Does any body else watch football/futbol/soccer?
Major League Soccer is off to a great start this year. I’ve already watched three matches, and the level of play is definitely improved. It was pretty special to see Kaka score to tie the game this afternoon. That’s a great way for Orlando City to begin their MLS career. It was nice to see Jozy Altidore get a brace yesterday afternoon, too.
I can’t wait to watch Clint Dempsey play later.
But you probably have no idea what I’m talking about.
You are right, at least in my case; I do not know what you are talking about.
But, considering some of your recent posts expressing, um, less than a Lust for Life, it’s nice to know you are having a better time of-it-all today.
Happy for you.
I have ‘Lust for Life.’
What I don’t have is the ability to get multiple people I care about to stop harming themselves.
I don’t think people realize how sick you can get from other people’s unhealthy habits.
If I described my last month, no one would believe it. If I described just today…
And it makes it hard to get out of bed, frankly.
So, yeah, it’s a blessing to just be able to come home after another day totally dedicated to addiction and turn on a sporting event.
90 minutes of thoughtless entertainment is a joy.
Martin, about a decade ago I was drawn into the crises that severe alcoholism created in the lives of two of my brothers. Both of them were hospitalized multiple times during those years. I would be surprised if my older brother is still alive, and would be less than surprised if the older brother had passed away.
It’s strange to admit that I don’t know if they’re still around. That’s how completely I have had to pull back from them. You’re the only one who knows what your situation is, and I would never give you advice even if I knew more. For me there came a time when their illnesses made the situations so emotionally and physically hazardous, I had to make decisions that allowed me to protect myself, my wife, and my job; all were threatened by the stuff that was going on.
You need to take care of yourself in order to properly take care of others. Be safe, Brother.
I responded to you but addressed it to the wrong person. See my comment elsewhere in this thread.
>> I don’t think people realize how sick you can get from other people’s unhealthy habits.
unless you’ve been there yourself that’s absolutely true.
>>If I described my last month, no one would believe it. If I described just today…
living with an alcoholic/addict is something that there’s no point in talking about. if you’ve been there you know, if you haven’t you won’t believe it.
I was married to an alcoholic, now deceased. I wish you the very best of luck. Al-anon was extremely helpful to saving my sanity. YMMV.
well, I don’t live with any of them. So, there’s that.
I understand what you’re saying about your brothers. At a certain point, you do sometimes have to protect yourself and just give up on trying to save other people. But that’s not something I will do lightly. If that’s how things go down, I’ll know I made myself as sick as I could stand trying.
That’s just how I am.
I know you did what you had to do. It’s a hard thing for most people to understand. But, then, it’s not easy to accept addiction as a disease and it’s even harder to understand that you cannot control other people or “cure” them if they’d rather use than stay clean.
All you can do is give them a fighting chance. But it’s like wrestling a bear. Every small success leaves you utterly spent.
Well put. I’m hoping for the best for you and those you are trying to help.
“That’s just how I am. “
But perhaps (and only just perhaps) you also have to change. Just perhaps making yourself as sick as you can stand does wonders for alleviating your feelings of guilt, but almost nothing for yourself and for those who you love. Just perhaps making yourself sick trying to help makes their feelings of guilt worse (insofar as they are able to be aware of the feelings of others) and makes them feel even worse about themselves. <Look what I’m doing to my friends who are only trying to help>… Just perhaps the best you can do is show them it is still possible to live a good and happy life and be strong in yourself. They don’t need the burden of feeling they are taking others down with them, and alleviating your sense of guilt isn’t their problem.
No I don’t watch MLS but I should.
In my youth I drove 150 miles to Atlanta to see the Atlanta Chiefs in the 1967 season. I can’t remember who they played; it might have been the Chicago Spurs.
And with the interest in the Triangle in all of the farm team soccer leagues, there should be a MLS team here. If the Hurricanes can make it with hockey, surely some cleverly named team can make it with MLS soccer.
Are you an NYCFC fan?
Well, they play in Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx. So, yes, I automatically like them. But I’m a Philly Union fan because they’re nearby, associated with all the local leagues, including my son’s, and because the New Jersey team is owned by Red Bull, and I can’t get with that.
Also, the Carolina Railhawks are a pretty good team. They might make the jump to MLS one day, although they’re not on the radar for the next expansion. Atlanta, however, is.
Memories!! NY Cosmos. Tampa Bay Rowdies. Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.
Thanks. Seems there are $13 game day tickets for the Railhawks.
We watched the same match. Orlando and NYCFC…the Kaka goal was pretty good…we have been enjoying the Premier League, and La Ligua…Messi is my grandson’s favorite player…I suppose the switch from the NFL to MSL won’t be too difficult…I can take a nap to most any sporting event on the teevee…
No. Although I’ve been known to enjoy watching a baseball game on occasion.
For those interested in media, this NYMag article (Actually) True War Stories at NBC News is interesting. What I got out of it is that network news producers don’t know exactly what works and doesn’t work and why. The right combination that works might be more luck and timing than what the producers do and by default that ends up giving the not-so-talented talent a lot of unwarranted power and bucks.
Huntley-Brinkley was a good combo (if not my cup of tea), Browkaw the pale imitation of Brinkley followed, and Brian Williams the pale imitation of Brokaw followed. Williams lucked out in not being up against a Cronkite or Rather in their prime. Was The Today Show ever more than tolerable? Last time I watched it, Lauer and Curry were the hosts and it wasn’t tolerable. Curry isn’t a bad newsreader (at least when she sports a short hairdo), but lacks the right sort of persona or charisma to do warm, fuzzy, talkie TV. Lauer reminds me of the boss’ pet and nobody else can figure out what the boss sees in the guy.
Multiple offensive statements by Matt Lauer have convinced me that he’s just not a very good or nice person. It goes past his politics for me; he just appears to me to have some emotional glitches that make him very unlikeable, which is a strange trait for NBC to accept from the emeritus of their morning franchise.
As I probably haven’t seen the show more than five, if that, times with Lauer, my impressions of him are limited. Didn’t find him likeable or engaging. Surrounded by a personable and quick-witted team, he doesn’t even make a good straight man. The talent and structure and format of the show is essentially boring, but maybe that’s what people like as they eat their daily bowl of corn flakes.
I know one thing about the local MLS team (SJ Earthquakes): the’ve just opened a cool new stadium with “the biggest outdoor bar in California”, the entire width of the pitch at one end. I’m not sure the coverage has mentioned if they won.
I’m a fan of soccer. I learned to play in a very casual way in Germany in 1957-1962, and since then I have favored futbol over other “American” sports. I don’t have cable, but if the US MNT is playing, I will be watching in a bar. And I do know the lingo – I was a certified ref in 2006-2007. Plus I coached my daughter’s team for 8 years. I think soccer is a great game for kids.
The beautiful game and the only sport I care to watch since the Knicks went to whatever hell they’re in. I only go nuts quadrennially for the World Cup though. Of course I know Altidore and Dempsey, but the other guy is a new name. Kaka, really?
Yes, it’s really Kaká. He’s Brazilian. See here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kak%C3%A1
And they only go by one name, in case you never noticed. The most famous being Pele.
The Knicks are fascinatingly bad, but it’s also been something to watch the particular demise the Lakers fell into this season, even before Bryant had his inevitable season-ending injury. Multiple Deadspin writers have been reporting on the Lakers in what can best be described as a comic delirium. Here’s an example:
http://deadspin.com/the-lakers-suck-so-goddamn-bad-and-i-love-it-and-so-sho-1654894742
This comment is pretty great:
“Seriously, the Lakers have not been this entertaining since the Shaq years. The Twilight of Kobe is like Kurtz waiting at the end of the Nung River. Carlos Boozer is the water buffalo.”
I have thoroughly enjoyed the last two World Cups, and understood the sport much better from those experiences. I found myself thinking (wishing?) each time that I would get into following some of the professional leagues; it just hasn’t happened.
Frankly, my work and other interests have really prevented me from following any sport very closely. I used to have an interest in baseball that bordered on sabermetric; not any more.
Gotta say, though, I’m feeling quite grateful about my Golden Stare Warriors. After the long decades of bad, bad ball, it’s sort of strange to see them dominating the NBA like they have this season. I’m prayerful that they can remain healthy through the playoffs; I’d like to see if this team can extend their fine play into the Finals.
Of course, Curry is a great, great player and a constant highlight reel- such a handle, court vision AND shot release, WTF? But this moment was the most entertaining so far, and that’s saying something:
Interesting to experience the end of Klay Thompson’s record-breaking 37-point quarter in the flow of the game, and as called by the other team’s announcers. The color man for the Warriors’ radio broadcast tweeted “I got paid to laugh into a microphone for a whole quarter.”
Never.
Partly because Irish teams are currently world class and are made up of mainly local lads rather than bought in talent. Rugby has not yet reached the heights of commercialism and corruption as soccer. However that doesn’t prevent me from being very pleased that Robbie Keane – who comes from down the road – isn’t still enjoying the twilight of his career in the MLS. He is Ireland’s leading international goal scorer and hasn’t let fame get to his head.
I do. I have a subscription so I can watch Bein sports and catch all the barcelona games. Want to see Kaka play against the Union…
OT:
You don’t think Chuy has Rahm scared?
Oh Yes.
Background on this. The Chicago Equivalent of the Ferguson Police Tickets is the Red Light Camera. They are a scam. They are a fraud. They are $100 DOLLAR TICKETS. And, if you get 2 of them, the City can BOOT YOUR CAR.
So, while they proliferated on the South and West Sides (where the Black and Brown people live), they were rare to be found on the North side (where the White people live). And, when they WERE found on the North side, guess what…those stoplight, has COUNTDOWN CLOCKS with them, so the driver knew how much or little time they had until the light changed. When the South and West sides asked…’where are OUR countdown clocks’, we were told there wasn’t enough money to outfit all the stoplights with countdown clocks.
Then there was the little matter of the CRIMINAL BRIBERY CASE brought up on the company who initially got the contract for the red lights by PAYING A TWO MILLION DOLLAR BRIBE FOR THE CONTRACT.
STILL, no slowdown in rolling out the red lights. No consideration for those of us out here questioning it.
There has been a radio talk show host on WVON (the Black talk radio station), who has made it his mission to get rid of these things. He started a group, began collecting signatures. Got over 100,000 signatures to put red lights on the ballot as a referendum, but, of course, they found a way not to put it on the ballot. He’s gone around the country, getting all sorts of experts to come in and take up this legal battle. It’s now at the Illinois Supreme Court. LIke others, I never thought he’d get anywhere with it, but I supported him all the way.
Then, there was the matter of the Chicago Tribune expose about 3-4 months ago. At all sorts of intersections, there were spikes in the volume of tickets being given at redlight cameras. Like, 25-50 times their usual rates. When brought to the attention of the Mayor’s Office, they had nothing to say, and of course, they were of the mind that nobody was going to get their money back for the fraudulent tickets.
The radio host has gone around this time, getting actual pledges from Alermanic Candidates to vote out the red light cameras. And, current Aldermen that won’t, are being called on the carpet by vocal constituents.
Finally, last week, Mr. Chuy Garcia said that he would get rid of the program altogether.
So, that brings us to this story.
……………..
Mayor Announces Removal of 50 Red Light Cameras Amid New Reforms
The announcement comes after mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia promised last week to remove all of the red-light cameras in Chicago
Today, the countdown clock officially began on the red light program in Chicago,” Garcia said in a statement. “In less than a month, voters will have the chance to end Rahm Emanuel’s red light rip-off.”
The 50 cameras in question had not yet been taken down as of Sunday, but they stopped giving tickets at 12:01 a.m. Friday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. After the removal of these red light cameras, 302 of them will remain at nearly 150 intersections.
In addition to removing several cameras, Emanuel announced new reforms for the program. These included required public community meetings before a camera is removed, moved or installed; outlining a plan to install pedestrian countdown timers at all cameras without timers; and providing first-time offenders the opportunity to enroll in online safety traffic classes instead of paying the $100 fine.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/City-Officials-to-Announce-Removal-of-50-Red-Light-Cameras
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Garcia’s red light gambit – can it stop Rahm? Very clever, really. I am so annoyed by those fucking red-light and right-on-red cameras. I got one 5 years ago in Elk Grove Village, and I will never go to that town again for any reason.
The other thing that I could believe would be important would be some way of recovering the parking system from that company. Any discussion of that?
Rahm pretends like he did, but of course THAT contract can’t be broken
You’re right. I have no idea what you’re talking about.
No worries, though. You enjoy it and that’s all that matters.
I do know what you’re talking about, and I was so excited for the Philadelphia Union season — in fact, so excited that there would be a season starting on time at all — until I saw that awful game they played against the Rapids. I cannot understand how you don’t put Cristian Maidana in the starting XI. I am concerned now about Curtin’s ability to coach this team effectively. Hopefully he’ll learn from that mistake.
I felt the same way. As soon as he came in, the team got dangerous.
I think it’s partly Maidana’s fitness. And it’s partly wanting to get Sapong in the lineup because he’s going to struggle for minutes unless he’s very effective.
In other words, the starting 11 was made with the long view in mind. And it cost them two points this weekend but might pay off down the line.
Yes, thanks for reminding me there’s a civilized alternative out there for us occasional sports fans who are a little burnt out on watching pituitary cases running up and down the court stuffing the ball through the hoop and guys standing around in the field scratching themselves in funny places and spitting who knows what.
A little early though. Wake me up in a few months when the season is nearly over and the real, or playoff, season begins. I like soccer, but not quite that much.
I will watch the Women’s World Cup coming up in June, from Canada I understand. As an American, I suppose I’ll have to root for the USA, despite not being such a big fan of the country lately.
I’m late to the thread, but I am a soccer fan. I have DC United season tickets and froze my butt off at the game on Saturday afternoon.
Huzzuh to Orlando for the sellout.