Donovan Saves US Soccer!!

Quick Hits for a hot & humid Thursday…..

- Ho-ly S#!t. That U.S. soccer game was among the most intense and amazing sporting events I have ever watched in my life. Anyone who says soccer games are boring after watching that game has absolutely no appreciation for true sports effort, intensity and athletic stamina. It was a game filled with scoring chances and plenty of sitting on the edge of my seat. I’m pretty sure that my neighbors may think I’m torturing Algerian hostages in my apartment after the the screaming and banging on furniture I did during the game. Jozy Altidore played the game of his life, Clint Dempsey put himself in the mix continually, and Landon Donovan – after remaining quiet most of the second half – picked the perfect time to get himself a spot in U.S. soccer lore. An incredible effort by a team that doesn’t seem to wake up until after it takes a punch to the face – Algeria hit the crossbar in the first ten minutes. And once again, Tim Howard was the key to it all, making a huge save on a dangerous header and throwing a strike out to a streaking Donovan to get the game-winning play started.

Now all the U.S. has to do is rid themselves of the Ghana-rians. I think they just need to find the ointment that will make the entire team disappear.

- In addition to that great sporting event, did anyone happen to catch what happened (and is still happening) at Wimbleton? I’m not big into tennis other than to mention Andy Roddick so I can post a picture of Brooklyn Decker, or to mention Maria Sharapova or the girl with the breast reduction. Yet this match yesterday between some 6’9” American and a French guy was/is unreal. They have been playing for nearly 10 hours, and in the fifth set they are tied at 59 apiece. They started the match on Tuesday, had it suspended due to darkness and played all day today only to have it suspended again due to darkness without a winner being determined. It is the most fight put up by anything French…..ever. It has been an epic battle of will to stay standing and competing this long. So to honor them, I probably should post a picture of one or both of them. Instead I’m going to post a picture of Anna Kournikova because much like this match, it won’t win a championship, but you’ll still be in awe of it.

- It is yet to be determined how the latest moves from the Milwaukee Bucks will turn out going forward, but as of right now, I am impressed with the moves that GM John Hammonds has been making. He traded dead weight for Corey Maggette, a legit scoring threat at the small forward position and also acquired a second-year guard, Chris Douglas-Roberts, that has shown flashes of being a Richard Hamilton-like player in the league. And after all of that, he still is sitting on 4 draft picks, including 3 second rounders. The Bucks have a dynamic point guard in Brandon Jennings and a post presence in Bogut already, so the addition of a swingman in Maggette, and the potential resigning of John Salmons gives them a nice position as one of the stronger teams in the East – probably somewhere behind the aging Celtics, the Magic, the Bulls (with or without LeBron) and potentially the Heat (if they resign Wade and convince James or Bosh to join him).

Don't Ask Me About...

Quick hits today on a few random things that you shouldn’t ask me about. Why? Because I just don’t care or it’s dumb. It’s not worth the waste of air to discuss these narcissistic people or topics. So as of right now…..

Don’t Ask Me About:

- Brett Favre’s retiring. Who cares? He won’t make up his mind until August anyway, so why waste time in February?

- Tim Tebow at the Senior Bowl. We know he can’t take a snap. He never has, so why would he suddenly be good at it? It’s a not story. He should be a 6th rounder at best, but some team will reach for him in the 2nd round because the owner will panic that they can’t take a chance at missing him.

- Andy Roddick. Dude, you stink. You are the most overrated athlete since Anna Kournikova. The difference was she knew she was only popular because she was smoking hot. You try to pretend like you’re a tennis player, but you lose every big match. You’re best performance was a loss to Roger Federer. Then again, you have Brooklyn Dekker, so you still win.

- The Saints being a symbol of the city of New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Really? Because the team has rebounded and made the Super Bowl, the city is all fixed now? My guess is that people that should be spending all of their time and money on rebuilding their house and neighborhood (schools) will be blowing money to go to Miami for the game. There are still plenty of problems in the city and plenty of people that never returned, so let’s not make it out that the city is recovered because the team is winning.

- Tom Cable may or may not still be the coach of the Raiders. Listen, it’s not going to matter who is coaching the Raiders as long as Al Davis forces them to start that 300 pound anchor, JaMarcus Russell at quarterback. They will not be relevant until they find someone that can play the position.

- Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie. So let’s see, Angelina wants to adopt kids from every country on the planet and live in France. Brad thinks 6 foreigners living in their house in New Orleans would be enough for him. They’ve both had short Hollywood marriages in the past. So why are we surprised that it’s not going to work out for them? My prediction: Brad is back with Jennifer Anniston before the end of 2010.

- Natalie Portman as a home wrecker. I thought home wreckers were skanks from Vegas, and want to think of Natalie as the girl in Closer or Garden State. I really can’t put Star Wars in that mix though, because I have a problem thinking anyone or thing from a science fiction movie is attractive. I’m always concerned there could be some weird power or extra appendage hidden somewhere when you’re messing with anyone from outer space.

- Kentucky basketball success. Most coaches have an issue with renting a player for one year because they are trying to build a program and help kids with their careers and lives. Not John Calipari. That greasy jag-off is completely okay with having one-and-done guys every year making a mockery of the student-athlete and the “institutions of higher learning” monikers. He has zero integrity or class. It’s just a matter of time until he gets Kentucky placed on probation and he moves on to his next victim……errr, school.