April 6, 201214 yr Just watched FC Dallas steal a win against NE Revolution in the 94th minute, few things I'm wondering that maybe Spieler can clear up, why are they playing eachother when they're in different divisions? Is it a cup competition? Also, the referee allowed SIX minutes of stoppage time to the originally allocated three, in Europe the fans would be going nuts about this but the commentators didn't even mention it. Even one minute extra over here is like WTF
April 6, 201214 yr Just watched FC Dallas steal a win against NE Revolution in the 94th minute, few things I'm wondering that maybe Spieler can clear up, why are they playing eachother when they're in different divisions? Is it a cup competition? Also, the referee allowed SIX minutes of stoppage time to the originally allocated three, in Europe the fans would be going nuts about this but the commentators didn't even mention it. Even one minute extra over here is like WTF Haha, I watched the game as well. They're both in the same league. just in different divisions insofar as the league is split into two (east and west) conferences. The idea of splitting into geographic divisions is derived from the other american sports which, because of the size of the country, usually have at least 30 teams (Hockey has six divisions of 5 teams each; NFL has 8 etc). Because there's no such thing as relegation (and a single table of 32 teams would blow), all of our sports are playoff oriented. So, if you support a mediocre NFL team, one doesn't tune-off if one is in 23rd place in the full table, because to have a shot at the championship, you just need to break the top 10, or have a better record than the other 4 teams in your division. /tangential context bit over So, most MLS fans are annoyed that there isn't a single-table like every other league, but it hasn't been a real issue til this year. Up til now, every team played everyone else twice (home and away), and champions league/playoff spots were based on a single-table comparison anyway (MLS also has a playoff system, but American soccer fans generally care a lot more about the table-leaders at the end of the season). But with 19 teams, and more franchises to be added, they're having each western conference team play each other 3 times, while playing the eastern conference teams only once (and vice-versa). Naturally this fucks up all understanding of how teams in separate conferences compare, especially since the venue's will be biased one way or the other. As for the extra time, I was surprised the ref didn't blow right after the re-start, but I've seen premiership refs extend as much as 5 minutes past the shown stoppage time to account for injuries and goals etc. (Liverpool vs. Arsenal last fall where it went past the 100 minute mark comes to mind)
April 6, 201214 yr I tried getting into hockey again (As I played it as a child) some weeks ago and then realised it was game 64 for whoever I was watching, and then I thought, fuck no. 64 games?! Anyway, its all quite confusing, you American bastards, why make it so complicated? I suppose when you take into consideration the amount of leagues we have its also quite confusing. So both conferences teams play each other but the points stay in their own conference? I'm inclined to think that there's so many ways that this is wrong but too lazy to think of any of them, maybe its fine. I think I remember the Arsenal vs Liverpool game you're talking about (was it when Van Persie got a late penalty or something?) and I'd have thought that was a bizarre situation where there was an injury or some unforeseen circumstance that meant the referee had to prolong stoppage time. But if this extra 2/3 minutes was a surprise to you as well then I guess its not common, it was just weird as the commentators didn't mention it nor did the fans whistle and boo.
April 6, 201214 yr I watched the film Moneyball the other day about Oakland Athletics 20 game winning streak in baseball on a limited budget and thought that's some achievement, akin to something like Arsenal going unbeaten for a whole season in the Premiership a number of years ago. And then when I looked into this streak on Wiki it turns out it happened in about 5 weeks. 162 games in a season - WTF??!
April 6, 201214 yr [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMHkdhVDdLE&feature=related]BAKE OFF: Andy Carroll vs Charlie Adam [blue Peter] - YouTube[/ame] So this is why they can't get in the team or score goals. This is what they spend their time doing when they should be training :lol::P
April 6, 201214 yr I tried getting into hockey again (As I played it as a child) some weeks ago and then realised it was game 64 for whoever I was watching, and then I thought, fuck no. 64 games?! 162 games in a season - WTF??! That's one reason I just cannot get THAT into baseball, hockey or basketball. The importance of each game gets so diluted, that you have to be a diehard fan to give a single fuck before the last month of the season. I understand that the hockey playoff teams are taken from the top single-table teams, and the parity is such that they do need a ton of games to spread them out. But baseball's a snore-fest as it is. American football is the opposite with 16 games in a season (they're thinking of expanding to 18), and consequently its probably the most popular because of this. College football only has 12, meaning you pretty much have to be undefeated to make the national championship. Anyway, its all quite confusing, you American bastards, why make it so complicated? I suppose when you take into consideration the amount of leagues we have its also quite confusing. yup. So both conferences teams play each other but the points stay in their own conference? I'm inclined to think that there's so many ways that this is wrong but too lazy to think of any of them, maybe its fine. this might help. http://www.mlssoccer.com/standings For some of the reasons I mentioned before, I think it is lazy and messed up. Since the regular season isn't the same for everyone, it makes the mls cup more important, when most would prefer the mls playoffs be abolished and more importance placed on the us open cup (our f.a. cup) I think I remember the Arsenal vs Liverpool game you're talking about (was it when Van Persie got a late penalty or something?) and I'd have thought that was a bizarre situation where there was an injury or some unforeseen circumstance that meant the referee had to prolong stoppage time. But if this extra 2/3 minutes was a surprise to you as well then I guess its not common, it was just weird as the commentators didn't mention it nor did the fans whistle and boo. yeah, that one. since we're talking about confusing things, most Americans still don't get the existence of stoppage time altogether. When the ball goes out of play, or someone is injured they're used to the clock being stopped, and the game being over when the clock hits zero. The fact that a referee could arbitrarily decide to extend the game for another 30 seconds just sounds silly to most.
April 6, 201214 yr Swansea 0-2 Newcastle another clean sheet and three points, now level with Chelsea and touching distance of Arsenal and Spurs in 3rd and 4th
April 6, 201214 yr Swansea 0-2 Newcastle another clean sheet and three points, now level with Chelsea and touching distance of Arsenal and Spurs in 3rd and 4th 3 points ahead of Chelsea, who play tomorrow.
April 7, 201214 yr youre right thats even better, and it would be a shellshock to Spurs if they didn't make the CL after the season they've had!
April 7, 201214 yr Not sure if either team deserves to win this match. The quality is terrible, so many poor passes.
April 7, 201214 yr ^Yep, you won't often see quality that poor from both sides in a game. The first half wasn't THAT bad but the 2nd was completely abysmal and un-inspired. But I'm happy, Newcastle level on games and 3 points behind Spurs after that. And really, their form has been horrible lately, a few games ago I was saying how it's a big hope for us to get Top 4, now we have more of a right to hope but still play Chelsea and City. Pretty much need to keep hoping for Spurs to totally fuck up.
April 7, 201214 yr Chelsea scored 2 offside goals to beat Wigan 2-1, the first of which, Ivanovic, was offside with 2 other players, and himself was the most offside (A clear 3 or 4 yards), unbelievable. Dirk Kuyt also had what must be one of the misses of the season, I don't know how Liverpool didn't win though, they were hugely dominant. Andy disappointing again when he came on though. Good goals from Herd for Villa, Dempsey for Fulham, but in particular Diame for Wigan, had loads to do from outside the box, worked an angle to shoot from just outside of it, absolutely drilled it, Cech was helpless.
April 7, 201214 yr Texas Pete! .... .... Don't want to jinx it, but Newcastle has a realistic shot at the champions league. Not just from Arsenal, but I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Tottenham lost/drew Norwich next week, and I expect Fulham to make a big showing against Chelsea.
April 8, 201214 yr Man Utd 1-0 (Rooney PEN 14). QPR down to 10 men, this might be a long afternoon for them. Foul that led to PEN and red card was offside. Apart from Utd going for goal difference better that City's, this game is no longer a spectacle!
April 8, 201214 yr actually I think the linesmen are a joke, they've had a bad weekend so far. Referees are not getting the support they require.
April 8, 201214 yr Brilliant clearance off the line by Vermaelen, too bad it was from a Van Persie header at the wrong end. Arsenal looking bright.
April 8, 201214 yr Oh boy, Balotelli just went to put his studs and quite a bit of his weight on Song's knee. If the ref was at a better angle or if it was closer to the linesman, red card.
Create an account or sign in to comment