role as quarterback for the Boys when they take on the Washington Redskins. But Romo isn't Anne Sullivan (Miracle Worker reference, count it), he can't do it all. Sorry Dallas, Tony Romo can't come back and fix everything.

Look at it realistically. Tony Romo missed a few weeks with that finger injury so he might take some time to get back on track. It happened with Peyton Manning and I think that Peyton is a better quarterback than Romo. Face it, no matter who you are, when you miss time, it takes time to get back on track. Romo is a streaky player to begin with, when he's good, he's incredible, but when he's bad, he's worse than your grandma getting you a haypenny for your birthday. I mean, he wasn't born in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts! (Miracle Worker reference deuce).

Now we all know the truth. When Romo was gone the Cowboys straight up sucked. They were like the children of impoverished cooks during the potato famine (Miracle Worker reference trey). But you can't blame it all on the quarterbacks. They couldn't run the ball at all. They were getting stuffed no matter where they tried to run. So that goes to the offensive line and the running backs. Their defense hasn't been playing too well either. Dallas has lost 3 of their last 4 games and they're giving up a lot of points. In those three losses they gave up 24, 34, and 35 points. It's pretty tough to win games when you can't stop the other team from scoring.

So when no one on your team is playing well, you expect Tony Romo to come and save the day? Sorry but things don't work that way. The Cowboys are going to go into Washington and lose this Sunday. They might even lose a few more before they get going. But one thing is clear, they need a lot more than just Tony Romo to get things back on track.

Miracle Worker reference count - 3, beat that bitches.

Cliff Lee Wins Cy Young Award

Has anybody ever heard of Cliff Lee? I know I haven't. I consider myself a pretty big baseball fan and I've never even heard this guy's name before. That's why I was so surprised when he was announced as the American League's Cy Young Award winner. (The Cy Young Award is basically the MVP Award for pitchers). I guess if this guy is as good as he sounds he is the best kept secret in baseball.

I was reading an article out of the New York Times and apparently it's not like he just suddenly emerged as a star this year. He also finished fourth in the race for the Cy Young in 2005. Maybe the reason why he isn't that well known is because in 2007 when the Cleveland Indians came within a game of the World Series, he was left off of the roster because he wasn't having a very good season. During 07 he experienced an abdominal injury that set him back, then he never really got back to full form and he was demoted to the minor league where he had a record of 5-8 with an ERA (earned run average) of 6.29.

His teammates where sure that he would have a much better year than last year. This is what his teammate, Jensen Lewis, had to say about it,

"I think we all could tell right out of the gate, from spring training, that Cliff was completely different than the year before. He carried himself differently, with the utmost confidence in his stuff."

His confidence really showed this year and he was rewarded with it on Thursday with the AL Cy Young Award. Lee's record this year was 22-3 with and ERA of 2.54 which makes him just the third pitcher since 1990 to have that many wins with an earned run average that low. The other two pitchers to do this were Pedro Martinez in 1999 and Randy Johnson (who i think needs to retire but that's a whole other story) in 2002.

The other contenders in the Cy Young race were Toronto's Roy Halladay (record of 20-11) who finished second, the closer for the Angel's Fransisco Rodriguez (set a single season record for number of saves) who finished third, and the Yankee's Mike Mussina (record of 20-9) who finished in fourth.

So if there is anybody out there like me who didn't know the name Cliff Lee, you now have no excuse to not know who he is unless of course you hate baseball and you don't really give a rats ass who he is. In 2008 Lee proved all of his haters wrong and really made a name for himself.

The Important Issues

With the new election just in the books we have to focus on the main issue. But what is the main issue? Is it the economy? The war? No, of course not. The main issue is what will Obama pick as the White House dog. This is very, very gripping news people.

There is a shocking twist to this story though, Obama's daughter is allergic to dogs (cue the cliche, something really big just got revealed music). So that doesn't leave much of a choice now does it? I mean, if the dog has fur, she's going to be allergic to it. Just what is a president-elect to do? Well lucky for him, the madness continues. The great nation of Peru has offered him the (kinda) perfect solution, a hairless breed of dog. Not only is it the ugliest god damn thing i have ever seen, it still won't help his daughter. If she's allergic to dogs, she'll be allergic to this dog too. And can you imagine trying to pet this thing? It'd be like groping a raincoat while wearing rubber gloves. And what if it gets sweaty? That's gross. Plus it's probably going to sell our secrets to Peru. And that's bad news bears.

So Barack, this is your first major decision of your of your presidency, maybe your life. Who's it gonna be? The dog or your daughter? Which one is gets the bedroom and which one gets the yard? This is why we voted for you. To make these tough decisions. So make sure that you make the right decision, the next four years depend on it.

Flying Blind

Can you imagine trying to land an airplane with your eyes closed? Neither can I. That's why I was so surprised when I read a story about a man who was flying a plane and suddenly went blind. No I am not making this stuff up it actually happened.

This all took place in London when a British pilot was suddenly blinded by a stroke during a solo flight. He had to be talked down by a military pilot in the Royal Air force. The pilots name is Jim O'Neill and he was in the middle of a flight from Scotland to southeastern England. He lost his sight 5,500 ft in the air. This is about where I would start panicking. "It was terrifying," O'Neill said, "Suddenly, I couldn't see the dials in front of me." He then made an emergency call for help and said, "I want to land, ASAP!" Luckily there was a military pilot, Paul Gerrard, on a training flight nearby who was contacted and asked to guide O'Neill down to safety. This is what Gerrard had to say about the situation:

"For me, I was just happy to help a fellow aviator in distress. Landing an aircraft literally blind needs someone to be right there to say 'Left a bit, right a bit, stop, down. On the crucial final approach, even with radar assistance, you need to take over visually. That's when having a fellow pilot there was so important."

O'Neill is currently recovering in a hospital and he is begging to regain his sight. The doctors have confirmed that he suffered a stroke due to a blood clot. What I would like to know is if O'Neill is planning to continue flying after he has fully recovered. If I were him there is no way I would even attempt to fly a plane again. I think it's time this 65-year-old calls it quits. He has been a pilot for nearly two decades. He gave it a good run but I think it's time for him to get a job as a Walmart greeter or something like that that suites his age.

MLS Playoffs: Second Leg

We now have the four teams that will advance to conference finals and fight for their chance to play for the MLS Cup.

Chicago Fire 3-0 New England Revolution

There was really no doubt about this game. The Revolution had to come and win in Chicago to advance which is not an easy thing to do. MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Jon Busch only had to stop four shots after the Revolution found themselves again to not generate any offense in this game. Rolfe knocked home the rebound after Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis made a diving save right before the half which sent the momentum towards Chicago. The Fire came out in the second half just as energized and easily capped the win scoring two more goals.

Columbus Crew 2-0 Kansas City Wizards

As the top seed in the MLS Cup, the Columbus Crew earned the right to host the second leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal match with the Kansas City Wizards. They sureused that to their advantage on Saturday, extending their home unbeaten streak to 10 games and advancing to the conference finals. After scoring really late in stoppage time giving the Crew a 1-1 tie in the first leg against the Wizards, they dominated a 13-6 advantage in shots during the second leg and took an early lead on Evans goal in the seventh minute.

Chivas USA 2-2 Real Salt Lake

Javier Morales and Dema Kovalenko each scored a goal as Real Salt Lake won its first playoff series ever in their history with a 2-2 draw over Chivas USA in the second leg. Real Salt Lake won the first game 1-0 so with a tie of 2-2 they end up with an aggregate score of 3-2.

"We knew it was going to be tough, they always are," Kovalenko said. "We fought all year and no one believed in us. Even the (newspaper) in Salt Lake said we wouldn't make the playoffs, but we believed in ourselves and now we're in the conference finals. That just goes to show you what you can do when you believe in yourself."

New York Red Bulls 3-0 Houston Dynamo

Houston Dynamo 0-3 New York Red BullsApparetly winning the western conference is a guarenteed way to fall out of the first round. For the fifth straight season, the regular season champs in the west fell in the first round of the playoffs. This the victim was the two-time defending champion Houston Dynamo. The Red Bulls won the aggregate goal series, 4-1 and advanced to the Western Conference finals Saturday at Real Salt Lake.

"I'm very proud of the boys," New York head coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "As always, the plan was there, and they executed very well. In the second half, as you know, 2-0 up is still very dangerous, so all they would need is one goal, and they would have the upperhand in the game."

Cardinal's Trade Talk

If you have read some of my other post you probably have realized that I am a die hard St. Louis Cardinals fan. This is why I got excited when I heard a rumor about the Cardinals talking about trading for Colorado Rockies star Matt Holliday. I do however have mixed feelings about this news. This is because in order to acquire Holliday the Cardinals would probably have to give up Ryan Ludwick who is coming off of a break out season in 2008. I'm not saying that Ludwick is better than Holliday, I have just kind of taking a liking to Ludwick over the past year. Ludwick has expressed a desire to stay in St. Louis but understands that it may not work that way. This is what Ludwick had to say about the situation:

"I have heard about the rumors. However, I have not heard any details. They don't concern me--obviously. I can't control the situation. There is no place I'd rather be than St Louis, but I have been with five different organizations, and I know it's a business. St. Louis feels like home, I love my teammates and most importantly, I think we can win."

One thing I don't understand is why are the Cardinals trying to trade for another outfielder? They already have a surplus of talented players that can play in the outfield such as Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker, Colby Rasmus, Joe Mather, and Brian Barton. Tony La Russa, Cardinals Manager, has said that the reason for going after Holliday is he wants a clean up hitter to bat behind Albert Pujols, and while Ludwick certainly has the ability, he doesn't have the reputation that Holliday does. One of the worries of the field staff is that Pujols is pitched around too often, and having a star like Matt Holliday batting behind him would cause other teams to pitch to Pujols.

I guess all I can do is sit back and watch this one play out and see what happens. Whatever the outcome is I'm sure I'll be happy because both Ludwick and Holliday are very talented players who can help out on the Cardinal's roster.

Is stress really dangerous?

You probably think you're doing everything you can to stay healthy, you get lots of sleep, exercise regularly and try to avoid fatty fried foods that everyone complains about these days. But you may be forgetting one important thing. Relax! Stress has a bigger impact on your health than you might realize, according to research presented at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association in Boston.

Ohio State University psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser says stress causes the body to release pro-inflammatory cytokines, immune factors that initiate responses against infections. When the body produces these cytokines over long periods of time, as a result of chronic stress—all sorts of bad things can happen. Not only does it hamper our body's ability to fight infection and heal wounds, but chronic inflammation also increases our risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and autoimmune diseases including type 2 diabetes.

Of course now I probably having you worrying about stress which is actually the opposite of my intent with this post, but take a deep breathe, let's go over someways how to cope with stress.

You need to find out how you experience stress. The way I experience it or the way one of your friends does can be completely different. How do you know when you are stressed? How do you feel when you are stressed to compared when you are not? Normally I know I am when I get those semester projects and papers all at the same time.

Find healthy ways to manage stress. Think of healthy, stress reducing activities such as meditation, exercising or talking things out with friends. Keep in mind that unhealthy behaviors develop over time and can be difficult to change. Don't take on too much at once.

And more importantly, Take care of yourself. Eat right, get enough sleep, and participate in regular physical activity. Make sure you have a healthy mind and body through activities like taking a short walk, going to the gym or playing sports that will build both your physical and mental health. Take breaks from work. No matter how hectic life gets, make time for yourself even if it's just simple things like reading a good book or listening to your favorite music.

Basically if you do find yourself stressed out a lot, do something about it. There is nothing worse then letting it build up day in and day out because not only is it bad mentally, but it is just as bad physically. If you don't really like to do any of these activities grab a group of friends and just go out and do something that is fun for you. So come on bosses, coaches, teachers, parents, and even friends, can't you let up just a bit at times? You are killing us, literally.

Still Perfect

They've played nine games and they are still perfect. The Tennessee Titans are the best team in football and they showed why again this Sunday. Even when things weren't working on all cylinders, they came out of Chicago with a win.

When i say that things weren't working on all cylinders i mean their bread and butter, their rushing offense. Running the football has led them to where they are now but they couldn't find it on Sunday. They ran 29 times for a total of 20 yards. Only 20 yards from the team that has been averaging 149 yards per game. That's good enough for 3rd in the NFL. Kerry Collins actually had to make plays today, and he showed, gray beard and all, that he can still do it. He picked apart the Bears secondary for 289 yards, more than anyone would expect from him. He's at the stage in his career where he is now a game manager, not a playmaker. He is supposed to make simple passes and hand the ball off. Instead, he made it look like the Bears didn't even have a secondary out there. Their defense played average. They let the Bears get some big plays but they also made some nice plays on some of Rex Grossman's passes in crunch time. They played well when they had to and they did a great job of using the consistenly poor field position of the Bears to their advantage.

This Titans team scares me now. They took the field in Chicago today and made a statement. They can win any way now. They can run the ball all over you and win. They can have no running game but Kerry Collins can win the game for you. And, even when their defense isn't playing as good as it can, they can beat you. I was unsure about them being the best team in the NFL even though they were undefeated but now, i know they are the best. They are so good in every facet of the game and even when they aren't at their best, they can beat you.

Cristiano Ronaldo named FifPro World Footballer of the Year

The Manchester United midfielder, who is also the favorite to win the European and Fifa World Player of the Year, has been chosen for the award by thousands of professional footballers across more than 40 associations. Ronaldo who was suspect with a move to Real Madrid over the summer, but now insists he is happy at Old Trafford.

"I insist that I am a Manchester United player and now I think that next year I will continue here," Ronaldo said. The player also said that Sir Alex Ferguson played a huge part in his decision to commit his future to Old Trafford.

"He has been a key person. I respect him a lot, because it was him who signed me and he has played a very important part in all that I have won," Ronaldo said.

Ronaldo was one of five Premier League players who have been selected for the team of the year. Cristiano Ronaldo joins Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (both Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea) and Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) in the team. Like United, Liverpool provides two members of the team, with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, who is one of five Spanish players in the team. Real Madrid also has two players on the team in Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, however, Barcelona boast three players with Carles Puyol, Xavi and Lionel Messi all selected in the side. Kaka from AC Milan is the only player included from an Italian team.

Here is the FifPro team:

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Kaka (AC Milan),
Xavi (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Football Einstein: Week Ten

The game to watch this week is the Sunday nighter between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams are in the powerful NFC East and they are both over .500. This is a key conference match up so let's look at it a little closer.

Both teams come in with very good offenses. The Giants are ranked 5th and the Eagles are ranked 6th. The Giants have just been dismantling opponents left and right. I did some complex math and found that besides their one loss (a 35-14 trouncing handed to them by the lowly Cleveland Browns) they have outscored their opponents 212-94. They consistently double up their opponents score. That doesn't mean the Eagles haven't been playing well. They are 5-3. But they rely much more on the pass than the Giants do. They average 271 yards per game through the air but what worries me is that they aren't even averaging 100 yards on the ground. With a solid pass defense like the Giants have, the Eagles would have to establish the run first, but that doesn't look like it is going to be easy. Advantage Giants.

Defense is another thing that both teams do very well. The Giants are ranked 3rd and the Eagles are 5th. They will shut you down. So I think that this is going to boil down to which teams offense can move the ball better. And that team according to the stats is the Giants. They also have the momentum coming in. The Eagles have won some big games but none as big as the two wins the Giants picked up before this game. They beat the Steelers, the team some people are calling an AFC Super Bowl favorite, by a touchdown. Then they destroyed the depleted but still good Cowboys by 3 touchdowns. If it wasn't for one fluke game against the Browns, they would be 8-0. Again, Advantage Giants.

So all signs are pointing to the Giants winning this game. And i'm not one to disobey signs. Giants roll on and improve to 8-1 on Sunday night.
Giants 21 Eagles 14

Now Kids...

There has been a little squabble going on the past few weeks in the NFL. Brandon Marshall and Joey party have been having quite the war of words. Sure it's childish, but damn is it entertaining too.

Those two just can't seem to leave the talking on the field. The most recent development is the best one yet. After Porter and the Dolphins spanked the Broncos 26 to 17 on Sunday, Brandon Marshall, who only had 2 catches, couldn't hold it in. He called out Porter again. This time, he called him "soft" and said that he has "popcorn muscles". I'm not sure what popcorn muscles are but if Porter has popcorn muscles, they can't be too bad. He leads the league in sacks with 11 1/2. Marshall also went on to make fun of Joey's nickname, Peezy. He claims to not know what Peezy means. I believe it's a disease popular in canines but that's beside the point. He finally said that he heard stories about Porter dancing in the club with his shirt off, "like a girl". We all do it so don't make fun.

This is childish, yeah, but come on! Grown men tossing around insults like they're on the playground. You gotta love this. I hope that this goes on for the rest of the season. It's too much fun for it to stop. Now if you'll excuse me, i have to go work on my popcorn muscles.

No Beckham means no game in Australia

The proposed loan of David Beckham to AC Milan prompted the Los Angeles Galaxy to postpone its Dec. 11 game against an Australian team. The Major League Soccer club said it could not guarantee that Beckham would play in the exhibition game against Queensland Roar in Brisbane.
"To avoid disappointment for the many fans that were expected to travel to Brisbane from all parts of Australia, it was decided to postpone this game before tickets went on sale to the general public," Galaxy business operations president Tom Payne said.

The Galaxy are still scheduled with a Dec. 6 game against an Oceania All-Star team in Auckland, New Zealand, and organizers will try to reschedule the game against A-League club Queensland Roar. Beckham scored with a trademark, curling free kick in the Galaxy's 5-3 loss to Sydney FC at a packed Olympic stadium in Australia's biggest city last November.

Seems like the Galaxy do want to do anything with out Beckham these days. I guess I cannot really blame them. Afterall they did have an absolute embarrassing season with Beckham, So I can only imagine what the game would be like without him. I guess it's just better to save their time and just call it off.

Yankees looking for even more talent

Who else is tired of the New York Yankees collecting superstars like they are stamps or something? They are always looking for some other big name to add to their roster. This is why I wasn't all that surprised when I herd rumors that the Yankees might be interested in signing superstar Manny Ramirez. The Yankee's problem is they have more money than they know what to do with. So they just try to buy all of the talent that is available at the moment. Now I know you are probably all thinking what is so bad about that, don't they have the right to try to get the best players possible? Well there isn't anything wrong with it. I just think it's extremely annoying that they think they have to have the whole all-star team on their roster.

The thing that I find funny about all this is they seem to have all the talent in the world but yet they didn't even make it to the playoffs this year. So now they think they have to go out and try to get even more big name players such as Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixiera. The reason why the Yankees are able to get these kind of players is because the players are always looking for the highest bidder and most of the time that is the Yankees. I don't see why Ramirez would even want to play for New York because he spent all those years in Boston and they have the biggest rivalry in baseball. The Yankee fans might not welcome Manny very nicely.

First leg of MLS playoffs

In the Major League Soccer playoffs the conference semifinal series are based on aggregate scoring. This means that the teams will play two games each which play one at home. The team that scores the most goals in the two games wins. The winners of those four series advance to single game conference championships that will determine the Major League Soccer Cup Finalists.

Chicago Fire vs New England Revolution 0-0
The Chicago Fire left New England with their first ever playoff point and a chance to knock off the defending Eastern Conference champions at home. Nothing was really generated by both offenses but Brian McBride's header into the net was negated by an offside call in the 76th minute. Of course he didn't think it was offside, but when does a forward ever think he is offside? He could be 20 yards offside and still find an argument with the ref. Chicago, which had never earned a win or a tie in six previous playoff trips to New England, returns home for the finale of the two game series.

Kansas City Wizards vs Columbus Crew 1-1
Davy Arnaud's diving header in the 53rd minute put the Wizards up 1-0.The Wizards had to play a man down after the 75th minute. Midfielder Herculez Gomez was issued a straight red card for serious foul play, for a hard tackle on Gino Padula. He will be suspended for the next game. Steven Lenhart scored in the second minute of second half stoppage time, salvaging a 1-1 tie for the Columbus Crew against the Kansas City Wizards in the first leg. Danny O'Rourke's shot went off Wizards defender Tyson Wahl and bounced to Jaime Moreno, who chested it to Lenhart for the equalizer from 22 yards.

New York Red Bulls vs Houston Dynamo 1-1
The New York Red Bulls had to look at Saturday's tie with the Houston Dynamo as a wasted opportunity. The Red Bulls, playing with a makeshift lineup due to several injuries, illnesses and suspensions, were five minutes away from upsetting the Houston Dynamo. But Kei Kamara's goal in the 85th minute off a scramble in front of the net gave the Dynamo a 1-1 tie.Houston, which won the regular season conference title, has now gone 10 matches without a loss. The second and final game of the aggregate goal series will be played in Houston on Nov. 9, with the winner advancing to the Western Conference championship series.

Real Salt Lake vs Chivas USA 1-0
Getting past Chivas defender Shavar Thomas, Movsisyan flicked the ball past goalkeeper Zach Thornton, giving the home team another late goal for the second straight week. Movsisyan scored in the 90th minute in the regular-season finale at Colorado last week to lift Real Salt Lake into the playoffs. Real Salt Lake can win the two-game playoff series with a win or tie at Chivas next weekend.

The first leg is already an exciting start to the Major League Soccer Playoffs. With three ties and only a 1-0 win, these next games will surely not disappoint as all these teams are still easily in contention to move onto the next round and will be playing out of desperation. Also I expect to see even more games coming down to the wire as most of the games were won or tied in stoppage time.

Is He Worth It?

Just a few days ago, the Green Bay Packers signed their new quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a contract extension through 2014 worth 67.5 million dollars, 30 million of that guaranteed. People have called that Tony Romo money. But, is he worth it?

I honestly don't think that he is. He has started only 7 games this season. 7 games plus a few years on the bench is all that they have seen of him. I don't believe that that's enough proof to throw that kind of money at him. Just because he has played semi-well for a few weeks doesn't mean that you should throw millions of dollars at him. It seems stupid to me.

I'm not even convinced that he is that good. Look at the receivers he has. If i was throwing to Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, i could put up numbers like that too. I've seen a few Packers games this year and don't get me wrong, Aaron Rodgers has an incredible arm. He can make almost any throw. But i don't think that he makes the right decisions all of the time. I've seen plenty of highlights of him where he just throws the ball up into double coverage and one of his receivers makes an amazing catch. There seems to be a lot of luck in his throws too.

I'm not convinced that he is worth all of this money. I could be completely wrong and he could be the next Brett Favre (except maybe he won't retire a bunch of times and then stab his lifelong team in the back and play for the Jets). I just haven't seen anything yet that make me think that he is worth this. We'll just have to wait and see.

Beckham's AC Milan loan to be a little more permanent?

Could Beck's loan to AC Milan be the start of a little more permanent role? Rumor has it that Beckham is ready to turn his back on the Los Angeles Galaxy, probably because his first season was injury riddled and the second season was a complete failure. But really who knows? Considering he signed a 5 year contract and that the majory of his 250 million contract is mainly endorsements, so I don't see how he could get out of that, but it is not that hard to make an arguement that we could see Beckham leaving for Italy permanetly.

The main reason Beckham wanted the Milan loan was to keep fit and active in the MLS closed season in order to be considered for England selection. Playing in Serie A is obviously a better workout so that he can become in better playing condition than what he was during the MLS season.

Secondly, financial. One of the main reasons people believe Beckham went to the MLS was that attractive five-year contract worth up to 250 million. The big misunderstanding around that figure was that it was not a basic salary but also included endorsements. The 250 million figure was pretty much to attract people's attention to his arrival and the MLS, but I am pretty sure that him and his wife can easily make due wherever they go.

Thirdly, familial. Neither him, his wife, or his kids speak Italian. Did that stop him from playing for Real Madrid in Spain? Nope. Anyway, he can take me, I've always wanted to speak Italian. In LA he is around 10 hours away from his family in the UK, but if he was to go to Italy he would be about 2 hours by jet away from his family.

But one of the main reasons Beck's was so excited to play for the MLS was to bring popularity to Amercia for the sport he loves. Italians are already maniacs for soccer and has one of the best international teams in the world. But he is trying to make it to the World Cup in 2010, and him playing in the MLS probably lessens his chances to make the England squad.

Football Einstein: Week 9

Ok fans, don't fret, I'm back now and i'm feeling better than ever. I'm doing well this week and I've decided to pick a clash of NFC east powerhouses, the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. This is shaping up to be a very important game in the division that some consider the best in the NFL.

The Cowboys come in hurting on offense. Their star quarterback Tony Romo is still out with a broken finger. So that means that 96 year old Brad Johnson gets the start again. That is bad news for Dallas because he hasn't played well at all in his other starts. Another concern the boys is their tight end Jason Witten. He broke a rib last week and that is a major issue. If he plays, he has to watch how he gets hit and he also has to be able to breathe without too much pain. Otherwise, the Cowboys have a serious disadvantage on O. The Giants are looking good on that side of the ball though. Brandon Jacobs is an absolute monster. He'll run you down, wait til you get up, come back and fake you out, and then run you down again. Eli Manning is a great quarterback when he's on but if he isn't, he can look like a rookie. But still, with weapons like Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, a bad day for Eli can be good for anyone else. Big advantage New York.

Defense is a little closer. Dallas comes in 10th in the NFL which is solid, but they have their share of playmakers. DeMarcus Ware can get to the quarterback without much trouble so Eli is going to have to watch out. Their secondary looks like it could be attacked though. They are starting some very young corners and you know that Plaxico Burress is licking his chops for that. The Giants have the 3rd ranked defense in the NFL. It's going to be very hard for Marion Barber to get going on the ground especially with his compliment, Felix Jones, out with a hamstring injury. The Giants also come in with a fairly solid secondary so Brad Johnson's tough task will be even tougher this Sunday. Advantage Giants.

I think this game will be kind of close only because the Cowboys will have nothing to lose. They know that no one is going to pick them so they can pretty much do anything they want while trying to win. But sorry Dallas, I'm not going with you either.
New York 31, Dallas 21