Let me preface this post by saying that I'm not a big soccer fan. I've tried really hard to make it a sport that I care about, but I just can't get past the lack of action.
But when the World Cup, Men's or Women's, starts, I find myself paying quite a bit of attention. As was the case this past week when the USA Women made it to the semifinals to play Brazil. I figured that it would be a good match-up.
Since I don't really follow the day-to-day news of soccer, I had no idea that Briana Scurry, the goalie for the USA for the better part of the last decade, had been replaced by a younger, better goalie, Hope Solo. From everything I heard on ESPN, Solo was playing really well during the tournament, and hadn't allowed a goal in over three games.
Then, after the U.S. wins their quarterfinal match, with Solo patrolling the net, coach Greg Ryan decides to replace Solo at goalie with Scurry. Scurry hadn't played a full game in about three months, and Solo was playing shutout, shutdown goal tending.
It's one thing to do this if the match is just an International Friendly or an exhibition, but you don't make this kind of a move in the semifinals of the World Cup.
Some of the reasoning I heard from ESPN analysts was that Scurry had a great record against Brazil, and Solo had never faced them. My problem with that reasoning is that Scurry accumulated her sterling record against Brazil in the late 1990's and the early part of this decade. And just because Solo has never faced Brazil doesn't mean she can't stop them. We're never going to know if she can stop Brazil until she faces them.
I woke up at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning to find Brazil up 2-0 at halftime, with the U.S. already looking defeated. Scurry looked old, and Solo looked pissed on the sideline. When the match ended with the U.S. on the losing end of a 4-0 score, Solo walked off the field, practically in tears. And I don't blame her.
After the match, a reporter stuck his microphone under the nose of an upset Solo and he got an honest reaction from her. She criticized her coach for making a dumb move, a comment which I wholeheartedly agree with. But she then made a comment saying that she would have made saves on the shots that got by Scurry. The media heard this, and ran with it as a criticism of Scurry by one of her teammates. I saw it as that, but also as a confidence in her abilities to make the crucial saves.
Solo was the goalie who hadn't given up a goal in over 300 minutes. She was the goalie that got her team to where it was. She should have been starting, and I applaud her for being honest. She later apologized, and I honestly think that was the wrong move. She should have stood by her words.
Coach Greg Ryan should be fired for making such a boneheaded move.
In baseball, if you have a young, phenom pitcher who is pitching well, you don't replace him with an over-the-hill veteran just because the veteran has experience in tough situations.
Ryan cost the U.S. team a chance to bring back the World Cup to the States, and for that, he should lose his job. The ultimate goal is to win, and he sabotaged his teams' chance of winning. There is no forgiveness. There should be no second chance.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Etch-It-In-Stone Prediction #2
In my last post, I analyzed this years Heisman race. To recap, I predicted that Tim Tebow would walk away from the ceremony with the hardware. Colt Brennan sprained his ankle and did not play this weekend. If he sits out another game, I think his chances of winning the Heisman might vanish.
Now for the prediction part of my post. I've been wanting to write about this for about two weeks now, but since I didn't have a place to post, I was just telling friends about this prediction.
During the first week of the season, I watched Oklahoma play, and got my first look at true freshman quarterback Sam Bradford. For a freshman he looked confident and was making precise passes. 21 of 23 for 363 yards is nothing to sneeze it, even if it was against lowly North Texas. But then again, it was North Texas.
But four weeks into the season, Bradford has a 78.1 completion percentage. That's not too shabby. In fact, that's the best completion percentage in the nation. USC senior QB John David Booty has a 70.1 comp pct. Did I mention that Bradford is a true freshman. A true freshman is propelling the #3 team in the nation.
My Etch-It-In-Stone for today is that by the end of his junior year, Sam Bradford will win the Heisman. I'll take it even further. If he wins the Heisman in 2009, he will be the first overall pick in the April 2010 NFL Draft. A kid that has this kind of accuracy and confidence is sure to have a bright future at the next level.
Take it easy,
Ali
Now for the prediction part of my post. I've been wanting to write about this for about two weeks now, but since I didn't have a place to post, I was just telling friends about this prediction.
During the first week of the season, I watched Oklahoma play, and got my first look at true freshman quarterback Sam Bradford. For a freshman he looked confident and was making precise passes. 21 of 23 for 363 yards is nothing to sneeze it, even if it was against lowly North Texas. But then again, it was North Texas.
But four weeks into the season, Bradford has a 78.1 completion percentage. That's not too shabby. In fact, that's the best completion percentage in the nation. USC senior QB John David Booty has a 70.1 comp pct. Did I mention that Bradford is a true freshman. A true freshman is propelling the #3 team in the nation.
My Etch-It-In-Stone for today is that by the end of his junior year, Sam Bradford will win the Heisman. I'll take it even further. If he wins the Heisman in 2009, he will be the first overall pick in the April 2010 NFL Draft. A kid that has this kind of accuracy and confidence is sure to have a bright future at the next level.
Take it easy,
Ali
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Etch-It-In-Stone Prediction #1
With the college football season in full stride, the candidates for this years Heisman Award are seperating themselves for the wannabes.
Steve Slaton and Pat White are powering West Virginia through the Big East, but they still have to go through Rutgers and South Florida. One loss for WV could mean the end of the run for both Slaton and White.
Brian Brohm is arguably the best quarterback in the nation, but his Louisville Cardinals just lost their second game of the season. In the weird college football world that we live in, his chance are pretty much gone, no matter what kind of numbers he puts up.
Darren McFadden is the most overpowering running back in the nation, combining wrecking ball force with blazing speed. The problem is Arkansas has to run the gauntlet known as the SEC. They've already lost to Alabama and Kentucky, and football isn't what the University of Kentucky is known for. They still have to play Auburn, Tennessee, new power South Carolina and national power LSU. Since the Razorbacks already have two losses, I feel comfortable writing off McFadden. If they lose one more, he can go ahead and ask for a refund on his plane ticket to New York City.
In my eyes, the leading contenders are USC quarterback John David Booty, Florida QB Tim Tebow and Hawaii QB Colt Brennan.
Booty is the conventional pocket passer with a dozen weapons surrounding him. I expect USC to run the table, which means Booty is going to have a solid season, ensuring his spot in NYC.
Tebow and Brennan are the true sleepers in the field. Tebow is the dual-threat battering ram that now gets center stage with the graudation of Chris Leak. Leak had low expectations and ended by winning a National Title. Tebow has high expectations, so he has to do more than just win the National Title. Tebow's candidacy depends almost solely on Florida's mammoth meeting with LSU on October 6th. If Florida leaves New Orleans with a win over the Bayou Bengals, Tebow should be considered the favorite for the Heisman.
Colt Brennan is the player I always keep an eye on. More accurately, whoever is playing QB for Hawaii gets my attention. If you can't put up big numbers in June Jones' offense, you shouldn't be allowed to play quarterback. While the offense scheme does comtribute to Brennan's ridiculous numbers, he still has to execute the plays. I really feel like if more people had a chance to watch Brennan play, he'd get more consideration. Hawaii's schedule may be soft compared to what Booty and Tebow have to deal with, but if Hawaii remains unbeaten, I think the committee has to at least invite Brennan to the Heisman ceremony.
With all that said, my pick for the 2007 Heisman is Tebow. Booty may get more exposure and have an easier chance of getting to the National Championship game, but Tebow does it all. We all knew he could run, but now he's proving that he can throw the ball down field. He's flashy and has more personality. And he's a sophmore. And he has the defending National Champions thinking Repeat, just like their basketball counterparts.
So Etch-It-In-Stone: 2007 Heisman Trophy Award Winner: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida.
Take it easy,
Ali
Steve Slaton and Pat White are powering West Virginia through the Big East, but they still have to go through Rutgers and South Florida. One loss for WV could mean the end of the run for both Slaton and White.
Brian Brohm is arguably the best quarterback in the nation, but his Louisville Cardinals just lost their second game of the season. In the weird college football world that we live in, his chance are pretty much gone, no matter what kind of numbers he puts up.
Darren McFadden is the most overpowering running back in the nation, combining wrecking ball force with blazing speed. The problem is Arkansas has to run the gauntlet known as the SEC. They've already lost to Alabama and Kentucky, and football isn't what the University of Kentucky is known for. They still have to play Auburn, Tennessee, new power South Carolina and national power LSU. Since the Razorbacks already have two losses, I feel comfortable writing off McFadden. If they lose one more, he can go ahead and ask for a refund on his plane ticket to New York City.
In my eyes, the leading contenders are USC quarterback John David Booty, Florida QB Tim Tebow and Hawaii QB Colt Brennan.
Booty is the conventional pocket passer with a dozen weapons surrounding him. I expect USC to run the table, which means Booty is going to have a solid season, ensuring his spot in NYC.
Tebow and Brennan are the true sleepers in the field. Tebow is the dual-threat battering ram that now gets center stage with the graudation of Chris Leak. Leak had low expectations and ended by winning a National Title. Tebow has high expectations, so he has to do more than just win the National Title. Tebow's candidacy depends almost solely on Florida's mammoth meeting with LSU on October 6th. If Florida leaves New Orleans with a win over the Bayou Bengals, Tebow should be considered the favorite for the Heisman.
Colt Brennan is the player I always keep an eye on. More accurately, whoever is playing QB for Hawaii gets my attention. If you can't put up big numbers in June Jones' offense, you shouldn't be allowed to play quarterback. While the offense scheme does comtribute to Brennan's ridiculous numbers, he still has to execute the plays. I really feel like if more people had a chance to watch Brennan play, he'd get more consideration. Hawaii's schedule may be soft compared to what Booty and Tebow have to deal with, but if Hawaii remains unbeaten, I think the committee has to at least invite Brennan to the Heisman ceremony.
With all that said, my pick for the 2007 Heisman is Tebow. Booty may get more exposure and have an easier chance of getting to the National Championship game, but Tebow does it all. We all knew he could run, but now he's proving that he can throw the ball down field. He's flashy and has more personality. And he's a sophmore. And he has the defending National Champions thinking Repeat, just like their basketball counterparts.
So Etch-It-In-Stone: 2007 Heisman Trophy Award Winner: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida.
Take it easy,
Ali
Welcome to my Opinion-driven World.
Since this is my first posting, the polite thing to do would be to introduce myself. My name is Ali Thanawalla. I go by the name Ali Thanawalla. But you can call me Ali.
I'm a 23-year-old student at San Francisco State, majoring in Journalism and Photojournalism. I'm trying to decide which concentration I want to focus on. Photography is what I enjoy more, but I've had a real passion for creative writing since my senior year of high school. I finished high school with more experience looking through a viewfinder than writing about the thoughts that came into my head. But at the community college I went to, there was no photography department. So I put my mom's old Minolta camera down and turned my attention to creative writing classes.
Writing was the first solid direction I had. During high school, I dabbled in website design and thought about psychology, but I was never able to grasp those concepts completely. Writing is what pulled me towards journalism. I never thought about being a journalist growing up. But when I would pick up the newspaper every morning, my first move was to pick up the Sports page and see what columnists like Dave Del Grande, Bruce Jenkins, Tim Fitzgerald and Scott Olster had to say.
I'm a huge sports fan. I've had friends tell me that they've never met anyone that knows more about sports than I do. Combine that with my love for writing, and that's how I came up with journalism.
As one can imagine, my dad is a quite skeptical of this journalism thing, but I'm determined to do something I love with my life, and on some level, prove him wrong. I may not make as much money as he's made in his life, but I want to do something in life that makes me happy at the end of the day.
This blog is going to revolve around sports. I am going to tell you how I genuinely feel about a lot of topics, and I am going to make predictions. One of my favorite things about debating sports with friends is making bold predictions, having your friend laugh in your face and tell you that's the dumbest thing they've heard, and then have your prediction come true. I may even post some photographs that I take.
I welcome feedback, and I love to debate sports, so I hope anyone and everyone that reads this feels compelled to challenge me.
Take it easy,
Ali
I'm a 23-year-old student at San Francisco State, majoring in Journalism and Photojournalism. I'm trying to decide which concentration I want to focus on. Photography is what I enjoy more, but I've had a real passion for creative writing since my senior year of high school. I finished high school with more experience looking through a viewfinder than writing about the thoughts that came into my head. But at the community college I went to, there was no photography department. So I put my mom's old Minolta camera down and turned my attention to creative writing classes.
Writing was the first solid direction I had. During high school, I dabbled in website design and thought about psychology, but I was never able to grasp those concepts completely. Writing is what pulled me towards journalism. I never thought about being a journalist growing up. But when I would pick up the newspaper every morning, my first move was to pick up the Sports page and see what columnists like Dave Del Grande, Bruce Jenkins, Tim Fitzgerald and Scott Olster had to say.
I'm a huge sports fan. I've had friends tell me that they've never met anyone that knows more about sports than I do. Combine that with my love for writing, and that's how I came up with journalism.
As one can imagine, my dad is a quite skeptical of this journalism thing, but I'm determined to do something I love with my life, and on some level, prove him wrong. I may not make as much money as he's made in his life, but I want to do something in life that makes me happy at the end of the day.
This blog is going to revolve around sports. I am going to tell you how I genuinely feel about a lot of topics, and I am going to make predictions. One of my favorite things about debating sports with friends is making bold predictions, having your friend laugh in your face and tell you that's the dumbest thing they've heard, and then have your prediction come true. I may even post some photographs that I take.
I welcome feedback, and I love to debate sports, so I hope anyone and everyone that reads this feels compelled to challenge me.
Take it easy,
Ali
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