- 03:02 AM
- 12/22/24
Bosman also dealt with the quota question, though, as seen in Paragraph 15 of the "summary" section (and Operative Part number 2) of the Bosman ruling. After Bosman, it's true that quotas were removed by UEFA, but it was Bosman that got that ball rolling.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 04:55 PM on November 15, 2007
There were player quotas in England (and in the rest of Europe) until the Bosman ruling, in 1995. As for limits improving the quality of the national team, well, until the Bosman ruling, England won every world cup, right? What? Oh. Player quotas contravene European law. They're also stupid. If England wants to have a better English team, the FA needs to pour a ton of money into youth academies, like France did with Clairefontaine. The only way to get better English players is to grow them from scratch.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 01:26 PM on November 15, 2007
He's a complicated man, and no one understands him but his woman. Daaaaamn right.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 05:13 PM on September 20, 2006
This comment is 100% drug free. Except for two gin 'n tonics. But that's a legal drug, so I'm good.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 11:26 PM on August 18, 2006
They looked like Oompa Loompas in baseball hats before, and now they look like Alan Shearer. It's a lateral move at best...
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 05:58 PM on August 04, 2006
Man, cycling just sucks. I mean, there's just all this riding around in straight lines, and no action, and no scoring, and I know the world loves it but...I don't get it, so therefore I mock it because it must be useless. /snark oops, I thought this was another WC bashing thread for a minute. hahaha. I'm almost more excited about the Tour now that there's no Lance - don't get me wrong, I loved watching him win but now I can't wait to see who steps up now that he's gone. Basso will be fun to watch, as will Ulrich, and if either one wins I'll be happy.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 10:55 PM on June 29, 2006
The best way to increase scoring is to do what American football does - give multiple points for a single scoring act. Why is a touchdown worth six points? Because it is. I doubt it's more sophisticated than that. Make each goal worth...oh, why not...9 points! That way Portugal wins in a 54-0 rout, and Brazil beats Australia 14-0! That oughta get the average American behind soccer. /sarcasm If people don't like soccer, that's fine. Just leave those of us that do alone, and go back to watching your high scoring sport of choice.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 06:03 PM on June 19, 2006
I know I'm late to this, but I saw this in the DeFord piece: It is not for us to feel guilty that we are out of step. Rather, it is for us to feel sorry for the rest of the world that it is not lucky enough to have games as good as the ones we have. What a breathtakingly arrogant ass. Anyway. The ref in the US match was indeed a horribly bad ref; discretion is definitely an important part of a referee's game, and Larrionda showed none. Frustrating.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 12:16 PM on June 18, 2006
what good does it do to go out there and play for 2+ hours then have the game end in a draw? pointless... Actually, no. Teams get a point for a draw, and three points for a win - and in a short group phase, one point can be crucial. And yeah, every single Trinidadian tonight is nursing a huuuuuge hangover from the party they threw for taking a point from Sweden. In case you're not that up on what the results mean, what Sweden did is called "dropping two points" - it was a game they should have won, and they didn't. Good for Trinidad. And Tobago.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 11:09 PM on June 11, 2006
No, I misread Hater's post. My bad, Pivo, you're right...
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 05:53 PM on May 31, 2006
how often are the balls in soccer changed? Adidas produces a new one for every major tournament; their FIFA contract to make balls only runs through this World Cup, though, so there may be a new manufacturer by 2010. That lovely ball there is indeed the Santiago, and it was last used in competition in the mid-to-late 70's, I think. It was used in my backyard, though, through the 80's.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 02:49 PM on May 31, 2006
I like the look of it, as well - and I'm impressed that it has no stitching. I think it's funny that at every single tournament, you hear goalkeepers whinge about the new unfair ball, and yet scoring's not dramatically different from tournament to tournament...
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 01:06 PM on May 31, 2006
"I can't come back here," he said. "I'd rather get shot than come back here. ... If I don't get the message this time, I never will." Aaaaaaand in about three years, he will have been proven to have not gotten the message. Again. I liked Gooden as a pitcher, but my empathy only extends so far. Lumbergh - about $10, according to eBay.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 11:59 AM on May 31, 2006
Everybody is railing about Bonds being a jerk, bein selfish, etc...Clemens takes the cake in this department. Absolutely right. But Clemens is a "good guy" because he never allegedly did something that wasn't against the actual rules when he allegedly did it. Or didn't allegedly do it. I can't keep it straight. There should be a rule. You announce publicly that you're retired, that's it. You're done. No more. Clemens, Jordan, Magic Johnson - I don't care who you are, if you tell the world you're retiring, then go retire already.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 11:00 PM on May 30, 2006
But is it too late to start a league? yahoo leagues have half-season options. How about: - intentional walks - wild pitches for pitchers/passed balls for catchers - defensive indifference (it would be a stolen base, but for defensive indifference) - errors
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 03:04 PM on May 25, 2006
Fergie's an old-style manager, and those are a dying breed these days. I'm not saying he's past his sell date, because he's still a good manager, but the mark of a good manager is also how he evolves in response to changing times. Players have more power than ever, and thus have no reason to be afraid of Sir Alex's hairdryer treatment - van Nistelrooy will land on his feet wherever he goes, as did Keane and Beckham. Presumably so will the doc. Ferguson needs to realize that he can't intimidate his way to a championship any more - but as an Arsenal supporter, I hope it takes a few more years for that realization to set in.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 02:59 PM on May 25, 2006
It is more important for a group to continue their journey than to abort their journey to save someone's life. I've never climbed anything higher than Mount Si, so I may not be knowledgeable about this sort of thing, but I doubt that this statement is correct. Mountaineering is a ridiculously dangerous activity, especially on Everest; the calculus for a climber that comes across a dying man seems to me to be, "well, there's a guy in front of me who is already almost dead; can I get him down before he dies, and can I get him down without both of us dying or me killing him in the process?" And from what I've read, the answer to those questions is almost universally no. Thus, the dying man is left to die, and the expedition continues on. That may not make it fair, and may exact a karmic price later on if you believe in that sort of thing, but it's a completely rational decision.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 05:11 PM on May 24, 2006
Toxteth, that's a real, um, stretch Yeah, it is, but there's only a finite amount of time I want to spend Googling "grab Johnson" while I'm at work. :-)
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 03:52 PM on May 24, 2006
Here ya go. First bullet, second paragraph.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 02:45 PM on May 24, 2006
I meant 2004-05 as "last season", seeing as 2005-06 just finished. Ahhh, gotcha. It's definitely a good pickup - I hope Wigan can stay in the top half of the table again next season, they were a great team to watch this season...
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 02:42 PM on May 24, 2006
Rather have him run the NFL than make a run at the White House. A-frickin-men, Jersey Girl.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 02:31 PM on May 24, 2006
Uhhhhh, Crystal Palace weren't relegated last season. They finished fifth in the First Division, er, Championship. He was the sixth most prolific scorer in the Championship last year, though, so point taken...
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 02:29 PM on May 24, 2006
From my barstool, the red card was a fair call. The ref would not have been wrong either way; I preferred the call as it was because it denied Barca a penalty. Overall, this game felt like the 2001 FA Cup final - Arsenal did enough to win for 80 mins, but couldn't hold on. I'm gutted, but still delirious that they got to the final in the first place.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 07:21 PM on May 17, 2006
Free Shaun Wright-Phillips! He ruined his England chances by cashing in and sitting on Chelsea's bench all season, and he's too good of a player to be wasted like that.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 05:31 PM on May 15, 2006
Liverpool seems to like leaving it late. First 2001's FA cup, then last year's Champions League, now this. If I were a Liverpool supporter I'd send the club my cardiologist's bill...congrats, scousers.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 01:17 PM on May 13, 2006
It's actually 1,768 straight games, if you count his Japanese League streak - a mighty impressive string of games, even if the MLB part is only about a third of that. And really, ESPN - did you need to replay this 17 times or whatever? It's gruesome. We get it. Move on.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 05:45 PM on May 12, 2006
Ozzie has a personality, something which in sports is all too rare. He gives good quote, he speaks his mind, what's the harm? Would you rather listen to Ozzie, or to Derek "We gave it all we had today and things went our way, now we just have to go out tomorrow and do it againzzzzzzzzz..." Jeter?
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 12:09 PM on April 29, 2006
I'm not saying don't show respect. Let him take a curtain call, something like that, sure; just don't make more of it than it is - second place on the list. If his body were to hold up long enough for him to pass Aaron, that's when you stop games and give speeches.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 10:21 PM on April 27, 2006
for once, I agree with Selig - when Bonds passes Ruth, that puts him in second place on the all time list. There's never usually a celebration for a guy getting second place, why would there be one now?
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 06:08 PM on April 27, 2006
Up the Boro! That sounds like a fantastic match, I wish I could have seen it. Next season, they should spot all their opponents two goals - they could go undefeated!
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 06:06 PM on April 27, 2006
You move on ... no player is bigger than the club As a friend of mine once said, someday, when Henry retires, people will organize religions around that man. If he does move on, I will always remember him fondly, and look forward to the emergence of Robin van Persie. One thing Wenger does not do is guess wrong, and the kids coming through are just as exciting as the ones that are there now...
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 08:25 PM on April 25, 2006
Henry's a class act, all the way. i will be gutted if he leaves, but if he drops a Champions League trophy off in the New Marble Halls before he goes that will pad his exit quite nicely...
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 06:06 PM on April 25, 2006
But you must feel a shade lucky tonight Beyond lucky, actually. That was a dire game. But the beauty of it is, in three weeks' time, it won't matter in the slightest how they played tonight. All that mattered was that they got the win, and they did that, aesthetics be damned. Bring on Paris!!!!!
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 04:49 PM on April 25, 2006
Of course all this will be irrelevant if arse blows it. Too bad they didn't blow it. :-)
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 03:47 PM on April 25, 2006
Maybe it's just my age, but when i saw that Papelbon's song was "Bodies", I immediately thought "how cool - somebody's using the Sex Pistols in a baseball game!" D'oh.
posted by Toxteth O'Grady at 03:55 PM on April 18, 2006
Adam "Pacman" Jones
In other news, sun rises in east.