Metro Run-Ins

Most of the time I love Metro. Except when they make me wait on the platform for forever, like they did this morning to get to work. Oh well, since nobody is here, and since I never do anything all day anyways, it wasn't a big deal.

But yesterday was a big day for me on the Metro. On my way into work, I rode opposite Roy Hibbert of Georgetown. Let's just say that he was a big, big man. His calves were big old things, as big as my thighs. And anyone boarding the train had to walk on the opposite side of the pole from him. Because his knees stuck out all the way to it. I guess I had forgotten just how tall 7' was even though my boy Matt Slanika from the old Silver Spring Blue Devils Days.

Then on my way home, walking up the steps at Union Station, who walks by me, but the author of one of my favorite websites -- bobbyboswell.com. Of course I tell him, "Keep up the good work Bobby" which caught him off guard. He shook the hand, complimented me on the Bobby Boswell.com wrist bracelet from my night of heavy drinking and sleeping on the couch.

Of course, then he asks where I'm going, and I BLEW IT!!! I was going home. Totally should have tagged along with him on his Metro ride. Next time, I'll take the ride.

And Bobby, if you read this, give a shout out to section 131 tomorrow vs the Pink Cows and the drinks are on me next time. VAMOS UNITED!!!

Becks Beats Us

Well, he did it. David Beckham got it done last night, and was by far the Man of the Match as DC United crashes out of the Superliga 2-0.

If you want to see one of his patented, Bend it like Beckham freekicks, watch the highlights here.

The freekick that Beckham took was just fantastic. An amazing take, and one that completely fooled poor Troy Perkins.

It all started when he picked up a Caution for being late to the ball in the 18th minute. Up to that point, United was by far the better team, and only good goalkeeping had kept them off the board. But when Beckham went in hard, studs up, and took out two DC United players, I was watching the reaction. And man, but while he rubbed the ankle, then got up and kept going, you could see his confidence level rise real fast. Real fast. From then on, it was just a matter of time until he got one or set up a goal.

All of Beckham's balls were played right to where they needed to be, he was all over the pitch, sideline to sideline, going after the ball and winning it. And when Wolverine (Benny Olsen) went in and got Beckham hard in retaliation for his yellow, the Golden Boy popped back up and was smiling. And I knew we were in trouble.

He is by far the best player in MLS right now. It was clear, very clear last night. His technical ability and his tactical awareness are head and shoulders above the rest of the league. Case in point, the perfectly weight through ball he put Donovan in alone on (although without the McTavish deflection that ball is saved by Perkins). If he keeps going out, jumping up to try when he was excited that Kyle Martino should have had a goal in the 66th minute.

That said, United looked awful. My player ratings (since I watched this game sober and alone on my bed) with 10 being the highest:

Troy Perkins - 4; Bobby Boswell - 4; Devon McTavish - 3; Bryan Namoff - 5; Greg Vanney - 3; Fred - 4; Brian Carrol - 4; Ben Olsen - 4; Josh Gros - 4; Jaime Moreno - 6; Luciano Emilio - 6. SUBS Christian Gomez - 5; Guy-Roland Kpene - 3.

As you see, pretty much everyone was below average last night. Only Emilio and Moreno did anything really good, and Gros would be a 3 except he almost snuck in that great drive about 10 minutes in.

Let me just quickly say that I think that Kpene has a lot of work to do. Feet like bricks, checks back too much and doesn't know how to lay off the ball quickly or turn himself. Does he have a goal yet?

Now we just have to focus on Copa Sudamericana and getting either the Supporter's Shield or the MLS Cup. Vamos United!!!

Vamos United!!!

If you haven't read it yet, it's an enjoyable Washington Post Style section feature on the lunatics who sit around me at DC United games. They're well worth the price of admission and they don't care about the weather. It does, however explain how the chant leaders are able to watch the game.

Big game tonight though, in the SuperLiga semis. We take on Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy again, this time at their place, instead of ours. I'll be up all night watching it of course.

IF United wins (knock on wood) then we'll host the Pumas of Pachuca, who beat Houston last night in a penalty shootout. I of course, did watch the game, even though it kept me up late. My thoughts:

The game was brutal in terms of heat and humidity, and you could see everyone was walking pretty much the whole second half.

I couldn't believe that Pachuca's 10 shirt, who came on to start the second half, couldn't even finish the half before picking up two yellow cards. Including one for diving. When was the last time that we've seen a dive by a forward get a yellow card from a Central American referee? Great call, although a little harsh to get sent off for to technical yellows, and no hard tackles.

How bad a penalty kick was that one taken by Ngwenya? I mean, mon Dieu!! Hit the ball, and at least make the keeper move.

Houston was lucky to be in that game.

The two second half goals were complete and utter garbage. Really. An American goalkeeper would have saved Robinson's header, or at least dived, and why was Onstad diving backwards? Both saveable, and it should have been a 1-1 tie.

Great job by the Houston fans. Very impressive guys and gals. Keep it up.

The view is worth the hike

An absolutely amazing view of just how big a deal it was last night at RFK. And just what 47,000 people in one place look like. Thanks BobbyBoswell.com

Oh, and if you want another account of the party that left me sleeping on my office sofa last night, go visit Agent Steinz.

Drinking like a Soccer Star

So David Beckham did make an appearance on the pitch at RFK. For a long period of time, and actually looked pretty good for not having played anything in two months. I was impressed, but it was also clear that he wasn't going to get anything easy or just be the best player on the field just by showing up. Which was good.

Best of all, DC United won 1-0 on a Luciano Emilio goal. Great stuff guys!!! And I hear the fans were great. Usually, I'd post my player ratings here, but I can't remember the game too well (See below).

Then it was the BobbyBoswell.com after party at Lima last night (Bobby, why aren't there pictures up and a recap yet?) I did see Bobby, who walked in like a rockstar and didn't acknowledge the drunk guys on the patio yelling his name. Then got to watch Brian Namoff hitting on ugly chicks. He's tiny, like five inches shorter than me. And the girls he was talking to last night were UUUUGGG-LY!! My apologies if that was his girlfriend or something, but I had my jack and coke glasses on and still thought poorly of her. C'mon Brian, you're an all-star right back for the best team in MLS. Take it up a notch man.

Anyways, if you want the rundown on it all, the night, the Beckham experience, game report, check out Steven Goff's Soccer Insider. And yes, we rock here in D.C. when it comes to soccer. Can we start calling ourselves New Trafford? English Premier League Starts this weekend!

Beckham Will Play!

According to Steve Goff, it's looking like the Golden Ankleboy (aka David Beckham) will play at RFK tonight.

That means you have no excuse for not buying it and I feel better about the financial transactions that I made earlier this month. I kinda wish I was there myself.

But I will be in spirit as I drink cheaper beer and watch the game on ESPN2 along with you, dear reader. No excuse for you not to. Starts at 7 p.m. EDT. I'll give my take on it on here tomorrow.

And if you don't read Soccer Insider, you totally need to start. Look for the new handle on there.

The Mick Cheated Me

Since it's a slow day at the office, here's something I've been reading from ESPN.com that's pretty interesting.

What's your answer to Eric Neel's question? Who cheated us out of more?

I'm still pissed as hell that I can name the entire Washington Nationals line-up on the field for 756. (Can any of my commenters?) Or that I couldn't fall asleep on Monday night and so saw it live on TV, thinking the whole time about how it was awkwardly filmed. How many people will you let gallivant around a baseball field despite having no business being on there? And why didn't they let Willie Mays say anything into that Mike he was holding?

I actually might think that the Mick cost us more than Bonds did. Bonds, even if you accept that he did steroids, which I believe but can't prove (he's not guilty yet, and that's the hallmark of our legal system), would have more than 600 home runs by now for every season he'd played. He was a hell of a leftfielder back in Pittsburgh. And he still has the most freakishly fast hands I've ever seen. And he has the most amazing ability to see one pitch a game and just hammer the shit out of it. Incredible.

But the Mick? Has anyone else seen the newsclip of Mantle's home run ball hitting the light tower at Yankee Stadium while still on it's way up? (If anyone can find a link, please post it in the comments section). It's the only ball that has ever come close to leaving Yankee Stadium. No one else has. And as prodigious as Frank Howard's homeruns at RFK are (the one in Section 542 is just ridiculous -- dead center at RFK, in the upper deck?), how many great home run hitters have hit at Yankee Stadium? Amazing stuff.

Plus, just like Barry, the Mick could run and field and had an arm. Until he drank himself away. We miss you Mickey Mantle.

And with that, I'm off to watch DC United and hurt my own liver.

What do you think?

Why hide behind a shield?

So I'm sure you're trying to figure something out. Why the DC Centurion? Well, here's a piece of fun info:

The exterior and interior of Union Station are guarded by a series of statues of Roman centurions. When he received the commission for designing the statues, Saint-Gaudens [the artist who sculpted them] asked the Fine Arts Commission if they wanted the statues to be historically accurate and was assured that they did.

When the models were delivered, the Fine Arts Commission were dismayed to find that some of the statues were obviously naked below their tunics -- historically accurate, yes, but not acceptable to turn-of-the-century Washington.

Saint-Gaudens redesigned the statues so the centurions now hold "modesty shields".

That's where the guy to the right comes in. I've always thought that whole idea was hilarious. Here we are, two blocks from the Capitol Rotunda, and we could have sculptures of the ideal of manly beauty with everything hanging out? I can hear the Bible Belt fainting in a heap already.

But, you'll also notice the shield of the under-appreciated DC United soccer team front and center, instead of the Roman Eagle adorning the real sculptures as they stand sentinel over Union station huh? [The profile picture will be coming soon. Bear with me]. Take a look at all these pictures and tell me if it's not an improvement.

But why Union Station? Well, I live in Washington, D.C. I won't call it what it used to be called in terms of the "Free World" but since I live two blocks from Union Station, walk by these semi-nudes every day and sometimes get freaked out by the idea of them coming alive and down to beat on me ... it seemed to fit.

I'm a young, mid 20's professional, and as it says in the subtitle, this is a scattershot blog. I'll be harping on all kinds of fun things. Currently on my list of topics to discuss are the books I'm working on, the movies I see, the food I eat, all of my soccer and other sports fun, my soccer reffing career and anything else that piques my interest.

Check back in, and if you want me to track anything down for you, I'm happy to.

Beckham at RFK

Of course the biggest issue of note today, and what's got me kicking off my thoughts on a blog, is the visit of the old Manchester United No. 7 to my neighborhood in Capitol Hill. No, not Eric Cantona, as amazing as that would be. (I only pop the collar for one reason, and one reason only. To say Au Revoir to large demons with bag wings).

I must give a huge shout out of appreciation to my fellow Barra Brava mates for pulling a fire alarm and bringing the Golden Ankle and Landycakes out into the heat early in the day. Well done boys, Vamos United!!!!

Here's hoping for a big, big win by the DC United Boys, and a lot of fun partying with Bozilla and The Wolverine at Lima tonight afterwards.