A Great Reason to Buy Wine

Everyone has a list of websites they hit every day, included in mine is Woot! and its various Woot-like entities.

The four Woot! sites have one-day deals and some are very hard to pass up, so I buy the sale items if we need it. Everyone can use another t-shirt like this or something for the kid or wine.

Today, I was going through the gauntlet of sites and came across a superb offer on Deals.Woot with an even better description. Click the photo below to seethe details.

Inconsistency is Our Consistency

The United States' 2-1 loss to Panama on Saturday brought about major uproar by fans and media wondering how a letdown like this could happen to the Americans in a meaningful tournament like the Gold Cup. One media member in particular grabbed my attention; Jen Chang, SI.com's Soccer Editor.

I don't know Jen at all, but I am quite familiar with his work dating back to his stint as Editor at ESPN Soccernet. Jen's work and observations are quality, and he brought up an interesting take that I wanted to explore. He tweeted:

JenChang88 Jen Chang 

U.S. loses to Panama. Said last summer, U.S. is capable of beating anyone but also capable of losing to anyone. No other team quite like it.

That's an interesting observation, but not entirely accurate. The U.S. is capable of letdowns, but it's not the only team in the world susceptible to this. I responded to Jen's tweet with "Greece?" and he acknowledged that I was correct. I decided to look into this further and I found something pretty obvious, and might be a tip of the hat to the FIFA rankings.

The top nine of the rankings are clearly the best teams in the world in some order. Rarely, do we see teams like Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany or the Netherlands upset. Those teams may turn in sluggish performances, but out-and-out upsets tend to be few and far between.

Now, once we get into double-digits on the list, it starts to become revealing. The United States is No. 22, and when you look at 10-40 you see it littered with teams holding major potential (Turkey, Japan) or failing to live up to expectations (France, Nigeria, Egypt). The Greeks check in at No. 13.

This is the group that can either turn in a major upset of a team in the top tier of the rankings or a letdown against a rival with seemingly lower stature, and the U.S. is a part of that. This is how sports works; the teams in the middle are good, but not great. Teams like the U.S., Belgium, Australia, Mexico and Chile have the potential to crack the top 10, but consistency is an issue.

Let's take No. 10 Croatia as our example. This year, Croatia has tied France away and beaten the Czech Republic 4-2 at home. Mixed in there is a 1-0 loss at Georgia; clearly a letdown.

In December, Turkey fell 1-0 at Azerbaijan, currently ranked 108th.

Less than two weeks ago, Switzerland held a two-goal, first-half lead on England at Wembley Stadium, and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. That same team played Malta to a scoreless tie in February. That's right; MALTA! The Maltese are ranked 161, one ahead of Bermuda and one back of Chinese Taipei.

Understandably, people were upset with the U.S. performance against Panama, but keeping perspective is important. We're capable of being beaten, but we're also capable of beating the best. Just like other teams occupying the same tier in world soccer.

This isn't likely to change any time soon, but the U.S. is making strides in scheduling games against the likes of Spain, Brazil and Argentina. That experience -- even in friendlies -- may prove valuable later on.

Let's face it; the U.S. wouldn't be in the situation it is now if it wasn't for facing Mexico on a regular basis. If the Americans didn't have that the neighbor to the south, it would be Australia circa 2000.

The bottom line is; any team can lose on any day. However, some have been accustomed to letdowns more than others, and the teams that are in the second tier are prime candidates. When they win, it's expected and if they beat a team in the top 10 then it's a minor upset and confirms the perceived potential. When those teams lose; it's a letdown and sometimes in major proportions since many of fans and media from that nation are expecting continued and infinite progress forward.

The U.S. should be fine facing Guadeloupe tonight in Kansas City, making advancement to the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup a certainty. A letdown is highly unlikely, and the defeat to Panama may serve as the wake-up call to get things moving forward again.

Revised: No Chance

After doing a bunch of research for my previous post, I've come to the conclusion that Inter is done in Serie A this season.

Maybe a Coppa Italia title is possible? I have my doubts if Inter will have to face Milan in the final.

This team may look different next season, and a key change could be coming on the bench. The question would then be; who could possibly replace Leonardo if Massimo Moratti chooses to fire him?

Is There a Chance?

I'm trying to stay positive with Inter. I really am. However, it's a rough task and it's become tougher after watching them crash out of Champions League with a dreadful 7-3 aggregate defeat to Schalke. Yes, Schalke ... again ... after this fiasco in 1997.

Anyway, now that the dream of defending the European title is over, Inter can now focus on applying more pressure on Milan in the Scudetto race.

Since I'm laboring to be positive, I've decided to take a look at how Inter can overtake Napoli and then Milan to win a sixth consecutive Scudetto with six games to play.

Entering this weekend, Inter is third in Serie A, two points behind second-place Napoli and five back of Milan in first.

Inter's remaining schedule becomes daunting down the stretch. The club visits Parma this weekend before facing Lazio (H), Cesena (A), Fiorentina (H), Napoli (A) and Catania (H) in that order.

There are just three games that should result in wins -- Parma, Cesena and Catania (nine points). The others are up for grabs. Although, Inter is 12-3-1 (W-L-D) at home with a plus-23 goal differential. That should bode well against Lazio and Fiorentina, which are combined 7-11-13 on the road. A win and a draw from those games would be 13 points combined with the victories, and 76 on the season.

Now, that leaves the Week 37 visit to Napoli, which is 11-3-2 as host compared to Inter's 7-3-6 mark on the road. This result could change everything.

Before we decide on what Inter needs at San Paolo, let's look at Milan and Napoli's schedules.

Milan hosts Sampdoria this weekend and that should be three points. Then, the Diavolo visits Brescia before facing Bologna (H), Roma (A), Cagliari (H) and Udinese (A). I'll guess this to be as many as 14 points (4-2-0) with the potential to get 12 (4-0-2).

Ouch.

Napoli's remaining six have it pitted against Udinese (H), Palermo (A), Genoa (H), Lecce (A), Inter (H) and Juventus (A). WOW!

Just looking at that stretch makes me think Inter can overtake Napoli for second without much trouble, while the Partenopei will find pushing Milan very rough.

Now, that we have Napoli out of the race, that could mean the Inter-Napoli matchup in Week 37 goes from a tie to a victory for the visitors. That's 16 points from the final six games for Inter, thus the top two of Serie A would look like this:

Milan 82
Inter 79

If Milan slips up and goes 4-0-2 down the stretch, it becomes:

Milan 80
Inter 79

Both scenarios have Inter coming just short, making the loss in the derby two weeks ago that much more valuable to the race.

The bottom line is simple; Milan needs to slip up a lot more than two draws and two losses over the last six, while Inter is nearly flawless. That may be just a bit too much to ask, so maybe there's another way for Inter to lift another trophy to go with the World title?

Of course there is; this is soccer afterall.

Inter is also still alive in Coppa Italia with a two-legged semifinal matchup against Roma starting Tuesday with the winner facing either Milan or Palermo.

There's that damn rival again. Maybe we can at least stop them from getting a double.

We better ... Someone better.

Up All Night

I haven't been here in a long time, as I'm sure you can see. I'm here tonight because this fiasco, which included three rain delays in San Diego. Yes, apparently it rains in San Diego. I'm just as stunned as you are.

Anyway, the last time I checked in I was filling you - who am I kidding? no one reads this. I was filling in ... empty space on the internet about my new friends on Twitter who follow Serie A.


I've had a lot of fun in my little Twitter bubble, which really keeps me from posting. I can type up 140 character messages to get my ideas and thoughts out there to the 320-something people that follow me. Yes, I'm just as stunned as you are that so many people would want to know what I have to say.


It's crossed my mind to come back here and expound on some thoughts, but it depends on my free time. Maybe soon, I'll come back on a semi-regular basis and throw-up thoughts on Inter, the Mets, Rangers, etc. Yes, I used "throw-up" on purpose there.

For now, let's just hope this baseball game doesn't go extra innings. I really don't need that on top of the rest of this disaster. I mean, it's already 3:00 a.m.

Finding Friends

While I was out doing other things besides posting here, I found myself digging around for friends on Twitter and other places who shared some of my interests.

Over the past year, I've found groups of Mets, Rangers and Jets fans to follow for their commentary. That was fairly simple due to the loud and angry noises those groups tend to make.

A much more difficult task was finding Serie A fans and writers who spoke English. Fortunately, I found them and then I discovered a great Serie A fantasy game at Serie A Live.

I was able to meet with Vince, who runs Serie A Live and we had a great dinner and keep in contact to discuss all things calcio. This, of course, spares my brothers from my ramblings all the time, and gives me a new person to listen to my blather.

Anyway, Vince is a great guy and does a fantastic job with the fantasy game. You can also follow him on twitter here.

Another discovery was the Pink Shirt Wise Guys, who have a blog and podcast. I always make sure I listen to the weekly show to keep myself in the loop with Serie A talk. It also helps on the middle-of-the-night car rides home from work.

Some other great Serie A reading on Twitter and in no particular order:

James Horncastle
Giancarlo Rinaldi
Adam Digby
Tom Williams
Matthew Barker
Paolo Mancini
ghostgoal
Ben Shave
Juventus Offside
Derek Salvador
Sports Opinionated
Rocco
Justin
Sunny Sandhu
Niels de Jonge
Palermo Offside
Footy Italiano

After writing that long list, I can't wait to see more Serie A action this weekend and my Inter visits Cagliari on Sunday.

Coming Back ... Again?

In case you haven't noticed -- and I would wager that you haven't -- I've been a bit busy to update this blog in a long time. It's been over a year now since I felt there was time to dedicate to TAM, and contrary to popular belief, I wasn't with these guys or here either.

I'm hoping I can get around to doing this again, but it may not be on a consistent basis. Hey, at least I'll update it more than once a year and for that, I should be given a prize.

Anyway, in case you were wondering what I've been up to, here's a list:


1. Jenny got pregnant.

2. We bought a new house.
3. 1 and 2 kept me so busy that they deserve to be repeated.
4. The baby -- Gabriella (aka Gabi, aka GVD) -- was born in late May.
5. The busy thing again, but now with 2 and 4 and a lot less sleep.
6. I'm just too damn busy, so get off my case. Did I mention there was a duck in the basement? Yes, it's been a lot more than typical busy.
7. Work.
8. Learning how to be a father.
9. Playing Football Manager.

OK, now that we got that out of the way. Yes, I'm attempting a comeback, but don't expect it to be like this or even this.

Let's just see how long this lasts. Especially when you consider that this post was originally written Aug. 1 and I've finally gotten around to completing it.

Champions League: Matchday 2 Day 2

Yesterday's slate of matches brought us a number of surprises, from Fiorentina's tremendous performance over Liverpool at home to Inter's shocking draw to Ruben Kazan in Russia. Sevilla reminded us why they have won 2 of the last 4 UEFA Cups by dominating Rangers at Ibrox 4-1, while Unirea Urziceni made history by earning their first ever Champions League point with a draw at home against Stuttgart.

Today's Champions League matches should offer some excellent entertainment. The premiere matchups of Groups A and B take place today, as Juventus is in Germany to face Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg is in England to face Manchester United. Will Diego be successful in his frist trip back to Germany? Does Wolfsburg's attack of Grafite and Džeko have enough firepower to overcome Old Trafford? Will today offer us similar surprises as Tuesday's matches?

Thus far in the Champions League Prediction Competiton, Nick still owns a 2 point lead over Joe with a score of 14-12. Can Joe close the gap, or will Nick widen the margin? Today's predictions are listed below. As always, 1 means home team, 2 means away team, and X means a draw.

Nick
Home - Away (Prediction)
CSKA Moskva - Beşiktaş (1)
APOEL - Chelsea (2)
Bayern Munich - Juventus (X)
Bordeaux - Maccabi Haifa (1)
Manchester United - Wolfsburg (1)
Milan - Zürich (1)
Porto - Atlético Madrid (X)
Real Madrid - Marseille (1)

Joe
Home - Away (Prediction)
CSKA Moskva - Beşiktaş (1)
APOEL - Chelsea (2)
Bayern Munich - Juventus (X)
Bordeaux - Maccabi Haifa (1)
Manchester United - Wolfsburg (X)
Milan - Zürich (1)
Porto - Atlético Madrid (X)
Real Madrid - Marseille (1)

ENJOY TODAY'S MATCHES!!!

Champions League: Fiorentina-Liverpool and a bunch of crap!

The Champions League Group Stage continues today and tomorrow. Matchday 1 saw very few surprises as the majority of the favorites walked away with maximum points. However, 3 of the 4 Italian teams have gotten off to a slow start, and will look to improve in this week's matches.

There are some interesting matchups lined up in Matchday 2, but only one of those is scheduled for today (Fiorentina-Liverpool). Unfortunately, Fiorentina's star striker Alberto Gilardino is suspended for today's match against Liverpool due to a questionable red card against Lyon during Matchday 1. So the Fioretina-Liverpool matchup could end up being an easy result for Liverpool. Although, you never know what will happen in Champions League. Hell, Atlético Madrid drew at home to APOEL last time!

So far in the Champions League Prediction Competition, Nick leads Joe by a score of 10-8. Based on today's predictions, that score differential should not change much.

As always, 1 means home team, 2 means away team, and X means a draw.

Nick
Home - Away (Prediction)
Rubin Kazan - Inter (2)
Arsenal - Olympiacos (1)
AZ Alkmaar - Standard Liege (X)
Barcelona - Dynamo Kyiv (1)
Debrecen - Lyon (2)
Fiorentina - Liverpool (2)
Rangers - Sevilla (X)
Unirea Urziceni - Stuttgart (2)

Joe
Home - Away (Prediction)
Rubin Kazan - Inter (2)
Arsenal - Olympiacos (1)
AZ Alkmaar - Standard Liege (2)
Barcelona - Dynamo Kyiv (1)
Debrecen - Lyon (2)
Fiorentina - Liverpool (2)
Rangers - Sevilla (2)
Unirea Urziceni - Stuttgart (2)

ENJOY TODAY'S MATCHES!!!

Week 6 ... Already

I don't have the latest update, but it's safe to say that I'm still leading Joe.

Anyway, we're on to week 6 already. Where is the season going? Jenny and I went to our first Blackhawks game last night and it hit me that summer is over ... not that it ever got to Chicago.

Well, here's our week 6 picks with more commentary to come later.

Nick

Catania - Roma	2
Chievo - Atalanta	1
Juventus - Bologna	1
Lazio - Palermo	X
Livorno - Fiorentina	2*
Milan - Bari	1*
Napoli - Siena	1
Parma - Cagliari	X
Sampdoria - Inter	2
Udinese - Genoa	X

Joe

Catania - Roma	2
Chievo - Atalanta	1*
Juventus - Bologna	1*
Lazio - Palermo	X
Livorno - Fiorentina	2
Milan - Bari	1
Napoli - Siena	X
Parma - Cagliari	1
Sampdoria - Inter	X
Udinese - Genoa	X

Mid-Week Mayhem

It's week 5 in Serie A, but it comes in the middle of the week, so it's not really it's own separate week like some of the other weeks. I know ... weak attempt at humor.

Anyway, I've mentioned before that I'm swamped, so I can't make funny comments all the time ... or at least actual funny comments. I'm just here to post the predictions.

As far as an update to the competition; I'm kicking the crap out of Joe. I've selected the correct result in 23 games so far, while he's guessed 19 correct. I'm also 6-0 in my locks thanks to Milan beating Bologna and Sampdoria routing Siena on Sunday. Joe took another loss to his locks with Chievo upsetting Genoa at home last weekend and is now 4-2.

Out picks for today's game vary, so Joe can gain some ground or I can pull away. We'll see.

Here's some book keeping before moving on the to the predictions for today's games. 1 means home team, 2 means away team and X means tie.

Nick
Home	Away	Prediction
Atalanta	Catania	X
Bari	Cagliari	1
Bologna	Livorno	X*
Fiorentina	Sampdoria	2
Genoa	Juventus	2
Inter	Napoli	1*
Lazio	Parma	X
Palermo	Roma	X
Siena	Chievo	X
Udinese	Milan	2

Joe
Home	Away	Prediction
Atalanta	Catania	X*
Bari	Cagliari	X
Bologna	Livorno	1
Fiorentina	Sampdoria	2
Genoa	Juventus	X
Inter	Napoli	1*
Lazio	Parma	X
Palermo	Roma	2
Siena	Chievo	2
Udinese	Milan	1