Not so fast, you Serb.

And the aura of Kirsty COventry increases yet again, with what could essentially be Zimbabwe's only gold, and last medal at these Olympics. She outdoes Margaret Hoelzer in the 200-meter backstroke. Meanwhile, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers dump Martin Laciga and Jan Schnider in men's volleyball.

Not on my watch, Milorad Cavic. Not on my fucking watch will you spoil the party. Michael Phelps outdoes the American racing for Serbia in an Olympic record time. Andrew Lauterstein of Australia gets the bronze.

He's tied with Mark Spitz. Bring on tomorrow. That's for busting our water polo team, Milo.

I will say that this was not his best swim, but he got just enough to win. And that, everyone, is what matters.

NEXT!

Time Out: Long Beach Pony League

I take a time-out from the hullabaloo of the Olympics to let you know that Long Beach Pony League is on the cusp of greatness. Bring on Taiwan or Puerto Rico. More so those Taiwanese.

LB rally places team in title tilt

YOUTH BASEBALL: Team rallies late with three runs, will face Taiwan or Puerto Rico.

By Brian Biaotto, Correspondent

Article Launched: 08/14/2008 11:19:46 PM PDT

The Long Beach All-Stars scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning and were able to hold off Tamiami, Fla., 9-7, at the Pony World Series in Washington, Pa. to advance to the championship game Saturday at 10 a.m. PDT.

They did it in spite of committing four errors, several base running blunders, leaving 12 runners on base and trailing 6-3 in the sixth inning.

Daniel DeWolf was the star of the game, going 5-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs, three runs scored and stole three bases for Long Beach.

Chase DeJong came in and closed out the win for Long Beach, going the seventh inning and allowing a run.

DeJong struck out two to secure the Long Beach spot in the title game.

"The atmosphere was electric and you could feel the tension in the air," Long Beach manager Ken Jakemer said. "This was the worst defensive night we've had and we were just fortunate we hit so well. We will need to play our best baseball to win the championship on Saturday."

Soloman Williams went the first four innings for Long Beach, allowing four runs, but only two were earned. Williams gave up six hits, walked one and struck out four.

A leadoff walk and an error in the bottom of the fourth inning did Williams in, then Tamiami scored four runs to take a 5-3 lead.

Long Beach came back with three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 6-5 lead.

Oliver Van Buskirk went 1 innings before being replaced by DeWolf, who inherited a bases loaded and two-out jam.

DeWolf hit a Florida batter to bring in the tying run, but got Joey Gomez to get out of the inning.

Thomas Walker had two hits and drove in four runs, Oliver Van Buskirk hit a solo home run to start the sixth inning rally and Avery Flores had two hits and scored three times.

Said Jakemer: "I don't want to begin thinking where we'd be without Daniel's (DeWolf) performance tonight."

Long Beach (14-0) saw undefeated Taiwan lose its first game of the tournament Thursday in a 7-4 setback to Puerto Rico.

The winner of today's rematch will face Long Beach on Saturday in the title game.

Even more thoughts from Day 7

Roger Federer is on the decline. First, he loses to Rafael Nadal in the finals at Wimbledon. ANd now, in Beijing, he loses to James Blake in the quarterfinals. What is up with Roger? This guy, who once was in the company of Tiger and Thierry, has been on the downswing as of late. If he gets the top seed at Flushing Meadows, I will be crying foul. That honor should go to Rafael Nadal.

===

With China due for gold in badminton, judo and weightlifting, they are going to gain some ground back on us in the total medals and golds. Wonder how long they will keep it up.

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Canada is looking for some payback in soccer after we pasted them in softball (much to their own undoing). I am not putting my money on that happening, though.

===

We barely did better than the Chinese in the Team Sprint today. We finished 8th, they finished 9th, we got in, they didn't.

Whew.

===

Our USA men's quadruple sculls side saved our skins. We finished in the top three to qualify for the final. Not as good as Italy, but better than France. And I just found out that we got a little payback for what Cuba's baseball side did to us (although to be honest, it's our fault for not getting out best team [i.e. committed MLB players] out there).

===

While I'm steaming at our lack of punch in baseball and archery, the Chinese supporters are coming after the men's soccer team for their suckitude the same way we are for our USA side.

The irony is this: both women's sides are still in the tournament. We face Canada, they face Japan.

===

Okay, maybe we didn't have it as bad. They had two losses and a draw; we had one of each (W, D, L). We still got eliminated, though.

Unfortunately for the ladies, Mother Nature intervened again, with the ladies 1-0 up on Canada in the 20th minute. Good thing USA softball team finished their games already. A possible serendipity of a blessing.

===

As the Williams sisters took out Sugiyama and Morita, the match between James Blake and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez was nothing short of entertaining. It was one of those classics you couldn't get out of your head, albeit it was just a mere best-of-three.

Both players made the most of it. Ultimately, it was the Chilean, who looked to improve on his bronze-medal finish in Athens, getting a shot at perhaps Rafael Nadal (unless Novak Djokovic spoils the party), 4-6, 7-5, and 11-9.

Something about the poor choice of music for Beijing at the tennis courts is being talked about on NBCOlympics.com. Looks like the Parade of Nations wasn't the only miss for the committee soundtrack-wise. I take it most of the home fans haven't been to the All England Club their entire lives.

Figures.

===

Texas's Leonel Manzano finished outside the top 5 in his heat. He was sixth. There can be no solace from finishing sixth if your time is not the top four among those outside the top five in any of the heats. He's going to have to play the waiting game.

His countrymen Lopez LOmon and Bernard Lagat move on to the next round. He also move on with one of the four best times outside of the top five in each heat. Not bad.

===

With the women's volleyball game against China going on at the same time as the basketball game against Spain, I flip a coin in a best-of-seven to see which one I should check first.

It's basketball in a clean sweep. However, Matt Vasgersian on the USA Network says that "For those of you wanting the see the USA women's basketball take on Spain, we can only be on one place at one time, so we will show you the soccer first..."

That effectively made my coin flip moot. I am resigned to the volleyball.

===

MIdway through the first game, MSNBC also decides to cut to another press conference regarding the situation in Georgia. I thought they were not supposed to mix sport with politics. I believe this justifies the futility of that premise.

So I switch back to the soccer, only to see Canada tie the match up.

Luckily for me, Dubya had only a few words to say, before heading off. Thanks for gutting the best part of the game, you GOP asshole! And now back to the volleyball.

The USA fails to hold off China in Game 1, losing 25-23. I hurl an empty water bottle at the screen in disgust.

====

Meanwhile, I check online the women's basketball team, and even they are struggling. 31-25 lead over Spain with 5:19 to go in the second. I'm thinking: what the bloody hell is going on with the USA women today?

I mean, the basketball team is bouncing back to end up trouncing them, but the soccer and especially volleyball teams are looking flat-out awful and need top ask themselves the question, "Is it in you?".

I need some Gatorade.

===

Christian Cantwell give the USA their first track and field medal at these games, and it's a silver in the shot put. POland's Tomasz Majewski took home the first gold. Shalane Flanagan brought home bronze in the women's 10,000 meters as Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba brough home the gold.

===

To my sheer relief, the women's volleyball team ended up stunning the Chinese team and the home crowd, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11. They went on a tear late in the fourth, and they never looked back.

You're good, Jennifer Lang Ping. You're good.

Also, the USA's women's soccer team rode on Natasha Kai's heroics in the 101st minute to beat Canada 2-1 in extra time. Au revoir, Even Pellerud. To my surprise, the Chinese women also failed to deliver, losing to Japan 2-0. Uh oh...Now the home folks there deserve to be displeased.

But what about Jenny and Pia's girls. I mean, I knew that they had to stop the bleeding fast, and make it an all-or-nothing deal if they want to contend for some shiny pendants. So I was quite pleased that they finally got the job done, a testament of their resilincy. I was thinking, "Torrent, baby."

Archery and baseball letdowns among a plethora of fail

Ronda Rousey is the only one from our side who will be getting a medal in judo. And for her, it's a bronze.

===

The women's water polo team marches on, beating Russia 12-7. Meanwhile, the Bryan Brothers will be facing Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka in the semis and the WIlliams sisters are at work against Ai Sugiyama and Ayumi Morita.

===

Interesting note about Matthew Emmons, who got silve in the Men's 50-meter Rifle Prone. His wife is Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic. She got the gold. And get this: both of them are from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, the defending NCAA Rifle Champions.

That explains it. Matt owes Kate dinner though, I would imagine. And some. I choose not to comment further on that.

===

The next big small country hero is a man by the name of Tuvshinbayar Naidan. His gold in judo, the first-ever gold for Mongolia, caused a party never before seen in Ulan Bator, the nation's capital. They will dedicate a lot of stuff in him name, I guarantee you. It's a national holiday.

===

The Cat Returns (in spite of giving up a no-no). Thank you Mother Nature for your divine intervention. The USA reeled off 8 unanswered runs in the 6th inning to take it, 8-1.

Bring on Taiwan-er, Chinese Taipei.


===

In spite of our success in gymnastics and swimming, there are some events where we have flat-out failed to show up. Disappointments that demand major administrative overhaul. And I mean MAJOR. So while the day wasn't as lousy as yesterday...we've had our share of lousy performances too.

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AG Kruger III failed to qualify for the final round of the hammer throw. Daniel McCormick lost to Lasha Gujejiani of Georgia. One of the few times where a Georgian outdoes an American. This wasn't the biggest downer today.

===

Wouldn't you know it, the next person to dope is a North Korean, followed by a Vietnamese. Kim Jong Su and Thi Ngan Thuong Do doped. For Kim Jong Su, this especially depressing because he won medals in shooting: silver and bronze.

While this is bad for North Korea, its a schadenfruede shooting theatre for the USA. We are now at 44 medals, since Jason Turner gets the bronze.

That's three sheep gone astray. Poor Kim is going to need to defect ASAP in a hurry if he wants to save his life. I would imagine they would execute him for this.

For Thi Ngan, this was unfortunate. She was last in the floor exercise during qualification, but she was misinformed on what to take, and what not take. Given that she's from Vietnam, she may also need to seek asylum fast.

===

Perhaps the only major downer today teamwise is the baseball team. They lost to Cuba, 5-4. I don't know about you, but I think the only sports where we are doing reasonably well against Cuba is beach volleyball. That's it.

And to think my Galaxy tying Chivas USA 2-2 earlier tonight was crap enough...we REALLY need to send in our best players a la World Baseball Classic down there. This is unacceptable. We really need to send out our World Baseball Classic squad the next time we compete...which is...2016 at the earliest. Fresno State could beat this USA side. Utterly crap.

===

There is some reason to believe that China's women's gymnastics team lied about their age. He Kexin, one of the members was said to be 13 or 14, and not 16. There was an article on this in the Xinhua News, which was taken down, but it did say that she was below the minimum age requirement.

Now, I don't know about the rule if a team lies about their age while winning gold, if it means that they will be stripped or if the gymnast in question is off the record, but let me be honest with you: I don't have any issues of China winning gold, or any medal for that matter. The question is: "Did they play by the rules?" If they didn't (and this is CHINA we're talking about here; they do things a WHOLE LOT DIFFERENTLY when it comes to gray zones like this), then the team needs to be penalized in a manner that is fair to the other athletes and teams competing.

Plain and simple.

===

Double sculls has not been friendly to us this Olympics. Our women finish behind the Greeks-of all teams!-to end up racing in the "B" final. Same thing for light weight men's fours. Our team finishes dead last in our semifinal.

===

Speaking of absolute crap, archery has to be a big disappointment here in the states. Obviously badminton deserves to be at the top of the list, but to find out that no one from the USA will medal in archery deserves a moment of silence. Victor Wunderle, our best hope for a medal here, loses to Juan Rene Serrano from Mexico, securing our futility.

Crank up the Border Patrol and send in the Minutemen and Taps bugle boy for good measure; archery is now rendered by yours truly as a forgotten sport. And this is from someone who comes from a city with an archery centre that was part of the Olympics in 84.

Not Lousy Day 7 for the USA.

Now it's Ryan Lochte, the skateboarding speedster, who has to race two finals. In the 200-m backstroke, he faces Aaron Peirsol. In the 200-meter individual medley, it's Michael Phelps. And in each of those races, he also faces six others who are just as competent.

Conventional wisdom (a logical female hound from hell) calls for a gold/silver in the backstroke, and a silver in the IM, for Lochte, with a 1-2 finish. Don't tell that to Ryan, though. There would be nothing better than for Lochte to stop his fellow countryman's gold-medal record hunt by taking it for himself.

===

At last, the track and field events are underway. We start with some heptathlon and shot-put, followed by some qualifying heats for speed.
Delicious.

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Happy birthday, Kerri Walsh. Naturally, she celebrates her 30th year with Misty May as they polish off Belgium's Liesbeth Mouha and Liesbet van Breedam, but it wasn't easy. They were struggling in the first set, winning 24-22, before coming backt oform in the second, 21-10.

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Take that, Australia! Rebecca Soni of the USA sets a new world record in the women's 200-meter breastroke, defeating Leisel Jones. It's a 2:20:22 for Soni.

Now THAT's more like it. Next!

===

It was Aaron Peirsol vs. Ryan Lochte vs. the rest of the competition in the men's 200-meter backstroke. Well, another record just had to tumble, right?

And that's exactly what happened. Phelps has to be thinking, "Awww damn." Or, "Okay, we got back a couple medals, next." It's a 1:53:94 for Lochte. And Peirsol finished second. For a few fleeting moments, we were up on China in total medals. Still 10 behind in the gold department.

===

I got a bad feeling about Meagen Nay of AUstralia. She has a great opportunity to upstage Kirsty Coventry, Liz Beisel and Margaret Hoelzer in the women's 200-meter backstroke final. Nay finished between Coventry and Hoelzer in her semifinal today.

===

Yang Yilin was the catalyst and culprit for China's victory. She's matched with Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson. Meanwhile, the likes of Anna Pavlova (not the ballerina, whose dessert is named in her honor) and Ksenia Semenova can only hope to redeem themselves for Russian decline in women's gymnastics.

===

And Michael Phelps cuts the total gold deficit to 8, with another world record slaughtered. I have to despise Lazslo Cseh of Hungary. Bloody spoiler halted a 1-2 finish for the USA. Nonetheless, in the total medal count, we are up by four on China. For now.

===

The spoiler at the pool today was Britta Steffen of Germany in the women's 100-meter freestyle. Lisbeth "Libby" Trickett should also thank China for false-starting in the semi. For now, we are 5 ahead in the medal count, but 8 behind in the gold count. Natalie Coughlin got the bronze. At least China was shut out at the pool, for once, today.

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COuld the USA medal in the men's shot-put? All three entries-Christian Cantwell, Resse Hoffa and Adam Nelson-qualified by right.

===

I've also got a bad feeling about Milo Cavic of Serbia. His water polo brethren had our number. Could it happen again tomorrow? By the blood of Michael Phelps, I hope not!

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I sometimes don't get the hypocriticism from the commentators in gymnastics. First they say they don't know why, and then they say, "There are [number] areas," thus saying, that they actually DO.

Be honest, Tim. Which is it, pretentious hypocrite commentator?

===

Hallelujah! Praise to God! We are gaining ground on the Chinese in the gold medal department (pending archery, badminton, judo, weightlifting and ther like). Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson make it a 1-2 for the USA in the women's all-around, while Yang Yilin gets the bronze. 43 medals so far: 14 gold, 12 silver, 17 bronze. And we will be chipping away at that deficit in the days to come.

Fancy being on a Wheaties box, both of you?

Lousy Day 6 for the USA

I suppose it does suck not to see Michael Phelps swim for any medals today. Kosuke Kitajima got his second gold in the 200-meter breaststroke, while China made it 1-2 in the women's 200-meter butterfly. The Americans were not a factor in either of these races, with 6th and 7th/8th finishes, respectively.

If China tears it up in the track & field events, we are in trouble when it comes to the gold medal haul. The USA-Soviet Union rivalry will be replaced with the USA-China rivalry in a hurry.

===

As I watch the USA stand tall against a game German side (who would eventually come out on top), I have to say that even though we are not through with round-robin action, this team has improved in leaps and bounds. If Lee Bodimeade is given the ol' heave-ho after this is over, I will not be surprised.


I do hate Germany's coach here, though. He celebrated like Michael Ballack, Lukas Podolski and the crew won the FIFA World Cup. Typical Deutsch schwagger. The schiesskopf.`

===

In the battle between Eamon Sullivan of Australia and Alain Bernard of France in the men's 100-meter freestyle, the Frenchman edges the Aussie by .11 of a second, while Jason Lezak gets a bronze in the background. Pieter van den Hoogenband, the Dutchman who upstaged us in Athens, was not a factor in this race; "Hoagie Bun" finished fifth. Interesting to note that Cesar Cielo Filho of Brazil finished tied with Lezak. Brazil DO have some competent swimmers, after all.

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This was a crappy day for our swimmers. All that work...and only two bronzes to show for it. AUstralia set a new world record, winning the women's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay.

===

Outside of baseball, basketball and beach volleyball, there really hasn't been much to cheer about for the USA today. Actually, it has been rather lousy. Adding insult to defeat, the USA's men's water polo team were dealt their first defeat of these games...to Serbia. And the women's fencing team is consigned to fight for the bronze after the Ukraine stunned them in the team sabre semis.

It's mystifying to see the USA show up individually, but not as a team. Really mystifying.

Further, early on in softball, the USA is trailing Canada 1-0. This game would be postponed to tomorrow.

===

China has to be the new Soviet Union in terms of athleticism. They will be facing the Ukraine in the women's team sabre final. While they ended up losing by one point to them, they already have surpassed us-for-today-in total medals, along with golds. They are off to a flying start.

===

In anticipation of my interview, I decide to go ahead and take a long power nap.

===

As expected, the Greeks were doused in men's hoops, 92-69. The baseball team bounced back with a 7-0 shutout of the Netherlands. And the men's volleyball team, after dropping the first set 29-27, roared back to win the next three, 25-21, 25-14 and 26-24, and win the match.

Aside from that, the day for the Americans was still lousy.

Olympic Quick Hits on Day Five: High Fives and Let-Downs

I had the honor of witnessing one of the more underachieving performances of our USA swim team. Katie Hoff finishes fourth in the 200-meter freestyle. She might as well finished last in this face because out of those who will not be on the podium, she was the best of them. Pure suckitude at the pool. Her gymnastic sisters will need some inspiration, because China's Pang Jiaying finished ahead of Hoff.

===

These world records keep falling like flies at this pool. Michael Phelps outdoes New Zealand's Moss Burmeister in the 200-meter butterfly.

Next.

===

No fluke about it...Even more bad news from the pool for the ladies: there will be NO Americans in the finals of the women's 200-meter butterfly. Kathleen Hershey finished tied for fourth, while Elaine Breeden finished sixth. The women REALLY haven't had their way at the pool today.

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Romania's gymnasts have not been as dominant as they were before. In the past, these ladies gave us, the Russians, and the Chinese fits. Now, NBC says that this team has been "Westernized," although it's a redundant, pretentious description of the team. I prefer the fact that they have not been as strong as they have been before. Suddenly, even Australia, who is not even a threat to medal in this competition could outdo the Romanian team. That will show you how bad things have been for the team as of late.

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And to add insult to futility, Hoff finishes fourth. AGAIN. This time it's in the 200-m Individual Medley. Natalie Coughlin gives the USA a bronze, while Kirsty Coventry (who I affectionately [sic] call Mugabe's bitch, and it's for a reason; you can look it up in your head) has beeing seeing nothing but silver. The favorite was Australia's Stephanie Rice, and another world record was felled.

But Katie Hoff...oh man. The only medal she got at these games was a silver medal. We have seen teams that have fallen below expectations, but among our group of USA Olympians, Katie Hoff has underachieved with style.

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Holy Toledo, Batman! The USA 4 x 200m freestyle relay team break 7 minutes. 6 minutes, and 58.26 seconds! Ohhhhhhhhh! A new World, Olympic, Americas, and USA record. Thank you NASA for those suits. Russia finishes second, Australia finishes third. And Michael Phelps gets another gold.

Next!

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Alicia Sacramone, how could you? I'm not sure if you have an account here on deviantART, but how could you fail stick the mount on the balance beam? I think you need a hug from Haruhi Suzumiya in a hurry. A big hug, one of the symmetrical docking kind. A hug that will allow you to believe in yourself through the blushes.

More on this in my next entry.

Olympic Quick Hits, Days 4 and 5

So far, I've been singing the praises of Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, but another of the feel-good stories of these games is Azerbaijan's Elnur Mammadli. Competing in judo in the Under 73 kg category, his gold medal performance renders him a national hero in the Land of Fire.

I am reminded of the days of the original Dream Team as I check out a video of their gold-medal slaughter of Croatia. Ironically, they are facing Angola later today, the first team that the USA fought against in Barcelona.

Good times. Good times.

Yet another Olympian from a small country is Bejamin Boukpeti of Togo, His bronze medal will in an inspiration for many Togolais to take up kayaking. Boukpeti is now a hero in his homeland, like Mammadli from Azerbaijan.

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I sure hope Michael Phelps does not race like Big Brown in the Belmont when take care of the races today at the Water Cube. There are seven others swimming against him, and they all have Da'Tara's inspiration in their Speedos.

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The ladies must pull out all the stops against China at the Olympic Green in women's gymnastics. They must. Just like their volleyball counterparts need to get back on the winning track against Venezuela.

More Olympic Quick Hits, Day 4

More Olympic quick hits: Day 4

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Well, a bronze is better than finishing fourth. See, I believe that finishing fourth in the Olympics is just as good as finishing last. But there have been some unfortunate luck for our guys. The Hamm Brothers got injured. And we flat-out stunk it up in the floor and pommel.

Thank God for Sasha Artemev. He bailed the boys out. The USA would end up with a 275.850, good enough for the bronze. Japan got the silver with a 278.875 thanks to some acrobatics on the high bar (honto ni doitashimashite, Nihon no otoko-jin), and the home fans got to see China get their well-deserved gold medal, with 286.125 points.

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Inside the Water Cube, Michael Phelps does his record-smashing business in the 200-meter freestyle (Peter Vanderkaay got bronze, behind South Korea's Park Tae-Hwan), Natalie Coughlin rolls on in the 100-meter backstroke, and the duo of Aaron Peirsol and Matt Grevers make it a 1-2 deal at the 100-meter backstroke. Leisel Jones played spoiler, though, with her win in the 100-meter breastroke. Rebecca Soni got the silver for the USA.

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Regardless of what happens at these games, I have nothing but scathing remarks for the IOC's decision to drop baseball and softball after these Games. As well as the decision not to add any other sports.

They got a ways to go before they can be compared with Hu Jintao's minions in terms of totalitarianism, and miles to go before they are in Kim JOng-Il's league. But they are getting there, if at a snail's pace. They ARE getting there.

Meanwhile, Venezuela is getting hung out to dry by this USA side.

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The biggest victory of the season for the Galaxy...

Alexi Lalas and Ruud Gullit have resigned. This has to be, if it were to be in the standings, a huge win for the fans who have suffered through match days of pure suckitude.

AEG President and CEO makes "sweeping changes" to Galaxy

Carson, CA (Sports Network) - Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy officially announced on Monday that Ruud Gullit, the team's head coach, has resigned from his position. The Galaxy also announced that team President and General Manager Alexi Lalas has been relieved of his duties, effective immediately.

"Both parties have agreed on mutually-agreeable terms to part company," Timothy J. Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG, the investor/operators of the Galaxy, said of Gullit's resignation. "It is an amicable arrangement and we appreciate and respect the issues that Ruud has highlighted with the club and are very grateful for all the hard work he has contributed while with the organization. Hopefully, he has laid the foundations for future success for the Los Angeles Galaxy."

Gullit, a native of Amsterdam, cited "personal reasons" for leaving the team.

"In truth, it has proved a lot more difficult than I anticipated for my family to settle in the area and the club has been very supportive and understanding of my decision," Gullit said. "I would like to thank the players and the fans for their fantastic support and I wish the L.A. Galaxy much success in the future. I would now like to spend some time with my family before considering any other position in football."

Lalas leaves after he joined the team in April of 2006 after serving in the same capacity with the New York Red Bulls.

"With Ruud moving on, we believe that this is the right time to make more sweeping changes throughout the organization," Leiweke said. "Our commitment continues to be focused on not only winning the MLS Cup this and every season, but to build a club capable of competing at the international level. This decision is the right one for the organization, the right one for the players and the right one for our fans. We thank Alexi for the tremendous hard work and dedication he brought to his job each and every day."

The "sweeping changes" are made necessary because of a seven-game winless streak that has seen the Galaxy drop to fourth in the mediocre Western Conference.

Galaxy assistant coach Cobi Jones will serve as the club's interim head coach. He will be assisted by current Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development Trevor James and Goalkeeper Coach Ian Feuer.

Paul Bravo, L.A.'s Director of Soccer, will continue in the role of overseeing all issues related to the Galaxy's roster while Assistant General Manager Tom Payne will continue to oversee the team's front office.

08/11 16:34:43 ET

Has it really been that long?

I am checking my YouTube profile, established on New Year's Eve in 2005, and I can't believe that the last time I posted a music video was in 2004, somewhere along those lines. I was attending a junior college in those days, and as I was fooling around at Long Beach City College, I made a few anime music videos. After that, I lost interest in making these types of flicks, due to school and cheering for Long Beach State. My priorities changed.

However, this August, I was inspired to do it again. With a system rebounding from an autonuke, a plethora of spicy stock footage and a certain Van Halen song, I was compelled to go at it again. And so, my first-ever AMV in over a few years was made. You can see this on my blog, on the left side. I had to reupload it due to the crappy, choppy audio. ffdshow is such a bitch when it decides to fuck up my background music. It turned out much better.

Well, enjoy. You can check out my new vid under "BoBA Video of the Week."

You Frenchies need to quit talking outta yer derrieres.

Olympic Quick Hits, Day 3

Pop quiz: Suppose you have a situation involving a Frenchwoman and her love affair with an Italian beau. Both of them are swimmers. And then, this guy flaunts his infidelity by sleeping with a fellow Italian woman, also a swimmer. The French girl's life is emotionally crushed. As luck would have it, both of them qualify for the 400m freestyle final in Beijing. What do you do?

Answer:
Get a couple of competent Brits in Rebecca Adlington and Joanne Jackson, and sandwich them around American Katie Hoff. And that, my friends is what happened.

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Rowdy Gaines, you are a bloody toof for exploting Hoff's orgasmic groans of disgust. You shagbag womanizer.

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The French 4 x 100 M relay team is praying for divine intervention a la Tour de France 2000's era. They are praying to their personal Jesuses that the Americans doped.

Well, just like Beijing, God can't control everything. But if your prayers are somehow answered, none of you are welcomed into my Maison de BoBA. And zat, my friend, is de bottom line. Hon hon hon.

Archery is a sport where we clearly suck at. The USA lost to Taiwan in the men's team quarterfinals.
By 4 points. Mercy.

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Cuba seems to be our bogey team in women's volleyball. Out here in the states, we can only hope that our ladies bounce back, becuase I think our men will fare better than these poor MILFs. I can solace in the fact that their guys wouldn't stand a chance against David Lee and the gang.

Ugh. Horrid performance. They wouldn't stand a chance against Penn State's ladies. Venezuela's gonna be gulping right now.

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God bless Lauren Wenger. Her game winning shot with the women's water polo team a player up gave the USA a 12-11 victory. It was a sharp contrast to the 108-63 farce of a game against their respective basketball counterparts.

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Out of all the non-USA threads that the basketballing chicks wear, I like Australia's the best. I don't know; I just dig hot sheilas in tight fits like that.

Random Olympic Thoughts, Day 2

Random Olympic Thoughts, Day 2

The BOCOG owes us an apology for cutting our anthem short after Michael Phelps won the men's 4 x 100M Individual Medley. The person who played this needs to be recalled. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some political intent behind this. If there actually was some foul play, let Bonga be proud to say to you, "I told you so."

Speaking of shockers, how about Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry. Forget the fact that Stephanie Rice of Australia got them their first gold medal at the pool, smashing Katie Hoff's world record (Hoff got the bronze). I do not remember Zimbabwe having any medalists in swimming. Coventry is going to come back to Zimbabwe as a national heroine. I'm not kidding. For all the hell that has gone through Zimbabwe, with the election sham and blood flowing out of the wasteland that is Mugabestan...she has given her countrymen and countrywomen a reason to celebrate. It's a national holiday down in Zimbabwe.

Actually, after further research, I found out that she got the collection at Athens. So her aura increases with each medal draped on her neck.

And I reckon that the dirty old ape is clapping his hands after seeing this. As well as Morgan Tsvangirai. The continuing legend of Kirsty Coventry has to be one of the feel-good stories of these games, and we're only in Day 2! Could there be more to come?

Pending the dope checks, yes! Korea's Park Tae-Wan wins their first swimming gold medal in the Men's 400m Freestyle. China Zhang Lin finishes second, while another bronze goes to Larsen Jensen.

---

Curses! The Dutch best us for gold in the women's 4 x 100 freestyle relay. Peter Nowak and the boys...you all know what you have to do.

---

Tang Yongming will have no chance at entering the gates of heaven for murdering Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law. How they let this psychomaniac from Hangzhou out in the open to do this is just adding insult to the USA's cause. First the screw up the anthem for Phelps. Now this.

When out men's hoops and water polo teams head out there later tonight/today against the home country, no mercy will be spared on them.

Olympic Quick Hits; Days -2, -1, 0 and 1

Olympic Quick Hits; Days -2, -1, 0 and 1 Some of the lowlights I can point out from the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony... * China's athletes entering to Jarabe Tapatio. WTF!? * No playing of the Olympics Fanfare & Theme, or Bugler's Dream. * Estonia's threads. Yuck Highlights: * The BOCOG can rest assure that Li Ning was not hurt, or did not fall to his death, when being gurney upward to light the cauldron. * The caligraphy painting, finished off with the athletes leaving their footprint on the parchment, should go to a museum. Or auctioned for untold riches at Sotheby's. * Love the electric taiko and 2008 time a few performers setting things up. * For the cheer girls to have to go through two hours of jumping up and down nonstop is pure guts. * Fireworks. NBC will say this was maybe too much. I say it's not enough fireworks. * HUngary and Russia had some women's suits to die for. Any delegation with handbags gets my vote of the Olympics. --- The USA women's have been doing well in the early going, with a clean sweep of the women's individual sabre, while the USA women's soccer (1-0) and volleyball (3-1) teams trounced Japan. The guys (1-0) beat Japan too. Both sides need a win in their next match to go through. No question, the NEtherlands will be a test for Landon and company. The women's hoops team also ripped apart the Czech Republic. All in all, a good start for the USA. --- Commisserations to the Roughriders of Saskatchewan for finally suffering their first defeat. I think the guys who are injured neet to get healthy fast, or Ken Miller and Eric Tillman are gpoing to need some talented replacements in a hurry. --- Cheers to Aldershot and AFC Wimbledon on winning their first contests in their first seasons in the Football League Two and Football Conference South, respectively.

Ah, the power of autonuke

A Trojan horse attack on my computer turned out to be a blessing.

There's this program called DBAN - Darik's Boot and Nuke. It's a program that allows you to clean your hard drive thanks to an autonuke feature, and get rid of any other lingering programs that might harm your computer. It's awesome stuff. I was able to get my machine back to normal after the Trojan attack. And it's all thanks to BongaDad.

He may have a foot lagging from a bout of gout, but when it comes to figuring out what the fuss with my computer is all about, without a doubt, he packs a clout.

---

How about that Melbourne Victory side. They are a football team from Melbourne, Australia, and they won the A-League Preseason Cup. Even though the USA Women stunk like Limburger against Norway the same day, keeper Michael Theoklitos is clutch.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

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Victory win A-League pre-season cup

August 6, 2008 - 9:33PM


Melbourne Victory have claimed the first silverware of the A-League season, defeating Wellington Phoenix 8-7 in a marathon penalty shootout in the final of the pre-season cup at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

Reigning A-League goalkeeper of the year Michael Theoklitos proved the difference between the two sides, making two spectacular stops during the second half and then saving Karl Dodd's penalty to win the shootout after 18 kicks.

Phoenix striker Shane Smeltz and Victory's Nick Ward had earlier blazed their spot kicks over the crossbar.

The match had finished 0-0 at fulltime, the Phoenix having slightly the better of proceedings before falling just short of becoming the first New Zealand club to claim a trophy in an Australian competition.

The home side fielded close to their best line-up with the only notable absentees being skipper Andrew Durante who sat out the match through suspension, while defender Tony Lochhead remained unavailable after recent trials with Middlesbrough.

Conversely ,Victory went into the match without a number of key squad members including regular captain Kevin Muscat, experienced midfielder Grant Brebner, plus Olyroos trio Archie Thompson, Leigh Broxham and Billy Celeski.

Goalscoring opportunities were rare with the match commencing in scrappy fashion on a greasy surface in front of over 9,000 fans who braved the chilly conditions.

Chances in the first half were largely a result of defensive errors with Phoenix goalkeeper Glen Moss misjudging a regulation Matthew Kemp cross and catching the ball at the second attempt as match officials ignored Victory appeals that the ball had crossed the line.

At the other end of the field Adam Kwasnik should have done better but headed over the crossbar after the Victory had left the striker unmarked from a free kick.

It was a match in which defence dominated with both sets of defenders solid throughout and former Socceroos Jon McKain for the Phoenix and Michael Thwaite for Victory particularly prominent.

The match sprang to life mid-way through the second stanza with Richard Johnson's stunning long range effort requiring an equally spectacular save from Victory goalkeeper Theoklitos.

Carlos Hernandez warmed the palms of Moss soon after with his own powerful strike from distance in what was a relatively quiet night for the Costa Rican international.

The best chance of the match came ten minutes from time with Phoenix's prolific striker Smeltz producing a diving header that saw Theoklitos at full stretch to tip the ball around the post.

"It was a tough one, but we did the job," said Victory coach Ernie Merrick.

"Right from the kick-off they pressured us and made sure we couldn't get our passing game going.

"When your goalkeeper is one of your best players and your other two are probably (defenders) Michael Thwaite and Roddy Vargas, you know that you haven't played your best football.

"But sometimes you play a game like that when you're not at your best and you come away with a win, and you think 'not a bad team to get that sort of result with not the best performance'.

"It has been the perfect preparation for the A-league season, and to get to the final, which the boys set themselves the challenge of winning, it sets us up really well for the A-league season."

Phoenix captain Jon McKain said he was impressed with his team's effort as they build towards just their second season in the competition.

"Penalties are always a lottery, and we didn't seem to get that bit of luck tonight," McKain said.

© 2008 AAP
Brought to you by aap

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Onward!

On Pali Blues and Calgary's woes

And now, BoBA presents the Top 5 reasons why You Can't Blame umpire Bill Hagans for ruining Calgary's chances of dealing Saskatchewan their first defeat of the season on my birthday:

5. Stampeders head coach John Hufnagel to snub QB Henry Burris to do a QB sneak on 3rd down with 64 seconds to go in the game, opting to hand-off to Joffrey Reynolds.
4. The return of Marcus Crandell. He delivered on his return from injury.
3. Wes Cates. Always reliable.
2. Saskatchewan riding on a successful Grey Cup campaign. The Roughriders played as a team in spite of injuries, and found a way to win.
1. Sandro DeAngelis. His leg failed him on a 54-yard attempt to win it for the Stamps.

---

Well, it's not very often, if ever, that a sports club/franchise can say "In my expansion year, we ended up winning the championship." The last team to do that was the Colorado Avalanche, who, in their first year out of Quebec, took home ste Stanley Cup. But it's not often you seen a first-year club go undefeated while winning the title.

Pali Blues Soccer Club, a women's side from the Pacific Palisades part of Los Angeles, is an example of this. A 2-1 come-from-behind victory over FC Indiana gave them their first-ever W-League Championship.

Pali win W-League Championship
Expansion Blues rally from first deficit of the season to win title

USL News Release

Saturday, August 2, 2008

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA -- It’s not always the case that a game can live up to the hype, but the Pali Blues 2-1 victory over FC Indiana in the W-League Championship game will be remembered for ages.

The Pali Blues came out loose and relax and it showed early in the contest. Pali was in control of the game early, dominating possession and getting everyone involved. On the other hand, FC Indiana looked nervous and the big game jitters definitely contributed to early FC Indiana miscues.

Although FC Indiana could not keep possession for any period of time, their defense was solid and Pali could not create any true scoring chances. Jessica O’Rourke was key in FC Indiana’s early defensive play as Head Coach Shek Borkowski unleashed a defensive strategy which clogged up the space that the athletic Blues desperately needed.

“Shek did an excellent coaching job tonight,” said Pali Head Coach Charlie Naimo. “He was able to take away our athleticism and we were really in trouble.”

The first big moment of the match came in the 30th minute when FC Indiana thought they took the early lead. Laura Del Rio played a beautiful curling ball in the front of the Pali goalmouth, where the awaiting Lauren Sesselmann headed into the goal. However, Sesselmann was whistled for being a step offside.

Pali responded quickly to FC Indiana’s scoring chance with one of their own. US youth international Danesha Adams sent a through ball to India Trotter, who looked to have a good shot on goal. However, Trotter tried one too many moves and the retreating FC Indiana defense deflected Trotter’s shot wide.

Right before the end of the first half it looked again like FC Indiana would take a 1-0 lead when midfielder Lena Mosebo blew past a defender on the wing and found an open Spain international Laura Del Rio at the top of the box. Del Rio’s shot was pushed aside by Pali goalie Val Henderson and the deflection went towards the direction of the back post and also towards the direction of a sliding Lauren Sesselmann. However, the sliding Sesselmann was unable to connect as the ball went safely out of play. The two teams headed to the half level, but with the momentum clearly in FC Indiana’s favor.

FC Indiana used that momentum to come out strong in the second half. They dominated the early play and used that advantage to score the first goal of the match. Midfielder and Mexican international Fatima Leyva sent a dangerous curling corner in the 47th minute that found the head of Jessica O’Rourke to make it 1-0 FC Indiana.

This was the first time all season that Pali trailed in a match and it took awhile for the Blues to regain their focus and command of the game.

FC Indiana continued on the offensive following the goal and in the 57th minute almost made the score 2-0 when Lauren Sesselmann went down the sidelines and sent in a cross the Del Rio just headed wide of the goal. Del Rio was at it again in the 70th minute, when she sent another beautiful cross that FC Indiana forward Mexican international Monica Ocampo got too, but was unable to put on goal.

“We were really struggling to make anything happen in the first part of the second half,” said Naimo. “We switched our formation from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3 to try and get some energy up top.”

The switch worked magically for Naimo and in the 83rd minute Pali leveled the match. Pali defender Amy LePeilbet beat all FC Indiana players in the air to the ball from a corner sent in by Rosie Tantillo and smoothly deflected the ball past FC Indiana goalie Kristen Luckenbill.

The equalizing goal sent waves of confidence through the Blues players and sent FC Indiana into a state of shock they could not recover from. Pali used the bounce in their step just five minutes later to score the game-winning goal. Defender Kandace Wilson, who was moved up top by Naimo in the second half, beat her defender on the wing and sent in a cross that went over the outstretched hands of Luckenbill. Italian international Ilaria Pasqui jumped at the opportunity and sent a diving header into the back of the net for only her second goal of the year.

FC Indiana frantically tried to gather themselves to find the equalizer, but none came, and Pali rode the strength of two goals in the final 10 minutes to win the 2008 W-League Championship.

“Our depth was a huge reason why we won this game,” said Naimo. “Our bench gave us the energy we needed and helped put us on top.”

FC Indiana’s loss was especially devastating to midfielder Kelly Parker, who is now 0-3 in W-League Championship games.

“To have the game in our hands, to be able to see the trophy right in front of us, this just hurts a lot,” said an obviously dejected Parker. “With the 1-0 goal lead we played a little bit safer but the momentum swing at the end of the game was too much to overcome.”

Kelly Parker was arguably the best player on the field tonight. She made tireless runs up and down the field and was a constant thorn in the side of the Pali Blues.

“I have never seen Kelly play this well,” said Naimo. “I can’t say enough good things about her.”

With the win the Pali Blues finished their season with a perfect 14-0-0 record, trailing only for a period of 36 minutes – as about a perfect a season as any team could produce. Star defender Amy LePeilbet was named the Most Valuable Player of the W-League Championship as she scored the goal that breathed life back to Pali.

This year’s W-League Championship tournament may have a larger impact off the field over the months to come as players are selected for the debut season of Women’s Professional Soccer. In 2000, the W-League final four would see 23 players go on to be drafted by the Women’s United Soccer Association as it embarked on its first year, including star players like Charmaine Hooper, Marci Miller, Lisa Krzykowski, Thori Bryan and Nel Fettig. Five players with WUSA experience were in the Virginia Beach this weekend with Seattle’s Michelle French and Washington foursome of Kele Golebiowski, Emily Janss, Lori Lindsey and Christie Welsh.

Hey Jared Weaver...

Jared Weaver:

Thank you for ruining what was once a day where my teams were on a roll. I knew someone was going to be the goat. I could not believe that it was you, of all people. Maybe we should change your name to Judas for your betrayal of all things Angelic pitching.

....................../´¯/)
....................,/¯../
.................../..../
............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\
........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
.........\.................'...../
..........''...\.......... _.·´
............\..............(
..............\.............\...

If someone is going to be pitching for the Angels next year in a game held on my birthday, pray to God that it will NOT BE you.

J-R

August 2, 2008

Oh my gosh. I have turned 24 years old.

Damn.

My youth just went out the you-know-what.

How bizarre.

"And what do you want your birthday present to be?"
"A bottle of Seroquel. And health insurance."

I don't ask for much at this point in my life...except for much.

---

Today was bizarre and underachieving. Dilemmas upon dilemmas upon more dilemmas make this day a load of crap, if you ask me.

It started with a trip to this clinic I never heard of, at the corner of Anaheim and Chestnut. I tried to check it, but they told me to schedule an appointment in the afternoon. Got that done. I would come back later. More on that in a bit.

The next stop I went to was this place near San Antonio Drive and Long Beach Blvd. They asked me, are you here to file an unemployment appeal?
Crap. Why did that old guy at the Social Security Office refer me over here? Bastard.

So, I went down to the Career Transition Center, near my work at the Long Beach Bar Foundation. Guess what? In what I feel is a blatant attempt to fuel my paranoia, they changed the rules at the beginning of the month. Now I DO NEED my Social Security Card. That same card that I lost with my wallet from hell. Motherfuckers. Tomorrow I could reregister...but my bus pass would be invalid, since tomorrow begins that month of August.

With little else to do, I completed what was a brisk two hours of work at the Bar, then went back home to refuel. This huge-ass lady, who is barely getting by on welfare and smoked one too many cigarettes, one too many chitterlings and way too many bottles of alcohol, gets on board. She has cellulite from the top of her forehead to the bottom of her cankles, and her teeth were few, yellow and brown.

Ugh. All I could do was turn away and wait for the bus to drop me at the stop.

So, you think this story is over, right? Wrong. Here's some more stuff to pile on.

After I got to the clinic, the doctors there (who clearly would not be hired by the likes of Kaiser-oh God, I actually MISS having decent doctors for a change) told me that I was at the wrong place. I should have gone to the Long Beach Mental Health Clinic, near the Social Security Office. One of the staff there, called my name as if I have the hots for her. Based on her appearance, "Sorry, I'll pass. I have my limits."

So I go to that clinic up the boulevard, and the receptionist there (who, in spite of a bad hair job [ditch the mad fro, lady], was courteous) told me to check in Monday morning. EARLY MOnday morning, a la 4 or 5 a.m.

I thought at the back of my head, "Oh please, let some hot anime chick rape me now. I've had too many bizarre things happen today, get me the hell outta here!"

Not kidding, mind you.

The earthshaker!

Would you believe it; the first big earthshaker here in Los Angeles has arrived. I am posting this from my work at the Bar Foundation while preparing some grants, and what do you know, an earthquake sways this building, as well as the whole of Southern California and Vegas.

Strong quake shakes Southern California

By ROBERT JABLON
Associated Press Writer

A strong earthquake shook Southern California on Tuesday, causing buildings to sway and triggering some precautionary evacuations. No immediate damage was reported.
The jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas.
Preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake at magnitude 5.8, centered 29 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury in Los Angeles. San Bernardino County fire dispatch also had no immediate reports of damage.
The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. PDT. Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds.
Workers quickly evacuated some office buildings.
"It was dramatic. The whole building moved and it lasted for a while," said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore, who was in the sheriff's suburban Monterey Park headquarters east of Los Angeles.
In Orange County, about 2000 detectives were attending a conference on gangs at a Marriott hotel in Anaheim when a violent jolt shook the main conference room.
Mike Willever, who was at the hotel, said, "First we heard the ceiling shaking, then the chandelier started to shake, then there was a sudden movement of the floor."
Chris Watkins, from San Diego, said he previously felt several earthquakes, but "that was one of the worst ones."
Delegates and guests at a cluster of hotels near the Disneyland resort spilled into the streets immediately after the quake.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake under Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley was magnitude 6.7. It killed 72 people, injured more than 9,000 and caused $25 billion in damage in the metropolitan area.
The damage created by an earthquake depends greatly on where it hits. A 7.1 quake - much stronger than Northridge - hit the Mojave Desert in 1999 but caused only a few injuries and no deaths.
California is one of the world's most seismically active regions. More than 300 faults crisscross the state, which sits atop two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. About 10,000 quakes each year rattle Southern California alone, although most of them are too small to be felt.

Associated Press Writer Thomas Watkins in Anaheim contributed to this report.

A great day for Team USA...and Saskatchewan

It's been a great day for the national teams. First, Team USA wrapped up the gold medal in the FIVB World League (men's volleyball), downing Serbia in four games. The USA Collegiate National Team outlasted Japan in Brno, Czech Republic for the 4th World Collegiate Baseball title. And the women's U-17 national football (soccer) team crushed Costa Rica, 4-1, a few days after edging Mexico in the last minute of stoppage time, 1-0.

The only downers were my Galaxy (weaklings couldn't lay a finger to soon-to-be player of the year in MLS, Kenny Cooper and FC Dallas, 3-0) and the Angels, who saw Baltimore snap a four-game winning streak. But that couldn't take away from Sparks finding their winning track after dropping a couple of stinkers due to a brawl in the Palace at Auburn Hills.

Or the fact that the Saskatchewan Roughriders are 5-0 after getting the benefit of the doubt in a 28-22 win over the Toronto Argonauts. The funny thing about that touchdown by Wes Cates was that the priopr play should have been a touchdown, but was not, even after head coach Ken Miller challenged it.

It makes you wonder if the officlas wanted to make up for it.

A nice summer excursion

On the experience I had working as an intern at the Long Beach Bar Foundation

Time flies very quickly when you are making the most of it. That was the mindset I had heading into my last day working with the Long Beach Bar Foundation as an intern. I could not believe it at first, but I realized that today was the last day that I was going to work with LBBF as an intern. Five months of assisting a humble and merciful cause-helping young children stop short of committing crimes-culminated with this week.

I was slow to get up this morning, but after my breakfast, I took the Route 1 to Wardlow Station, then walked up a hill to get to my work. All I did today was translate some documents, and edit a couple others. It wasn’t as intense as the day before, where I helped prepare another box of student homework packets for future sessions. This was surprisingly light.

As I wrapped up my work, I was a bit cautious. At the back of my head, I knew that I could not lose sight of what I needed to do: find a paid position that was stable and a position where I could work for about 40 hours per week. Once I submitted the documents tomorrow, I had completed one year of experience as an intern-without the need of having to go through the fall semester.

It’s going to be a weird feeling. But at least I can now place some focus on the GMAT, which I will be taking on my birthday.

Quick hits, July 23, 2008

Quick hits, July 23, 2008

I am surprised by the inability of Toronto FC to do anything against the Montreal Impact last night. This match marks nine straight games without a victory. A 1-1 draw gave the second-worst team in the USL (at least in the standings) the Voyageurs Cup-and the right to represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League.

John Carver, the coach of the team, was more than graceless in defeat, blaming everyone and anyone he sees-from the media, to the sporting events, to even Jeff Cunningham, who, for all the goals he has scored, is now past his prime, and is in the twilight of his career.

My take on it is: bloody move on. Here is this manager from England who has not been in Toronto long enough to appreciate these events that the city hosts, events that have helped, in more ways than one, Toronto to make a name for itself-and he disses thenm. Mercy,

It's these daft comments that are not going to make him any friends up there. Add an uncanny gracelessness in defeat, and John Carver's time as manager is starting to run out.

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What the heck is up with the Sparks? I can't believe what I just saw. The Damnation of Artest Revisited? Why is it that the Palace at Auburn Hills might be a place to host a crapload of boxing matches?

Sure, we did beat Detroit, but we are in trouble against Connecticut. Madness. We might as well have women's ultimate fighting start up this year.

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Here are the Bedlam's Top 5 Reasons why You Can't Blame Jason Armstead for giving Saskatchewan the victory over Montreal last Saturday.

5. Rayshaun Kizer. A boneheaded roughing the kicker penalty for flattening punter Jamie Boreham gave Saskatchewan the ball back on one of their posessions. The Roughriders would score on that drive in the 2nd half.
4. Darien Durant. Here is a quarterback that might stir some controversy in Regina. Durant is more than capable of filling in for Marcus Crandell. But will Ken Miller have a headache in choosing who to start when the Argonauts come to town?
3. Anton McKenzie. Defensively, he is clutch. He made some key interceptions to prevent the Alouettes offense from becoming a threat in the last 3 minutes of the game.
2. The touchdown to Matt Dominguez confirmed through instant replay. Yes, because it was a simultaneous catch, by rule, it's a touchdown. Jim Trestman must have felt snakebitten, because that play set the stage for the rally by the Riders at the Mosaic Stadium.
1. A questionable, if not, "brain asploded" decision by Montreal's special teams coach to bring out the "hands" team, or the onside kick unit. Personally, I could not believe that Montreal brough out that team with just less than three minutes remaining. And to make matters worse...Jason Armstead was on that unit.

Canadian football. Tough day on the field for the Als.

A great day to be young and Australoia

I think today is a great day to be young, Australia, and rich in faith. It's World Youth Day down in Sydney, Australia, and it's a great day to be a young Australia boy or girl. And it's not just because of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI presiding over the pilgrims who descend on the largest city in OZ. A young group of footballers brought home what the Bedlam reckons as the first piece of hardware for the country as a member of the Asian Football Confederation.

First, a little take on World Youth Day 2008 from Sydney.

World Youth Day 2008

Pope Benedict XVI will meet thousands of young Catholics from all over the world in Sydney

Faith Central: Gangster who found God to speak at WYD

Billed as the largest youth event in the world, World Youth Day’08 is a five-day long international Catholic youth rally, where young people gather to meet Pope Benedict XVI. It begins in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday July 15 and ends with a Mass said by Benedict XVI on Sunday July 20. The Pope arrived on Sunday, July 13.

Around half a million young people are expected to attend the closing Mass, while around half that number are expected in the days before the Mass.

To date, there have been ten World Youth Days since the initiative was begun in 1986 by Pope John Paul II. He invited young Catholics to meet with him on a regular basis, approximately once every two years, for a gathering of worship, prayer, talks, Mass and teaching. Each WYD is centred on a Bible passage. The passage for WYD 2008 is "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1, 8).

Related Links

• World Youth Day diary: opening mass

• WYD briefing

• Anti-pope activists can 'annoy' Catholic pilgrims

The largest WYD to date took place in Manila, the Philippines, in 1995 and was attended by 4 million young people. Nearly half a million are expected to attend the closing Mass at WYD08 on July 20, 2008. Approximately 2,000 have come from the United Kingdom, including Rick Brewin and Rebecca Coyne, who are providing an online diary of WYD08 for Faith Online.

WYD08 has attracted criticism over the cost of the event, paid out of the public purse although the major expenses will be paid by the Catholic Church, and also from protesters who plan to highlight their opposition to Roman Catholic teaching on sex, and contraception by handing out condoms to pilgrims. They also object to a new law introduced in New South Wales, banning protesters from “annoying” World Youth Day pilgrims.

Articles from Google

And some of the football:

BULUT GIVES AUSTRALIA WIN IN GRAND FINAL

JAKARTA (19 July 2008) – Kerem Bulut made all the difference when his sudden death penalty conversion gave Australia the crown in the AFF Under-16 Youth Championships here this evening at the Stadion Lebak Bulus. The score at the end of regulation and ensuing extra time was 1-1 with Ali Muneer Redha scoring first for Bahrain the 44th minute before Marc Warren headed in the equaliser three minutes to the end. “We started pretty slowly all week and we were a little nervous but these boys are still growing up and they have to learn the need to settle early,” said Martyn Crook, the head coach for Australia. “But we settled down a bit and I believe that the team will just have to grow with this tournament.” Bahrain came out with all guns blazing and dictated the early rhythm as Australia do much of the defending in the opening quarter. In the 13th minute, Bahrain created a double chance off Ali Habib Haji and Ahmed Isa Ali but Australian keeper Lawrance Andrew Thomas was up to the task. Five minutes later, Australia came back with a one-timer from Nikola Stanojevic which narrowly missed the top right hand corner as the game then fell to a midfield battle. In the 30th minute, a bad pass from Australian captain Brendan Michael Hamill almost gifted Bahrain the goal while a minute later, a header from lanky defender Sayed Hashem Adnan Mahfood went well over the crossbar. But there was no denying Bahrain the lead when off a quick counter-attack a cross from Ahmed playing the ball to Ali Habib before Ali Muneer came in from the blind side to slam the ball home. The break brought a change to the Australian game where they pressed Bahrain much to their own half. And they created several chances with Kerem Bulut going wide on 53rd minute while in the 70th minute; Million Mwenge Busthire had his attempt saved by Naser Mahboob. With Bahrain defender Sayed Hashem doing a great job to shut own Bulut, the goal came late in the game off a defender. Three minutes to the end, a corner from Kamal Ibrahim saw Marc Warren jumping high for a looping header which went into goal to force the game into extra-time. After yet another half hour of deadlock, the penalty kicks saw both captains – Australia’s Brendan Michael Hamill and Bahrain’s Salman Ahmed Aldakheel missing their kicks. With the penalty level at four apiece, the miss by Bahrain Abdulla Khalifa Mohamed allowed Bulut to place the ball to the left of Bahraini keeper Naser for the win. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE and RESULTS 09/07/08 AUSTRALIA 2 BAHRAIN 1 SINGAPORE 0 MALAYSIA 2 11/07/08 BAHRAIN 1 SINGAPORE 0 INDONESIA 0 AUSTRALIA 6 13/07/08 AUSTRALIA 4 MALAYSIA 1 BAHRAIN 2 INDONESIA 0 15/07/08 MALAYSIA 2 INDONESIA 0 SINGAPORE 1 AUSTRALIA 1 17/07/08 INDONESIA 1 SINGAPORE 1 MALAYSIA 1 BAHRAIN 1 19/07/08 (Third/Fourth Placing) MALAYSIA 3 SINGAPORE 0 (Grand Final) AUSTRALIA 5 BAHRAIN 4 Score at end of extra-time 1-1

ASEAN Football Federation

I don't want anything to do with those fuckers again.

Some quick hits from today...

After nearly a year of relative peace...I get my first deletion notices on deviantART, albeit a couple of random desktop screenshots.

Took you guys a while, didn't it? Bastards.

---

I got the feeling my friend Diane from Cal State Long Beach was a bit nervous about telling me why I did not get into that goddamn Graduate Program in Sport Management. It wasn't about my GPA being lower than the others. It was about the unfortunate incident at the Gold Mine in Men's Volleyball last year against those sons of bitches from Northridge. Aghhh, it just mystifies to have that thing weighed more than the other stuff.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't have any bad feelings for those guys. If I did, everyone at the gymnasium would be in a large pool of blood by now. Seung-Hui Cho's fighting spirit would have left no one alive, including me, today. But to hear this news, and to acknowledge that I would be wasting my time trying to apply for Spring 2009 down there...I will have to consign myself to the fact that I don't own these motherfuckers any more obligations to them beyond my (auxiliary) role as an alumnus.

Your loss will be someone else's gain. I apologize for wasting your time, guys. Do me now a favor you Sport Management turds. Kindly piss off and don't waste my time ever again. Ungrateful assholes.

---

With that said, I am convinced that finding the right business school will be in my crosshairs. The question is: who will I apply to, and what type of program will I choose for my MBA? The upcoming GMAT on my birthday could answer a few of those questions, if faintly.

Anime Expo 2008 Reflections, Part 3

Anime Expo 2008 Reflections, Part 3

Day 4

For a fleeting moment, I thought I was back in my bedroom, thinking that Anime Expo 2008 was nothing more than a dream in my head. But when I woke up, I saw that I was still in the Westin Bonaventure...and I had one more day to work. Crap! So, I finished packing my bags, and after I went down to the Beaudry Room for the final breakfast of the convention, I went over to the Guest Services desk, and I asked them why they automatically charged us for parking, even though I commuted by bus, train, and foot. What are they, extortionists in training. Gag me with a ski mask, guys.

Naturally, they expunged it from the record. I was a bit sleepy when I got back on the shuttle for the last time, but I was excited about wrapping up my work at this convention.

There is an old adage: "The third time's the charm." For me, hearing rave reviews about Registration in my third year as a staffer was especially sweet.

Aside from the string bikini fetishes and the Masquerade fix I had last night, I watched a stream of cosplayers listen to the music as if the Pied Piper of Otakumlin came to play. I said, "Sorry guys, I've got work to do." That's the thing: here at AX, you have the power (within reasonable constraints) to live your own fantasies.

So I went down to the auction after my final shift next door at West Hall B to take note of the items up for bid, and how high they went. Here's a sample of what was there, and what the final bidding price unded up to be.

* Item 25, an Anime Expo 2008 autographer poster by all of the Guests of Honor. Sold for $350.
* A Boise State "Otaku for Obama" shirt signed by David Hayter. Sold for $100.
* Item 2, a Batman Gotham Night Poster signed by Brian Ezorio, Greg Ruen, Bruce Tim, ALan Burnett, David Goyer, Josh Olsen, Chris Drake, and Jordan Calabria (my handwriting sucked, so if I got the names wrong, I apologize). Sold for $225.
* Item 31, a Masamitsu Hidaka-signed Linebarrels of Iron shirt, Size M. Sold for $45.
* Item 13, a Yu Yu Hakushoposter autographed by Chris Sabat, Jerry JEwell and Justin Cook. Sold for $75.
* Item 16, an autographed Shoko Nakagawa Happy Coat worn during the concert. Sold for $350.
* Item 10, a Jyukai hat, by Dewa, worn during the concert. Sold for $40. (Can you get something like that at Ross!? And cheaper!!?)
* Item 27, an autographed attendee shirt, autographed by David Hayter, size L. Sold for $60.
* Item 22, A Black Sword of the Stranger shirt, size L-SS, autographed by Masahiro Ando. Sold for $160
* Item 23, a Patlabor poster signed by Akemi Takada. Sold for $160.
* Item 20, an autographed shikishi board, autographed by Jyukai. Sold for $70.
* Item 17, an Ouran High School host club blazer, signed by the English dubbing crew at the panel. Sold for $300.
* Item 33, Batman Gotham Night poster (see 2). Sold for $275
* Item 9, another Jyukai hat by Dewa. Sold for $45. (I got at Ross! Just kidding. I got it at Marshalls. Also kidding.)
* Item 21, another Jyukai-autographed shikishi (same as 20). Sold for $60.
* Item 24, a Patlabor poster autographed by Akemi Takada. Sold for $250.
* Item 26, another Anime Expo 2008 poster signed by all the Guests of Honor (see 25). Sold for $600.
* Item 34, Another Batman Gotham Night poster (same as 2). Sold for $250.
* Item 8, a dress worn by Manami of Jyukai at the concert, size 2. Sold for $100. (A perfect present for your waifu! Should have had matching apron for some kinky hadaka tricks.)
* Item 29, two Black & Red passes for Anime Expo 2009. Sold for face value ($1,000).
* Item 5, a Batman Gotham Night DVD, autographed from those who signed Item 2. Sold for $400.
* Item 28, another David Hayter autographed attendee shirt, size L. Sold for $110.
* Item 30, a shikishi board signed by Masamitsu Hidaka. Sold for $300.
* Item 7, a color sketch by Hiromi Kato, showing characters from "I'm Gonna Be An Angel!" Sold for $1,600.
* A KImagure Orange Road drawing by Akemi Takada. Sold for $3,000
* Item 1, a drawing by Hiromi Kato, featuring Chiyo MIhama, Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga, Utena Tenjou, Mokona, Sakura Kinomoto, and other charactes from Beck, Paradise Kiss and I'm Gonna BE An Angel!. Sold for $7,000.

The auction, after deduction, about $14,000 was raised for Children's Hospital of Orange County.

All in all, the convention was capped by Vic Mignogna closing the convention, and Mr. Ando wrapped it by dotting the other eye on the daruma head. Perfect.

And thus my reflections on the convention have been revealed.

Anime Expo 2008 reflection, Part 2

Amine Expo 2008 reflections, Part 2



Day 2

They are people looking for results. The targets are answers looking for questions. In a business fueled by money swimming in a drowning economy, the entertainment business is a machine owned and operated by people on the hunt for those who can deliver the fuel-the results-early and often.

Thus, is wasn't surprising that the poster for AX Idol featured someone who had the results in her hands, reaching out for the microphone to give it to the ones chosen by the judges (including Shoko-tan and the Bang Zoom! crew By the way, Shoko-tan was also a Masquerade judge this year). Ironically, this was the very first AX Idol I went toi. Add the fact that this was held at the Nokia Theater (funny, the staff checked my phone, even though it was a Nokia. Ironic, isn't it?) and it became something very special. More on that in a bit.

If there was real downer at the convention, it had to be the food at the Tradewinds Cafe in Kentia Hall. Not only was the fare unsophisticated, but the staff were clearly unnaturalized (at least a majority of them) citizens. The evidence was there: lack of English, poor communication skills, and a take-it-or-leave-it attitude that would make it feel like I was in San Quentin without the prison riots or confinement decor. Next thing these guys will do is feed us Ensure down our throats a la Guantanamo Bay. Absolutely horrible.
It was a big downer. I mean, come on: if turning a family away at Registration due to their lack of planning and preparation for the event (and it DID happen, and it wasn't our fault; the would-be attendees didn't help themselves by not taking a look at the prices, the plans that weekend, and pre-registering) was bad enoguh, this was nothing compared to the abominable manners of these guys. Next year, I expect to see a new staff with a friendlier demeanor when I am getting my fill at Kentia. In the meantime, get the Tijuana trucks ready, guys.

On the other hand, taking cosplay photos on my mobile and getting my mascot plushies to make out, combined with AX Idol, made up for it in a big way.

Vic Mignogna and Jon Mexa are experts and true veterans of what they do. I expecioally like Vic. The Enlgish voice behind the likes of Ichigo Kurosawa and Edward Elric, Vic knows his schtick. He's a good singer, too. We love the hair.

God bless Steve BLum. Over a couple of decades at the forfront of English dubbing will make one-half of the Risen Bull Rangers (the other half is Vic) a tough act to follow.

As I went down the elevator after changinmg into some new shorts due to a zipper malfunction, I saw a couple of Tokyo Mew Mew cosplayers in bikinis step in.
"Cosplaying in swimsuits?" I asked
"No, we cosplayed a few hours ago, but we decided to go to the pool," said the Ichigo cosplayer. She was in a matching white beiking with red strings and dots. It matched her hair and form perfectly.
"I see. Well at least you made the right choice on which two-piece to pick. It looks great on you," I said, with a delightful laugh as I headed for the shuttle.
That's the thing: when you are cosplaying, and you want to show that hot body at the pool, you'd better bring an outfit that emphasizes your curves and bust, as well as matches your outfit when you strut yout stuff to the photographers out there. She was even in twintails, which added to her moe aesthetic. She easily could pass for cosplaying in a swimsuit.
I decided not to take a photo of her in it. Besides, she was out of uniform, she did not request to be shot, and we were in an elevator. And I was staffing. Of course I had high standards. But it was clear than in those fleeting seconds, my string bikini fetish had reached dangerous levels. Naturally they lowered to more healthy ones when I took the shuttle.

I would think that Ichigo would be wearing something like that in the anime. Of course, I don't watch Tokyo Mew Mew as much as the other ones I follow. I prefer the Japanese version way more than the 4Kids version.

As I reach out for a box of tissues typing this to post, I would like to let you know that AX Idol was a success. In my view, Pamela Moss would have amde a lot of headway on American Idol. Her rendition of Kouga Ninpou Chou" from the series Basilisk was epic. Chalk up a big point for whoever decides to give her a lucrative contract.

And chalk up a coup of a hire if Caitlin Chang is giving a contract to dub for Bang Zoom!. Her rendition of Gurren Lagann's very own Yoko Ritona was unlike anything we ever saw. Of course, the candidates who voices as Simon and Kamina were competent as well. But the night belonged to Caitlin. I was wondering if she ever did any fandubbing in the past. Or there was a rule preventing that. In any case, if she was doing fan dubs previously, those days are long gone now. Enjoy your September business trip to Japan, Caitlin Chang. May it stimulate you in more ways than one.

The moe possibilities were there. Darn that Richard Kong, though. First he buys a Haruhi dakimakura for 35 smackaroons. And then he gets even luckier and wins an autographed shikishi board from one of the GoH's (I didn't know if it was THE Shoko-tan, but it was, the third atomic bomb went off in my room at the Westin Bonaventure. To add insult, he was happily snoring.

Oh, those AX Staffers.




Day 3



"Aficionados, ¡que viven la intensidad del manga y anime!"

That was the mantra as I went off to Video Room 3, donning my polo over my Astro Boy shirt. For me, the thought of Nicholas Cage doing Astro Boy's role just gave me the shivers. Anyway, my first shift was scheduled for 10:30 a.m., so I had some time to wander about.

I was able to take some shots of KOnata, KAgami and the Lucky Star crew, though I couldn't stand next to Kagami in a back to back pose. I twas some damn crowded and hot inside the Exhibit Hall.

Mou...those sweaty, smelly otaku. Oh God.

=_=+

Otherwise, any chances of not fulfilling my wish went out the you-know-what. Now surpriusingly, there was a long, long, looong line for the Masquerade. This was our showcase event, and I told the people to come down for the event at the Nokia Theatre. There should be some seats available if you hurry, I said to them.

Sure enough, we were treated to something special. I saw Funky Fresh cosplay doing their LUcky Start tribute skil. Needless to say, I was happy with their performance. They got the second place prize (which, overall was a symbolic third place if you take into account Best in SHow, the true first place winner). As I took a couple of shots of them (one of them is on my deviantART plage), I was vindicated, and assured that they validated the relevance of Kagami Yoshimizu's classic to our interests. It was relevant to the mindsets of those who followed it, who supported it, and will never forget it. And they won't.

Props to the Orange County Anime Society for winning it all. These guys were the cream of the crop, and rightfully deserving of the title.

Special props to the band from Faye Ross Middle School, located in Artesia, CA. Their tribute to the convention and to Final Fantasy drew a standing ovation. (Partly because I got them to do so, but that's beside the point). I mean, come on now. These guys were nervous kids in their tweens and early teens, but after they got on stage and played their hearts out, we had to acknowledge their courage, commitment, and sacrifice just to BE HERE. And, I know that a lucky few of them might play for a college marching band, namely USC's, or UCLA's, or whatever drum & bugle corps is willinhg to give them a chance. You never know.

Pamela Moss put on another great encore performance.

Teas Tea. Pure green. And a great chug. Yummy. I need to know where I can buy me a bottle. Perhaps the nearest Famima! might enlighten me a bit?

The crowd was alive. I told my folks at Registration to come out for the event. And they came out in DROVES. Sure, there were a few empty seats here and there, but most were filled, and they were into it.

Nick Perkins, one of the hosts for the event, was awesome. He chugs tea like a chugger should. Period. It's like drinking a bottle of water, with different flavor and body. Slightly.

I like Main Events's choice of the second season opening of Kyo Kara Maoh! to fire up the crowd. Ver good decision.

COconut Bubble Sex Cosplay. Say that ten times fast. A household name indeed.