This thread has never been early before. Is this in honor of Spurs Day?

This thread has never been early before. Is this in honor of Spurs Day?

It was Spurs Day that put the idea of doing it in my head, but usually it takes a day or two to get approved, so I'm dumbfounded.

I'm also a little upset that now everyone will miss my Moruinho/Brian Clough joke from the end of the last thread.

Is the Spurs game on ESPN3 tonight? Or FSC?

Is the Spurs game on ESPN3 tonight? Or FSC?

Looks like it's on ESPN so it should be on ESPN3.

I'm also a little upset that now everyone will miss my Moruinho/Brian Clough joke from the end of the last thread.

Can it be a joke when that scenario is exactly what will happen?

Can it be a joke when that scenario is exactly what will happen?

That's a good point.

So apparently if West Ham signed Carroll, they were planning to make a move for Berbatov as well. It's not clear to me exactly why these related--or where the money is coming from, unless The David's plan to sell a lot of edible underwear during the Olympics--but I guess you admire them thinking big.

It appears that Carroll wants no part of East London, though, so it may be all for naught.

Stephanie Houghton puts the Brits ahead within the first five against Brazil. Fast paced match, lots of nice passing, several chances early, Marta and Cristiane are getting involved in the game for the Brazillians, and a pretty electric atmosphere at Wembley (as well as a bit of a milestone, as it's the first time ever the women's national team are playing at Wembley). Worth a watch.

EPL Kick-Off: August 18
La Liga Kick-Off: August 19
Seria A Kick-Off: August 25

Any meaningful TV changes (for US viewers) this year? Is it still FSC/ESPN for the EPL and FSC for Serie A?

Al Jazeera is going to be a player in the US market, although I think the medium (online package? singular cable channel?) is still up in the air.

[9] ESPN3 carried a ton of Serie A games last year, not sure if that will be the same this year.

Does anyone know if Al Jazeera is going to have any online presence with La Liga?

Also, is ESPN3 the only [english] outlet for Bundesliga [online]?

MLS Kick-Off: Who cares?

MLS Kick-Off: Who cares?

Hey now.

US Open Cup final: August 8th!
CONCACAF CL Group Stage: Underway!

A good time had by all at the game tonight. I didn't throw any leeks at Bale, although I did yell to remind Dawson to play the high line. The best moment was Mattbert shouting at Assou-Ekotto just as he was about to receive--totally unaware--a pass.

The best moment was Mattbert shouting at Assou-Ekotto just as he was about to receive--totally unaware--a pass.

I have this image of him yelling 'Incoming!', and then everyone diving for safety.

I have this image of him yelling 'Incoming!', and then everyone diving for safety.

It was actually "BENNY!" which roused him from his slumber.

Upon further reflection, an even better moment might have been the guys behind us, one of whom at one point turned to the other ones and goes "My friend just texted, he wants to know Bale and Van der Vaart are on the pitch?" with obvious verbal quotes around "Bale," "Van der Vaart" and "on the pitch."

There were a lot more Spurs fans this time than when I went to see Spurs play Red Bulls 2 years ago. I'm not sure if that means Spurs are growing a fan base here specifically or a rising tide of interest in the EPL is raising all boats.

Mattbert really did seem to wake Benny up as the ball was played to him. The best part for me is the Red Bulls stuck to the lie that this was a cup game to the point of handing out medals even to the Red Bulls players for coming in second place--second place in a two team cup! They even gave Bale a man of the match trophy which I imagine is already collecting dust in some stripper's closet this morning. Anyway, Sigurdsson looked good as did Tom Carroll and Bale when he went back to the wing after playing as a CF in the first half. Tom Huddlestone while looking good with his impressive 'fro, was very rusty with the ball at his feet. He had trouble even with the simple passes. Spurs will need him to get fit and soon. Spurs are getting better at the high line business, too. Much better than they looked against the Galaxy.

Lots of good soccer on the tube today. The last group games in the Olympics then some interesting CL games including Molde against Copenhagen. I might check that one out to see how Josh Gatt is doing. Then the CONCACAF CL games tonight.

Upon further reflection, an even better moment might have been the guys behind us, one of whom at one point turned to the other ones and goes "My friend just texted, he wants to know are Bale and Van der Vaart on the pitch?" with obvious verbal quotes around "Bale," "Van der Vaart" and "on the pitch."

Those guys really, really wanted to see Brad Friedel.

Those guys really, really wanted to see Brad Friedel.

I think he may have been the one guy they could relate to.

The other highlight of the night was after taking the Path back to the city, we got off at World Trade Center with about 50% of the Spurs support. Walking out of the station, the crowd got some legit chants of "Yid Army" and "When the Spurs go marching in" going. I wonder if some guys who just got off work late in Jersey City thought they were going to be murdered by cultists on those escalators.

Also props to the Red Bulls stadium announcer for, "the starting lineup for the Tottenham Hotspurs!"

The seats Shooty procured were much too good for me to be able to tell what was happening at the other end of the pitch - it all became a muddle of depth perception - but I thought Sigurdsson was the best player out there, and Spurs seemed to get more comfortable with the high line (high line!) as the game continued. I also observed, based on my extensive understanding of football tactics, that Tom Huddlestone is a very large person.

In retrospect, we should have worked harder to get that HIGH LINE chant working.

Incredible miss by Neymar.

Did you make it clear to your friend that "Van der Vaart" is pronounced "Funder Fart", at least when Rafael Honigstein says it?

Did you make it clear to your friend that "Van der Vaart" is pronounced "Funder Fart", at least when Rafael Honigstein says it?

I think Van der Vaart moved to England specifically to avoid having his name pronounced properly. No, this isn't a fact I just totally made up.

Anyone have any news about Malaga? Did the pay the fees they were supposed to pay to keep from getting kicked out of the CL? There is very little English language news about waht seems like a big story to me.

Also, today's the day Al Jazeera's US sports arm--BeIn Sports--is supposed to launch but I haven't seen crap about it. Anyone hear anything? I'm going to be very disappointed if I have to watch Torino on crappy illegal streams again now that they're back in the big time.

Strong rumors flying about Van Persie and Juventus. They seemed made for each other, really.

edit: After a little digging, it would appear these rumors are BS.

Mexico just got away with what looked like a penalty and a red card--since it would have been a last-man foul--to me. That Mexican defender didn't play the ball at all. Tough break for the Swiss.

Supposedly Cazorla is in London for a medical.

They even gave Bale a man of the match trophy which I imagine is already collecting dust in some stripper's closet this morning.

I hope Bale has some better standards - the gentleman's clubs in northern NJ/NYC are horrible.

I hope Bale has some better standards - the gentleman's clubs in northern NJ/NYC are horrible.

Any port in a storm...

Has anyone here tried a Brazilian football channel called, "PFC"? DirecTV has it listed as part of their Brazil package, but also a la cart for $19.99 per month. I doubt it could be worth that, except maybe a couple of months a year when things are slow in Europe.

Has anyone here tried a Brazilian football channel called, "PFC"? DirecTV has it listed as part of their Brazil package, but also a la cart for $19.99 per month. I doubt it could be worth that, except maybe a couple of months a year when things are slow in Europe.

Sorry, I know nothing about it other than everything about it sounds great except the price. Is it in English?

Andy Carroll conveniently won't play tomorrow which keeps him from being cup-tied should a transfer to a club in Europa come up.

Sorry, I know nothing about it other than everything about it sounds great except the price. Is it in English?

No, it's among their foreign language offerings. DirecTV adverstises, "A soccer channel specially made for futbol fanatics. Over 300 live matches throughout the year, as well as previously recorded matches from seven major competitions Brazil broadcasted in its entirety."

Does Olympic success change the mindset regarding the two-striker philosophy in the UK? I know its not England but Pearce is the U-21 coach. Team UK looks much better in possession than England in the Euros.

The other highlight of the night was after taking the Path back to the city, we got off at World Trade Center with about 50% of the Spurs support. Walking out of the station, the crowd got some legit chants of "Yid Army" and "When the Spurs go marching in" going. I wonder if some guys who just got off work late in Jersey City thought they were going to be murdered by cultists on those escalators.

"Yid AR-MAY!" is the one that usually jolts people, in my experience. It comes out of nowhere, and it's loud right away. WTSGMI builds up gradually. I think RB got some video of the latter as we were going up the escalators. I didn't think quickly enough, so I just got a couple stills with my phone.

In retrospect, we should have worked harder to get that HIGH LINE chant working.

As far as I can tell, it's quite difficult to get a new chant or song to catch on if it isn't one of the existing handful of stock chants and songs, but with different words. We stand on the shoulders of giants, you know?

Oh when the Spurrrrrrs
Play a high liiiiiine...

"Yid AR-MAY!" is the one that usually jolts people, in my experience. It comes out of nowhere, and it's loud right away. WTSGMI builds up gradually. I think RB got some video of the latter as we were going up the escalators. I didn't think quickly enough, so I just got a couple stills with my phone

I do have some video, it is fairly entertaining. Sadly, I don't appeared to have captured any confused (bordering on terrified) commuters.

Suarez is unhappy with being booed; I'm happy with Suarez being unhappy.

I wonder if Suarez will stay at Liverpool and feed of the energy of being England's favorite villain, or if it's really bothering him and he agitates for a move abroad.

Tottenham keeper options, according to the intertubes:

1. Stick with what they have, worry about it again next year when Friedel retires
2. Stick with what they have, sign Butland for the future
3. Sign Julio Cesar on a virtual free
4. Sign Stekelenberg
5. Make the big money move for Lloris

I actually have no idea which of those is the right move.

Also, it's still difficult to find out any news about Malaga. There's seems to be mass confusion there. From the fragments I've been able to find, it seems the club may or may not be for sale and the owners may or may not be as wealthy as they say. The one English language article I read asserted the owners had plenty of cash but seemed to be making a game out of not paying anyone what they owe including the players, which just seems bizarre. Villareal still haven't been paid for Santi Cazorla who is about to be sold to Arsenal.

The one English language article I read asserted the owners had plenty of cash but seemed to be making a game out of not paying anyone what they owe including the players, which just seems bizarre.

Sheikh Abdullah: Your football club was brought to my attention, but I can't figure out what, if anything, Malaga CF does, so rather than risk competing with you, I've decided simply to buy you out.
Malaga: I reluctantly accept your proposal!
Sheikh Abdullah: Well everyone always does. Buy 'em out, boys!
[Abdullah's lackeys trash the room.]
Malaga: Hey, what the hell's going on!
Sheikh Abdullah: Oh, I didn't get rich by writing a lot of checks! [insane laughter]

So Spain ended up going winless and goalless in the Olympic tournament. Would not have predicted that.

Incidentally, seems to be a lot of chatter that Spurs are signing Cesar. Our friends at the game will be crushed to know Friedel is being relegated to back-up.

I actually have no idea which of those is the right move.

I don't know, either. However, #3 and #5 seem like the obvious wrong moves.

Incidentally, seems to be a lot of chatter that Spurs are signing Cesar. Our friends at the game will be crushed to know Friedel is being relegated to back-up.

I don't know how seriously to take those Cesar rumors. I can't tell if Spurs are using him to force Lyon's hand for Lloris, if Cesar's agent is just drumming up interest, or if Spurs are actually serious about him. Cesar's form has been on the wane so I'm not sure how much of an improvement he is on Friedel or Gomes at this point.

edit: I can envision a scenario in which Roma sign Cesar and sell Stekelenburg to Spurs, though.

I was watching the local (DC) news last night, because I was building a bike and my hands were too greasy to change the channel, and one of the (non-sports) anchors lost his #### when they showed a replay of Damião rainbowing the ball past a defender. It was a nice move, but jeez.

I was watching the local (DC) news last night, because I was building a bike and my hands were too greasy to change the channel, and one of the (non-sports) anchors lost his #### when they showed a replay of Damião rainbowing the ball past a defender. It was a nice move, but jeez.

That's his signature move. I saw him do that much more effectively than he did yesterday while watching a Libertadores game and, to be fair to the D.C. anchor, I kind of lost my ####, too. It's a hell of a move.

I'm not sure if ya'll did this last year, but would you guys be up for a fantasy league this season? Doesn't have to be for money or anything like that, just bragging rights. I'd be happy to set one up through Yahoo or something like, but I'd need help on which stats to use, etc. Because I've never run a fantasy soccer league.

This is assuming fantasy soccer leagues exist.

This is assuming fantasy soccer leagues exist.

Since you can bet on them, they exist. In any case, I'm in, although there's basically no chance I finish in the top 75% of us. Sadly, my talents are more towards picking the Twatball teams.

I'd do a soccer fantasy league this year. I also know nothing about the ins and outs of it.

And yet another new Tottenham fan

By any means necessary...

Good news out of Aston Villa: Stilyan Petrov's leukemia is in remission.