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

...And somma real ugly kid.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I've been way too busy to post anything lately. There have been so many things going on, plus we've been so swamped at work that I haven't had the energy to post anything here.

Unbelievably, I've been able to squeak in some time to post the weekly Serie A prediction contest between my brother Joe and me. Trust me, I'm as stunned as you are that I've found any time to do this and haven't lost interest.

Anyway, you may have noticed the Champions League prediction thing, too. That's Joe posting and trying to see who knows what about Champions League. Of course, I don't know why he's pretending to be me, so I'll have to get him to stop pretending he's me. He does that a lot. What can I say? He worships me in every way.

Ok, enough with being a jerk...

Well, when looking at the overall standings in the Serie A game, I'm leading Joe 17-14 and I've gone 4-0 on locks to his 3-1. Needless to say, I'm winning and he's losing. That should surprise him since that's been the theme whenever we compete at anything. I'm sure he'll claim to have beaten me in some video game, but this actually takes some skill.

Was I being a jerk again? Eh, who cares? It's just Joe.

On to Week 4 in Serie A. Remember, 1 means home team, 2 means away team and X means tie.

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

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

Champions League Group Stage Matchday 1 (Day 2) Predictions

So Day 1 of Matchday 1 matches did not offer many surprises, but they did offer some definite entertainment. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Wolfsburg cruised to easy victories, while Chelsea and Man. United met with some struggles but ultimately came out on top. Milan came away with a much needed win at Marseille, while Atletico Madrid was held to a shock draw by Cypriot powerhouse APOEL. However, the match of the day was the tightly contested draw between Juventus and Bordeaux at Stadio Olimpico in Torino. Who knows what Day 2 will bring us?

After Matchday 1 Day 1, I am leading my brother Joe in the Champions League predictions with a 4 to 3 score. Let's see how we do on Day 2 with our predictions.

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

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

ENJOY TODAY'S MATCHES!!!

Champions League Group Stage Matchday 1 (Day 1) Predictions

Well, we are only 30 minutes away from the start of Champions League Group Stage play. So why don't we start things off by extending our Serie A Prediction Competition to include Champions League as well!!!

Remember, 1 means home team, 2 means away team and X means tie.

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

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

ENJOY TODAY'S MATCHES!!!!

Back in the swing of things

Serie A is returning to action later today after a week off due to World Cup qualifying, so Joe and I have renewed our little prediction competition.

So far, I lead him 11-9 in correct guesses over the first two weeks of the season. He won't be able to catch me this week since we have every game the same except for one; Udinese hosting Catania. I see Udinese winning at home, while he has the game ending in a draw. We'll see how this shapes up.

Both of us went 2-0 on our locks during week 2. This week, we both took Inter over Parma as a lock. I have Fiorentina beating Cagliari at home as my other lock, while he's picking Milan to go on the road and beat Livorno.

The action starts later today with Juventus visiting Lazio at 1:30 p.m. CT on FSC/RAI.

Remember, 1 means home team, 2 means away team and X means tie. The Lock of the Week is designated by the *.

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

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

An Interactive Mess

Well, I'm back from a crazy few days in New Jersey. I'll try to post something about that soon, but for now, let's try to have a little fun.

A friend of mine sent me a link to a wonderful new interactive game from the WSJ; MetsSloppily.

This fully documents the insanity that's been the New York Mets' 2009 season, which started with so much promise only to come crashing down like nearly every other season. I feel there's more than meets the eye to the Mets' problems, and we're not going to understand the full blow of the Madoff mess for a year or two.

Anyway, since I was back in NJ this week, I was able to get Jenny to humor me and allow me to visit the local Sports Authority to see what was on sale.

Much to my non-surprise, there were a number of Mets items on clearance for 50 percent off. I walked out with a black Mets zipped hoodie and a black dri-fit training shirt.

This team may be a mess, but it's still MY team and MY mess. Through thick and thin, right? Even though there's a lot more thin and most likely more to come? Ugh!

Well, the Jets and Rangers are about to start their seasons soon. Maybe they'll help make the long Chicago winter a bit more bearable. Probably not. Seriously, am I ever going to see a title again?

Sometimes sad things happen

I had to take an emergency trip to NJ yesterday. Here's why.

When is home not a home?

People in the U.S. are struggling to keep their homes in this global recession. There are foreclosures all around, so maybe it's not too far of a stretch to compare that to the Chicago Fire's struggles at home this season? Right? Not too far of a stretch?

See what I did there? That's called "making a leap."

Anyway, the Fire lost at Toyota Park again Saturday night, falling 1-0 to Eastern Conference-rival D.C. United.

The Fire may be second in the East, but they're an incredibly average 4-4-4 at home while getting outscored 13-11. This has become a big problem among the fan base of the team, and understandably so. Fortunately, the Fire has the best road record in MLS at 6-2-4, further proving people from around the country are struggling with home.

Too much of a leap there?

Well, prior to Saturday's loss, my good friend Coz decided to do a bit more investigating into this Fire struggling at home bit.

You see, Coz is a nerd. He loves numbers and he loves to make numbers mean something, so he broke down the Fire's history at home and gave us a very interesting analysis. He also has his own thoughts on the matter, but overall ... he's still a nerd.

Yes, I fully expect him to read this and make some kind of snarky remark. I mean, he's from New Jersey, so should I expect anything less?