Bubb Rubb an Lil Sis

This is an oldie but a goodie. This is a real news story from California that discusses whistle tips. Those are the little attachments that are welded to exhaust pipes that cause them to whistle as the car drives by.

Evidently some junior grade reporter stumbled upon a gold mine when she found Bubb Rubb and his buddy Lil Sis. These two have been Internet sensations for a couple of years, and their trademark "whooooo" adorns many t-shirts.

Watch and learn [or cry]; you'll never be the same again.

Hop a long no more

So I got the MRI results back and the news was great: no ACL or meniscus issues! I've got a deep bone bruise and a tiny fracture to one of the tibia. This is the best possible news I could have had in a bad situation.

Evidently when I hyper extended the knee the knee cap went far enough forward to hit one of the tibia. This caused the fracture and the bone bruise, which was painful but never too bad.

Right now I'm kicking it in a stylish Donjoy brace [the 'Playmaker'], which looks cool as it's all black and thus attracts the labs' hairs. Donjoy is the company that keeps such notable athletes as Carson Palmer and Dustin Elliot [world champion bull rider] playing with their products, so I'm in good company.

I'm walking again [no more crutches or hopping] and looking forward to walking, then running, and the playing soccer. I hope to salvage some of this season, maybe in the next few weeks.

Kerlon update

The guy in the Kerlon video below who absolutely levels him as he's making the 'Seal' move just got banned for 120 days; the story is here.

Nightmare

Wow. I never expected this result. Currently Brazil is beating the USWNT 4-0. This is an unbelievable result, one that nobody outside of the Brazilian locker room thought would happen.

Couple of points-

-Expect a ton of criticism about Greg Ryan and his coaching. He benched his #1 keeper, Hope Solo, for Brianna Scurry and it created an intense focus on the team. In addition he made very questionable subs, as he replaced defenders with defenders while the US was down 0-2 and 0-3. We needed goals, not defenders. Even I knew that.

-There most likely was a serious break in team chemistry that started with the keeper move.

-The US never got going in any kind of rhythm, especially up top with the forwards, who didn't received quality services because the US lost the midfield.

-Marta from Brazil played an absolutely amazing game. Both of her goals were ridiculous.

-The second yellow card on Shannon Boxx was the worst reffing call or mistake that I have ever seen. Boxx was tripped from behind, fell and was carded. It was an atrocious call, and changed the entire game since the US had to play with 10 for about 60 minutes of the game. With the headsets and instant communication that the refs have between each other, it was simply inexcusable that this happened. I have included the picture of the ref above just so we all know who made this horrendous call.

-To be honest and fair, the Brazilians would have won this game without the red card. I think they would have won it 2-1 or 3-2. Without a doubt, they simply were the better team today and they deserved to win.

-The SportsCenter guys immediately after the game stated that Greg Ryan's keeper switch was the worst coaching move in recent memory. Wow.

-Irony, thy name is Nike. In an unfortunate bit of timing, the Nike ads celebrating 'the greatest team you've never heard of' ran right after the game. 'Twas a little odd to watch the team crying and sad, then to cut to a commercial and see them cheering with Dwight.

A coaching meltdown?

Here's is Oklahoma State coach Mike Grundy going after a reporter who wrote an article about one of his players. ESPN has the background in this article.

This never gets old...

Enjoy.

The Seal Move

It's oft been said that Brazilians would rather lose a game that's played beautifully than to win a game played "ugly." I don't know if that's true or not, but it kinda makes sense the way that they love to play 'the beautiful game.' Any quick search of youtube will yield thousands of videos showcasing Ronaldinho et al and their ability to dance with a ball, usually around hapless defenders.

So Kerlon, who's Brazilian, has perfected a new soccer move that the Brazilians actually hate. Dubbed the 'seal,' it entails him dribbling a ball on his head, much like - and wait for it.........- a seal.

The video below is funny for two reasons. First, the move is pretty funny to watch in a game setting. However, funnier than that is the reaction of a defender near him, who absolutely levels Kerlon and starts a brawl between the teams. And the best part is listening to the play by play in Portuguese. Also worth watching for is the other playing leaning over Kerlon, who's sprawled on the ground in pain, and who must have said something like 'you deserved this.'




Who said soccer wasn't a full-contact sport? Here's an article on Kerlon and the other team involved in this fight.

Oh yeah...

So Monday on the way home from the student health center I decided to stop by Blockbuster to rent a movie to watch whilst on my bum. After 30 minutes of traversing through the aisles, I was in agony. The crutches were absolutely killing my armpits. When I mentioned this to the MrsColonel later that night, she showed me my problem: I was using them wrong. Turns out that you're supposed to push down with the hands, and not let the armpits absorb all of the weight. This was, I believe, an important concept that a) I wish the nurse had bothered to tell me, and b) something that I wish I had known about 8 hours earlier.

Second realization of my stupidity was going to Blockbuster in the first place. With ITunes et al, I could have just downloaded a movie for a little bit more, which would have been well worth the price that day. And my third moment of [un]greatness was when I was having problems getting up and reconnecting the TV to play a DVD [it's wired separately on the TV and requires changing wires behind the TV]. Instead of going through that hassle, I should have just watched the movie on the computer that was sitting in my lap. Oh yeah...

What movies, you ask, did I rent? 'Zodiac' and 'To end all wars' with Keifer Sutherland. Good times.

US WNT advances, knee lingers

Today the US WNT [Women's National Team, as in the team comprised of the best American female soccer players in the country] won their 3rd and final game in the group stage. The game was literally decided in the 1st minute after a deflection goal by Lori Chalupny [variously pronounced]. With the win, the team improved to 2-0-1 in this stage and won the 'Group of Death.' Every World Cup has a group of death, but this one was pretty legitimate. The USA is ranked #1, Sweden is ranked # 3, and the Korean team [northern or 'Democratic People's Republic']
is #5, while Nigeria holds it down at #24. It's pretty amazing that 3 of the top 5 teams in the world happened to be placed in the same 4 team group, from which only 2 teams can emerge.

The US, despite playing what in my opinion looked like sleepy soccer, somehow managed to win the group today and thus advances to the next round. They will face England on Saturday in the knockout round; from here on it's win or go home. [Side bet-an announcer will have a burst of creativity and reference either the War for Indepence or the War of 1812 while calling this game; e.g. "It's a battle out there today, a real war. You think they were reliving the Battle of Yorktown on that pitch!"].

On other fronts, the knee is not getting any better and actually appears to have worsened. I'm going back in to see a doctor tomorrow; my fear of serious damage to the ligament[s] is looking more and more likely. I hope I'm wrong...

Feeling kneedy

Had a great weekend all the way up until Sunday. Friday night was spent with the good people of Greene at a cook out, which featured some of the some best ribs I've had in years.

Saturday featured an early rise to watch the Tots-Gunnars EPL game with K-Man and Ad Homs. Though the Spurs lost 3-1, it was still a good match and a great way to start the morning. After that it was a nice long run to prepare for the upcoming Clarke 5K and random errands around the house. Saturday night included a nice dinner with couples from the church.

Sunday was when it all started to get interesting. We had a very busy day with multiple meeting and events stacked on top of each other, including a fun baby shower for Flash and MediaWhore. The end of the day featured the first soccer game of the fall season with a new team. We left the shower and headed to the game, already in progress at that point.

I enjoyed playing with the new Greeners, and was having a lot of fun until...I got fouled and tackled from behind as I was running for a ball. I heard and felt a pop, and I went down. The knee hurt, but after about 10 or 15 minutes I could lightly jog on it and so I decided it was ok.

Unfortunately it turns out it isn't. Though the student health people weren't the most helpful [at all] I've found out that the knee has a possible ACL tear; we won't know until next week. For now that means a knee immobilizer, which is as much fun as it sounds, and crutches. The crutches are poorly designed and a creating more pain in my armpits than in my leg. Walking a dog is a whole new game with these two new attachments.

What are some of the most frustrating things about this? In no particular order:

-Getting hurt in the first game of the season is ridiculous.
-Getting hurt because some guy fouled you from behind is even more ridiculous.
-Walking on crutches is currently brutal and painful.
-The knee doesn't so much hurt as it does ache.
-Missing out on the Clarke 5K is very, very frustrating.
-Slipping out of the shape that I've been trying to get into is frustrating as well.

Hopefully there'll be a quick recovery and I'll be out and about soon...

Check this out

Michael Yon, a former Green Beret, is independently covering the war in Iraq. I highly suggest you read his dispatches on his site:

Clark 5 K Super duper Achiever

Training has not started for the annual Clark Elementary Super Achiever 5K Run/Walk on September 23rd. This run benefits the school's 4th grade scholarship fun.

We're looking forward to our first race since, well, the last one back in the summer. Here's looking at setting the bar fairly low and struggling to reach it!

I highly recommend that everyone participate in this event, even if it is "only" to walk it. See you there!

Details can be found here.

Dwight as Jim Mike

In case you missed it, Dwight Schrutte from 'The Office' is the star of some new ads from Nike for the US WNT.

They're pretty funny, if only because they combine my love of soccer and 'The Office' in a quick and original way.

The Police!

Utter amazement. That describes my reaction in finding out that The Police were coming not just to Virginia, but to Charlottesville as part of their reunion tour. We tried to get tickets during the first leg of their US tour back in the summer, but we were blocked out. As a life-long fan of this band, whom I never expected to see in concert [much less in my home town], it was a no brainer to get tickets.

Thanks to my subscription to the 'Keeping up with the Joneses' email list, I was able to buy tickets during the pre-sale period. I doubt that there will be many tickets left when they go on sale to the public on Saturday. Though I have to wonder about the price point: $50, $90, and $220 or so, with most of the bottom being $220. Guess they're trying to make up for lost revenues during the 20 years they didn't tour.

I am thrilled about seeing this band in concert. I've been listening to my 'Message in a Box' compliation to get ready. And I can already tell I'll wind up buying whatever $30 t-shirt they'll be selling.

Ridiculous

Dennis Kucinich is campaining for the Democratic nomination for president, and he took a ridiculous stance the other day to garner some attention [by the way, it worked, as seen here on this blog and the news coverage].

He refused to vote in favor of a symbolic House resolution to honor the victims of September 11th because "the Bush Administration launched a war against Iraq, conflating the true tragedy of September 11 with lies about weapons of mass destruction." [his words]. He was the only one of the 400 plus Representatives in attendance who voted against it.

This is a reprehensible, purely political act on his part. He should be ashamed of himself. There's a time and a place for this type of political discourse and debate, and this was neither the time nor the place.

Red headed giants

This one's for you, big man:

Quick recap of MNT

The cliche [variously pronounced] that the box score often doesn't tell the full tale works here. This was a very good game for the US MNT, who looked impressive against the best team on the planet; they certainly didn't look like the #17 team in the world facing the consistent #1. Yes, they still lost, but they didn't get blown out and actually held their own for a lot of the game. A loss like this to Brazil is commendable compared to their recent results.

Couple of things, in no particular order:

Who'd a thunk it that we'd score first?

The unfortunate own goal by the USA to go 1-1 wasn't anyone's fault but still stung.

The lack of a penalty kick called when Josh "Hungry like the" Wolff was tackled in the box was ridiculous and would have changed the entire game. Good to see him playing again.

The free kick that Ronaldinho pulled in was exactly what you'd expect from him. Very few players can perform that consistently at that high a level.

Tim Howard is a beast.

It was funny to watch the 20 year old reserve US keeper as he frantically warmed up after Howard's injury. His face said it all: "I'm going in as goalie against Brazil?"

Clint Dempsey's goal to go 2-2 was absolutely beautiful and indicative of what a goal at this level of play should look like.

Mike Bradley's foul in the box was a legitimate PK, though unfair if it's not being called both ways. And he looked good in the center vs. Brazil.

Eric Wynalda does not like Bobby Convey and proves to be an entertaining announcer if only to listen to his biased and arrogant calling of the game.

The Brazilians played a real squad for most of the match, subbing out KaKa around the 70th minute with a 2-1 lead and Ronaldinho in the 84th minute. Course their bench players would most likely be our nation's best player in the past 20 years.

All in all a good showing for the US. Now they need to rack up some more wins, especially as they begin to qualify for the next World Cup.

2 hours to kick off

USA vs. Brazil, soccer, today at 3pm. It's going to be a great to watch, especially if you're not, say, rooting for the USA to win. If you are a 'fan of the game' [MW] then you'll love this one; how couldn't you with a real Brazil squad composed of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Silva, etc?

I hope that the players and staff learn a ton from this great experience [especially since it's only a friendly and doesn't really "matter" in terms of tournies] and that the USA keeps it close.

I hope that Brazil respects the team and starts their real starters, i.e. doesn't put Kaka into the game in the 2nd half.

My prediction: Brazil 3, USA 1.

If you don't like Charlottesville...

then it's your fault. After two consecutive great weekends in town, I remain firm in my belief that if you don't like Charlottesville, it's your fault.

A brief recap:
Friday August 31- Sparky's Flaw at Friday's after Five. What a great time we had, seeing tons of friends and watching the boys perform a great set. The great weather and venue only added to the fun. Even the two attempts by the sound guys to ruin the show by stopping the sound didn't diminish the performance. If you haven't heard of Sparky's Flaw, check them out here; they're a great band that keeps getting better. Capped off the evening with a quick dinner at Guadalajara [variously pronounced] off the mall with some great friends.

Saturday- Took the dogs swimming and walking on the Rivanna Trail over at Riverview Park. Great times were had by all, especially the pup, Hazel, who is still learning that she's a labrador and is supposed to love the water. Finished off the evening with a nice quiet dinner with the Cletuses, our neighbors to the north.

Friday September 7- Another Friday saw us heading to the Mall for the last Friday's after Five. The weather cooperated again and helped round out a great evening watching SGGL return to Cville. This week featured sound problems again. The UVA marching band showed up -early, by the way- to kick off the UVA home opener pep rally, which was supposed to follow the concert. Following a concert is different from interrupting a concert, which is what they did. SGGL was still playing it's 2nd to last song ["Rocking in the USA", and old Cougar song from the 80's] and was gearing up for its finale and quick encore when the marching band appeared and literally marched down to the stage. It was kinda surreal to watch SGGL on stage, still playing and trying to have fun with what was happening, as the marching band marched and drummed its way to the foreground; by the way, it's a big band of ~300 people. That they were loudly drumming and playing as they marched down to the stage was somewhat comical, but mostly it was rude and annoying. They took over the area where people were dancing and drowned out the band on stage, who waved good night and left the stage. It was a shame that the band came early and had such poor PR skills.

Saturday September 8 Saw us getting up and heading to the Cville Farmer's Market to wonder around and to buy some produce. We had a great time browsing, though it was a bit hot in the sun. We skipped the UVA game b/c of school work concerns, though it was fun to see everyone gearing up for it. An afternoon working led into a stint at the pool, which unbelievably remains open. After making some home-made salsa with the new produce, it was off to our second installment of Starry Nights at Veritas Vineyard. The weather was fantastic [there's a theme here] and we enjoyed being with good friends as we picnicked listening to the band.

All in all these two weekends have provided a lot of fun in activities unique to Cville, and solidified my belief that if you don't like Charlottesville...

Sympathy for the K-Man

Heart-felt sympathy goes out to the K-Man, who suffered three losses and a tie this weekend in various levels and types of football. To recap, last night CHS lost 56-0 to Amherst in football. Today Virginia managed to lose to Wyoming by 20, and Michigan then lost to Appy State [who?] in one of the biggest upsets in college football history. And to top it off, the Spurs managed to wrestle a tie from the jaws of victory to finish 3-3 with Fulham. So to recap, no matter what the league [local HS, college undegrad, grad school] or definition of 'football' [American football or English football], the K-Man went 0-3-1 on the weekend.
Here's to you, K-Man; it can only get better from here.