On the Eve of the new Season...

[godsshoeshine]

uh, i read it as the arse were better last night

[Barcelona]

And Real Madrid is out, great!!! although not perfect week since Messi is out for another six weeks.

[vansmack]

Saturday, March 8
 
 7:45am FA Cup: Man United vs. Portsmouth (PPV - $16)
 9:45am Liverpool vs. Newcastle Utd (Set)
 10:00am Blackburn vs. Fulham (FSC)
 12:30pm FA Cup: Barnsley vs. Chelsea (FSC)  
 2:30pm Reading vs. Manchester City (SDC)
 4:30pm Reading vs. Manchester City (FSC)
 
 Why one of them won't pick up Blackburn/Fulham is beyond me.
 
   
 Sunday, March 9
 
 10:00am FA Cup: Middlesbrough vs. Cardiff City (PPV - $16)
 11:00am Tottenham vs. West Ham (Set)
 12:00pm Wigan vs. Arsenal (FSC)  
 1:00pm Sunderland vs. Everton (SDC)
 5:30pm FA Cup: Bristol Rovers vs. West Bromwich  Albion (FSC)

[godsshoeshine]

glad the prem is on in the morning. i dont know that my liver could take this season

[Frank Gallagher]

That was disapointing, although if we're not going to win one of the three trophies up for grabs it would be the that one.
 
 Did anyone see the game? Was the ref as biased towards Pompey as I'm reading on the BBC website? Should it have been a penalty for United early on in the first half?

[Frank Gallagher]

Hmmmmmm...Barnsley 1 - 0 Chelski
 
 Not such a bad day after all....

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Brain Walrus:
  Did anyone see the game? Was the ref as biased towards Pompey as I'm reading on the BBC website? Should it have been a penalty for United early on in the first half?

Of course I watched it.  Pompey had no business winning that match.  United were the far better team, just simply couldn't score (with a tremendous amount of good fortune for Pompey).  After about 20 minutes, the announcer said "with all their good fortune throughout this tourney, you'd have to think their name is already etched on the cup" and they just enjoying good fortune.    
 
 Yes, it absolutely should have been a penalty in the first half for Ronaldo. And while Kuszczak was cetainly guilty of a penalty, the red card was harsh as there were two defenders behind the keeper (but it was the keeper who fouled which almost always results in a red card).
 
 And in case you missed it, Cardiff knocked of Boro today.
 
 And of course, Arsenal just drew with Wigan.  So what started off as a rough weekend has ended fairly nicely.

[Frank Gallagher]

You're forgetting Englad got beat by Scotland in the 6 nations so I've been sick to my stomach all weekend. That one hurts...really hurts.
 
 But you're right. Wigan did us a favor and that sentimental French team who happens to train in London will probably have a hard time recovering from a result like that, and their captain is probably still sat on the pitch sucking his thumb...so advantage United in the Premiership..

[vansmack]

Sorry Mank - rugby has not entered my atmosphere.
 
 Tuesday, March 11
 
 12:30pm Champion's League: Inter Milan vs. Liverpool
 
 Wednesday, March 12
 
 3:30pm UEFA Cup - Everton vs. Fiorentina (FSC)  
 4:00pm Chelsea vs. Derby County (Set)
 6:00pm Aston Villa v. Middlesbrough (FSC)  
 6:30pm Portsmouth vs. Birmingham City (Set)

[godsshoeshine]

i watch rugby every once in a while. i like munster and ireland
 
 but i kind of have no idea whats going on

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
  i watch rugby every once in a while. i like munster and ireland
 
 but i kind of have no idea whats going on

Munster would be my club team because we lived in the province of Munster.....although I have a mate who's on the coaching staff of the Saracens.
 
 It's really quite simple, all metres gained must be run so you can only pass backwards, when you see them kick it up field it's usually because they're making no ground so 'punting' it to  use an American term. The scrum just gets the game going again after some sort of infraction. The line out is just when the ball has gone out of bounds to the side.......if you take the time to learn the rules you'll probably enjoy it more than football.

[godsshoeshine]

munster is where my father's family came from back during the potato famine
 
 how does the scoring work? i guess its makes more sense now that i read your post. as opposed to just turning on the tv

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
  munster is where my father's family came from back during the potato famine
 
 how does the scoring work? i guess its makes more sense now that i read your post. as opposed to just turning on the tv

A try (touchdown) is 5 points
 conversion (extra point) 2 points
 drop goal, which is when it is kicked between the posts during open play is 3 points.
 A penalty (field goal) is 3 points

[godsshoeshine]

i'll give it another try
 
 i was thinking of switching to serie a if newcastle gets relegated, but maybe i'll just watch rugby   :p

[Frank Gallagher]

You could also watch the Championship if Newcastle go down. A lot of Brits are switching to the Championship as their league of choice because you can, well, watch British players playing the game, and there's a lot less diving and feigning injury etc. and evidently the ref'ing is a much higher quality.
 
 They featured games on Friday nights when I was back in Ireland, then on Sundays they had a 'match of the day' for just the championship, and I have to say it was refreshing to see. There's no eye-popping displays of individual skills but it's quality football nonetheless.