LA Galaxy - what is left in the cupboard

Corner of the Galaxy has a list of the players that are currently on contract - see below.

One must remember that just because someone is off contract doesn't mean they can't be re-signed though the expectation is that very few would be resigned. Likewise, those on contract could still be moved by some kind of trade deal.

In any case, here is the list of who is officially still a part of the LA Galaxy.

1. Emmanuel Boateng
2. Bradford Jamieson
3. Daniel Steres
4. Dave Romney
5. Ariel Lassiter
6. Romain Alessandrini
7. Hugo Arellano
8. Michael Ciani
9. Giovani dos Santos 
10. Jonathan dos Santos 
11. Sebastian Lletget 
12. Joao Pedro
13. Gyasi Zardes - rumors he might be dealt away
14. Baggio Husidic - however contract will expire soon
15. Ashley Cole - however contract will expire soon

With this group what does the depth chart look like assuming Zardes gets traded.

Goalkeeper

1. Need a serious #1 keeper - Deal maybe for Bingham? (12/15/17) Deal rejected by MLS to move Ousted? (12/15/17)
2. Need a #2 keeper with at least some experience
3. Pick up a youngster with potential?

Defense

1. Ashley Cole - expiring contract but should try to extend - maybe LAG doesn't plan on extending his contract since they might be bringing in this Norwegian (12/8/17)? Jurgen Skjelvik is official. 
2. Michael Ciani
3. Daniel Steres
4. Need an actual right-back! Rolf Feltscher signed (12/19/17) 
5. Pick up a veteran defender for squad rotation and backup?
6. Dave Romney
7. Hugo Arellano
8. Pick up a young player with potential?

Midfield

1. Romain Alessandrini
2. Jonathan dos Santos 
3. Sebastian Lletget
4. Emmanuel Boateng
5. Joao Pedro
6. Baggio Husidic - expiring contract but should try to extend
7. Pick up a young player with potential? Servando Carrasco - not exactly young but I guess he adds some depth to the club as he has got MLS games and minutes under his belt 12/21/17
8. Pick up a young player with potential?

Forward

1. Giovani dos Santos
2. Need a ready for prime time forward who can start
3. Pick up a veteran forward who could be a super sub a la Alan Gordon
4. Bradford Jamieson - a developmental project with good potential
5. Ariel Lassiter - a developmental project with good potential

Have marked in underline the type of players (10 in all) I think they still need to get in order to fill out the roster up to 24 players (squad will be larger but spots beyond 24 probably aren't going to get many minutes) and be competitive next year.

All of this will have to be done within the MLS salary budget restrictions. And so how much money do some of these types of players cost?

A serious #1 goal keeper will be over $120k. Brian Rowe was getting $120k and he didn't get his contract renewed so a proven #1 goal keeper would probably cost more.

An actual right back will be more than $200-300k. Robbie Rodgers was getting $225k (unfortunately, he had a career-ending injury) and left back Ashley Cole was getting $350k (how much would he extend his contract for?)

A veteran defender could probably be gotten for around $100-200k?

A prime time non-DP level forward would go for at least $350-450k. Ola Kamara was the highest goal scorer who was non-DP and he got $450k while CJ Sapong another non-DP who scored lots of goals got $350k. I wonder if these guys over-performed expectations and may get raises when their next contract comes up?

A veteran super-sub forward would garner around $180k which was what Alan Gordon got at Colorado.

Young players with potential will go for less than $100k salary.

Hopefully, the scouting department at the LA Galaxy has improved and they can scour the globe and in the USA for up-and-coming talent and bargain proven talent.

If you are curious, the 2017 Galaxy salaries can be found here.

What would a straight up 4-4-2 look like in 2018?

Forward: GDS and striker to be recruited
Midfield: Boateng, Lleget, JDS, Allesandrini
Defense scenario #1
Cole (?), Ciani, Skejelvik (articles say he can play left back or center back), Feltscher
Defense scenario #2
Skejelvik, Ciani, Steres, Feltscher
Goalkeeper: to be recruited

Likely Subs:
Goalkeeper to be recruited
Romney (D)
Steres or to be recruited (D)
Pedro (M
Husidic (M)
To be recruited (F)
Jamieson/Lassiter (F)

LAFC builds out its roster

Nine. Nine on the roster as of 12/16/17.

At the Designated Player level:
Carlos Vela
Diego Rossi

From a loan:
Omar Graber
Rodrigo Pacheco

Drafts and Deals:
Latif Blessing
Laurent Ciman
Tyler Miller
Marco Urena
Walker Zimmerman

QPR - one novice soccer watcher's opinion

Come on you R's!

I may not be a West Londoner (I am a West Coast American) but am still rooting for Queen Park Rangers to have a good season.

Of course, good depends on one's expectations!

In my case, my expectations for the Rangers is to be solidly mid-table with the hope in some future season to take a whiff of the promotion playoffs.

My personal connection to QPR is only through the one match I attended when I was in London with a free evening while on a business trip. However, as I learned about the Queens Park Rangers, I have become a supporter for narrative reasons.

I have heard of their efforts to be a community based club. Events like the Game for Grenfell and the moving story below of QPR's efforts to help those with mental health struggles.


Powerful stuff!

And so I'm a fan. Regardless of how they do, I'll be a supporter. I'll keep a check on the score of how they do. If they appear on USA TV, I'll try to see them and so far I've seen parts of two matches when they have appeared on ESPN3. I visit the official web page now and then to see highlights and sometimes I'll even see segments of the 90 minutes full match replay.

As a realistic sports watcher though, one can see that on the field, it doesn't look good for the R's. They appear to be heading for a relegation battle. On the heels of past financial mismanagement, there are limits for the club. Nonetheless, they do have more resources than some clubs. Certainly one would think enough to be solidly mid-table. But as it is, they are now lower mid-table and on the edge of the relegation zone.

As a relatively new soccer watcher, I see that the really good teams can score a variety of ways.

Some clubs are so good that even if the opponents "park the bus" the better team can pass and dribble and make zig zag runs and put the ball in the net despite nearly 22 legs in the box playing determined defense.

Some clubs are so good that they force turnovers and quickly shift from defense to offense and make lightening quick counter-attacks yielding goal scoring opportunities and goals.

Finally, the other way I see good teams score is from set plays. A free kick under the wall! Or a free kick that bends to the top corner of the goal just beyond reach of the goalie. Or a kick into the box and one of the attackers gets a head onto the ball and puts it into the net or re-directs it to someone else who puts it into the net.

Sadly, when I watch QPR goal highlights, they tend to occur late in the game when the Rangers are playing from behind and the other team has shifted into park the bus mode. Often times these goals come from free kicks where the R's load up the box with their players and in the mad scramble they get a goal. It is nice to get these goals. Rather have them than not have them!

But simply don't see many goals where they causes a turnover and get out on the counter attack. Rarely do they get goals out of dominating possession and working the ball around and carving up a defense.

I suspect they don't have too many higher end offensively skilled players.

What makes for a skilled offensive player?

The things I have seen:

1. having the great first touch upon receiving the ball
2. seeming eyes in the back of the head awareness of where your teammates are and where the opponents are
3. the ability to thread passes right onto the foot of the guy in the best place to shoot and score
4. the control and power to quickly get off a shot accurately and put it into the net

These are the more obvious ones.

Well, it cost lots of money to get players who can do all of the above well. And it cost lots of money to get players who can do most of the above well.

Only for a handful of teams in a handful of leagues in world football have the money to get such players on a consistent basis. Everyone else has to make do with proven B/B+ players or find the youngster who someday might be an A/A- player. Thus, the scouting department and the player development department is key for clubs with more limited resources.

Fans might like to call for the firing of the manager when their team isn't doing well. In some cases that is a legitimate response. But if the manager isn't entirely responsible for player recruitment then the responsibility isn't all his. And, in clubs with more limited resources, you can only do so much.

Don't know how much Ian Holloway is responsible for player recruitment and for player development. I'll leave that question for really hard core fans. But from this fan's view, it does seem as if the players do play for Holloway. They do appear to be putting in a good effort for the shirt. But, unfortunately, sometimes your guys just don't have as much talent as the other guys team.

Matt Smith is the leading goal scorer on the team this season. But I suspect most of those goals are late in games when QPR is playing from behind. In these situations, the defense is sitting back allowing the less mobile Smith to have more opportunities. Washington and Mackie appear to work hard but they might simply not have the skills to be consistent B+ attackers. In the match I watched at Loftus Road, Sylla seem to have the athleticism to get to the ball but doesn't seem to be able to do much with it once he gets it.

QPR defense is doing pretty well considering most of the injuries this season has been on the defensive end. But clearly, the offense has been a disappointment. According to this web page, QPR scored 39% of their goals from set piece and 0% on the counter-attack. Wolverhampton, current top-of-the-table got 22% from set pieces and 10% from the counter-attack. Sheffield United (holding last playoff spot at sixth) gets a whopping 79% of their goals from open play and only 12% from set-pieces. My sense is that scoring from open play is a reflection of having more skill players who can manage to score in a dynamic fluid situation compared to the relatively static set piece situation.

Anyway, don't know enough about the QPR roster to know if Holloway has any realistic options to put up top in his favorite 3-5-2 formation besides some combination of Smith, Washington, Mackie, and Sylla. Of the midfield, Freeman, Luongo, and Scowen, they seem pretty solid but am not enough of an observer to know how they compare to other talents in the league.

Hope the club can continue to improve their existing players and maybe pick up an impact player in the next transfer window.

Its Liverpool - the incredibly obvious comments about the latest against Everton

When you see a 1-0 scoreline you get nervous that LFC would give up the equalizer. And indeed, it happened in the second half. It was so Liverpool!

The incredibly obvious comments:
Magnificent goal by Salah.
Mane should have passed the ball for the tap in and a 2-0 lead.
LFC dominated but didn't get the second, third, fourth goal they needed to put the game away.
Klopp probably switched up the team too much. With Coutinho or Firmino in they probably get those second, third or fourth goal.
Lovren should NOT have pushed the guy for the "soft" penalty. Just don't even give the ref the chance to make that call.

Liverpool FC Group E Champion's League Scenarios

Liverpool defeats Spartak = LFC advance as group E winners.

Liverpool draw with Spartak
Sevilla defeat Maribor = Sevilla wins group with 11 points and LFC advances as second place with 10 points.

Liverpool draw with Spartak
Sevilla draws with Maribor = LFC advances as group winners with 10 points and Sevilla advances as second place with 9 points.

Liverpool loses to Spartak
Sevilla defeats Maribor = Sevilla wins group with 11 points, Spartak advances as second place with 9 points, LFC has 9 points but finish third on tiebreaker (head to head scores with Spartak).

Liverpool loses to Spartak
Sevilla draws Maribor = tiebreaker scenarios!
LFC would have 9 points
Sevilla would have 9 points
Spartak would have 9 points
First tiebreaker = points in matches among tied teams
Spartak wins the group with 7 points
Sevilla finishes second with 5 points
LFC finishes third with 3 points

Liverpool should advance to the round-of-sixteen. But then again, the USMNT should have qualified for the World Cup!

Hopefully, LFC will put the game out of reach early. Go Reds!

Star Trek Discovery - Episodes 8-9 random comments from a Cadet level fan

And so ends the first part of season 1. The show comes back from hiatus in January.

I think they are developing the characters nicely and you can imagine them being a crew for future exploration post-war. However, the plot lines do point to the fact that each may have some serious problems adjusting to life post-war:

Lorca - heroic leadership but also crazed from blowing up his previous crew and being tortured by the Klingons and pushing the rules with the Disco crew. He could be relieved of duty at anytime by the admiralty of Star Fleet.
Ash - heroic soldier but crazed by being tortured by the Klingons and of course the lingering suspicion that he is actually a genetically/surgically altered Klingon.
Stamets - heroic scientist but crazed by having Tardigrade DNA injected into him and having had too many trips into the multiverse with the magical mushroom spores.
Burnham - heroic efforts all around but of course there is still the matter of the life sentence for mutiny.

About the only two characters who are "normal" are Saru and Tilly!

Anyway, love the character development, the production values and pacing of the story telling. We get a little more insight into Saru's character in Episode 8 and he continues to be one of the more interesting characters in the show.

Some comments in no particular order.

An inconsistently alarm about Pavho, the planet of galactic peace .....

Episode 8 introduced us to the planet Pavho and its inhabitants. Presumably, the idea of using their transmitter to detected cloaked ships was a recent idea because the signal was newly detected by Star Fleet. Thus, you would think Pavho is out in the boonies somewhere otherwise they would have known about them much sooner as they have probably been blasting that transmitter for a while as a way to announce to the universe they were there. Given that this is the case, it is pretty interesting the Klingons knew of the planet and could quickly get there. And of course, in Episode 9, the Discovery was only a few hours away from a star base using traditional warp suggesting the planet isn't too far away.

In episode 9, Lorca gets to give his version of the St. Crispen's Day speech (Shakespeare Henry V).

Meanwhile for a warrior race, the Klingons of ST-Disco don't seem too concerned about making sure people are actually dead. L'Rell tells them she will make sure Cornwell is dead.

What do we see?

We see L'Rell dragging Cornwell into the dead people's room. And later, we see Kol denouncing the deceptiveness of L'Rell and seem to threaten her death.

What happens?

We don't see Kol have one of his minions make sure Cornwell was actually dead since they are suspicious of L'Rell? And of course, in episode 9, we see an injured L'Rell in the dead people's room and we find out BOTH Cornwell and L'Rell are NOT dead after all!

As for episode 9, great action and pacing but once again a few plausibility issues.

Of course, you need the away mission to plant the data transmitters. And, of course, one of them just has to be in the bridge of the Klingon ship. However, if you think about it, they are capturing data points and so ANY two distal points within the Klingon ship would probably do. But that would be rather dull for them to plant BOTH data pods in closets in the front and back of the Klingon ship!

Great fight scene between Burnham and Kol!!

Finally, it is about time, Stamets is checked out by medical personnel in Episode 9!

If someone had been genetically altered by the addition of Tardigrade DNA (or DNA from anywhere!), you would think they would be checking him out medically all the time to see what is happening. And of course, he is being plugged into the jump drive machine for each spore jump and comes out looking terrible, you would think they would be checking him out every time. Way back in the 20th century, NASA had all sorts of monitoring equipment on the astronauts when they flew spam in a can rocket rides! Meanwhile, in ST-Disco world, ONLY after they plan to do 133 jumps do they attach Stamets to medical monitoring equipment?

But anyway, it is just a TV show!

Overall, am enjoying the characters and the production values and plot lines even with the various holes in them.

Season 1.5 in January 2018. Where are they? Are they in the Mirror Universe? Is Ash a Klingon spy or not? Will Stamets come back from his Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds trip? All this and more .......

LA Galaxy and LAFC

The LA Galaxy came off their worst season in recent memory. The post-mortem seems to be that it was a combination of injuries and poor construction of the team and toxic locker room culture. The big question mark for LAG's braintrust is who stays and who goes? And is the rebuild going to be to blow up the whole thing or just make a few changes?

Meanwhile, LAFC has a blank slate to work from.

LAFC is slowly adding some talent to their squad.

Carlos Vela was their first big name signing from the Mexico national team and La Liga. He was obtained via the Designated Player (DP) mechanism.

Omar Gaber is coming on loan from Swiss Super League and is arriving using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).

LAFC will get some players via the expansion draft and other draft procedures.

In the past, one had very low expectation of how competitive an expansion team can be. However, with the success of Atlanta United last year, it is possible to make the right picks and field a highly competitive team.

MLS is highly regulated. I understand the Designated Player concept to bring in high priced talent and to keep those salaries out of the overall team salary cap. Where it gets complicated is TAM and General Allocation Money (GAM) and the various slots that fill out the Salary Budget.

All these rules are in place to provide guardrails to clubs so they don't ruin themselves financially and to impose a measure of parity in the league.

However, there is the feeling that MLS will need to gain more fans to truly be competitive on the world stage. Additionally, MLS needs to (as does the USMNT at all levels) continue to improve in identifying and developing home grown talent and encouraging some of that talent to go outside the USA to develop those players.

QPR takes it on the chin .....

Having pulled off upsets against Wolverhampton and Sheffield United, QPR has dropped three in a row.

Thrashed by Nottingham Forest 4-0, edged out by Aston Villa 2-1, and defeated 2-0 by Derby County.

It is disappointing after two good wins against the #1 and #3 clubs in the Championship.

On the other hand, the defeats came against the #4, #6 and #7 team. Thus, in the abstract, it isn't a surprise since QPR realistically is a top of the bottom half of the table club. Nonetheless, as a fan, you feel bad for the club and wonder what they need to be more competitive and not always play from behind. Of course, the reality is that the club is a community club with more resources than some but much less than others.

Come on you R's!

the Curse of Sevilla 3-3

UGH.

3-0 at the half and LFC could have had more.

Second half 3-0 and Sevilla grabs a draw.

UGH.

This is what it means to be a Liverpool fan the last few years. An offense that makes you stand up and cheer. A defense that makes you want to hide under the table.

3-0 shutout of Southampton and onto Sevilla

Liverpool fans are singing happy days are here again with another easy win! 

With Salah, Mane, Firmino, and Coutinho running and passing Southampton had no chance and so LFC is on a roll. 

Big test this Tuesday on the road at Sevilla, a team that has been beat Liverpool in the Europa League final in 2016 and snatched a draw in 2017 in the first half of Champions League Group play. 

LFC would benefit psychologically with a solid win to prove to themselves they can beat a team they haven't beaten recently.

Who do you put on the line-up card knowing Chelsea is coming up on the weekend - an even bigger test?

The front three fills in itself: Salah, Mane, Firmino.

The midfield three: Coutinho is the only definite starter.

Who do you pick to take the other two spots?

Milner, Can, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana?

I'd go with Milner and Can to provide some rotation with instructions to be defensive minded jumping into the offensive flow cautiously.

As for the back four: Alexander-Arnold, Klavan, Lovren, Moreno.

Karius in goal.

Subs likely to be used: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wijnaldum, Sturridge.

Am guessing Lallana might used as a 70th or 80th minute substitute if the game is well in hand. Or perhaps he will be held out until the match against Chelsea this weekend.

Go Reds!

Go LFC! The Mane and Salah show!

After the wipe at at Tottenham, LFC fans were in despair. However, since then, LFC beat Huddersfield Town 3-0, Maribor 3-0, and West Ham 4-1. All of this without Coutinho. It is good preparation for the club as eventually he will make that move to Barcelona and they will have to get by without him. However, these three wins were not exactly A-list competition. LFC and FSG ownership will need to think about how they will fill the hole they will have when Coutinho departs.

But for now, the fans are excited about the return of Sadio Mane. The win in the West Ham match showed what the duo of Mane and Salah can do!

###

Following LFC is pretty straightforward since there is so much coverage of the Premier League in ESPNFC and in any sports section of UK newspapers online.

One of my favorite sources for news and comment on the commute is the Liverpool Echo's "Blood Red" podcast. They recently interviewed Raphael Honigstein who has written a book about Jurgen Klopp with the title, "Bring the Noise." Very interesting look at Klopp and his life before Liverpool and how things are going at Anfield behind the scenes. Check it out for an enjoyable listen.

Swedish Soccer Season Has Concluded

In the top league, Allsvenskan, Malmo FF has repeated as champions and have a run of 4 in the last 5 years. They now have won 23 times in their history. Malmo goes to 2018-2019 Champions League qualification rounds.

AIK and Djurgardens finish two and three and gain entry into 2018-2019 Europa League qualification rounds.

At the bottom end, AFC United (Eskiltuna) and Hamstad BK were relegated.

Jonkopings Sodra IF will face Trelleborgs (third place in Superettan) in a two-legged play-off with the winner going to Allsvenskan and loser going to Superettan.

IF Brommapojkarna won Superettan and Dalkurd finished second thus, these two teams are promoted up to Allsvenskan.

As for the teams I follow, Falkenberg finished fourth in Superettan which is pretty good considering their poor start. Elfsborg finished eighth in Allsvenskan. They never seemed to get on track this year.

Star Trek Discovery Episode 7 - Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad

Well, that was fun!

The "below decks" flavor of the party was a departure from the usual and was a good touch for character development. Eventually, as the story unfolded, it became obvious we were in a time-loop story, a staple of science fiction TV shows. I immediately recalled the ST-TNG episode Cause and Effect.

As with any time-loop story, the challenge is how additional information can somehow be passed along to the next iteration. And in this case, Stamet's being the human interface with the spore network allowed him to retain information from cycle-to-cycle. Eventually, he realizes he can't stop Mudd on his own. Thus, he begins to recruit other crew-members figuring out ways to convince them. In so doing, we get to see some character development. Humor has been relatively light in the show but on this occasion, we do get some and it flows naturally from the characters.

First episode so far where there wasn't a glaring nitpick for me to grab onto. All in all, well executed story telling with character development, enough action to keep things moving and humorous moments.

The previews for episode 8 indicate some Saru character development, a return to the Klingon story line and some Admiral Cornwell.

LA Galaxy - where I get insight from them

Sometimes I am able to watch the matches in part or in full on television and can form some opinions based on my untrained soccer watching eyes.

I read the match reports on the sports web pages whether I see the games on TV. One regular stop is LA Times Kevin Baxter who covers soccer providing both match reports and the inside stories to the team. In addition to writing for the LA Times, he also appears regularly on the Corner of the Galaxy podcast with host Josh Guesman who also has access to insiders with the LA Galaxy organization.

In a recent podcast, they discuss that the Galaxy scouting unit isn't a robust as one would have thought in particular missing players from Latin America while focusing on European players.

Baxter suspects that the LA Galaxy ownership group is losing money on a year-to-year operational basis. In the past, they have accepted this as part of building the brand and the asset value of the club. However, Baxter thinks the owners now believe the team needs to get to a more sustainable financial footing. The reason for the timing is that at some point MLS can't continue to expand thus ending the revenue stream of franchise entry fees.

Check out the podcast .....

QPR 1 Sheffield United 0

Queens Park Rangers defeat another top part of the table club Tuesday night!



Have to feel badly for goalkeeper Jamal Blackman who got injured on the play that resulted in the goal.

Gifted a one goal lead, the Hoops held on for the win. Can't tell too much from the match report on BBC. From that report, it sound like both clubs had some additional near misses. The stats say Sheffield dominated possession but QPR got more shots but it is hard to know from that stat how high the quality of the shot attempt was.

In any case, two wins for the Rangers and they climb to the middle part of the table1

MLB World Series 2017 - Game 7

Been following the Dodgers since I was a kid.

I was alive when they won it all in 1963 (I was born the summer of 63). I was too young to know when they won in 1965.

The Dodgers had some very good teams in the 1970s but they came up on the short end against the A's (1974) and the Yankees (1977 and 1978).

I remember 1978 game 2 when Bob Welch struck out Reggie Jackson to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the series. But the Dodgers would drop the next four.

The baseball script writers would turn the tables in 1981 when the Dodgers were down 2-0 and went on to win the next four against the Yankees to win the series.

1988. Arguably the most memorable home run in baseball history was hit by Kirk Gibson to win Game 1. The Dodgers would finish off the heavily favored A's in five behind Hershiser and a cast of role players on the field and on the mound.

The Kirk Gibson home run video clip has run since then on one hand invoking great memories but on the other hand a reminder of how hard it is to get to the World Series and the decades of frustration for the Dodger organization and its fans.

The Dodger franchise experienced incredible futility for the next 20 years. Making the playoffs only four times and being swept in the NLDS in 1995, 1996, and 2006. They lost in four to the Cardinals in the 2004 NLDS.

Another decade of frustration would follow.

I attended NLCS game 5 in 2008. Under-estimating traffic, I arrived late and the Dodgers were already down and showed no signs of life and were eliminated by the Phillies in five.

I attended NLDS game 2 in 2009. There is nothing like the atmosphere of playoff baseball especially in a close game. We barely sat down for the final half of the game which the Dodgers would win 3-2 and take the series at St. Louis in game 3. However, in the NLCS, the dreaded Phillies would finish off the Dodgers in five once again.

More heartache would follow in 2013 when the Cardinals won the NLCS in six. The Cardinals would defeat the Dodgers again in 2014 in the NLDS in four. The Dodgers would be defeated in five by the Mets in the 2015 NLDS followed by losing in six in the 2016 NLCS to the Cubs.

And now, after 162 regular season games, three NLDS games (Arizona), five NLCS games (Chicago), and six World Series games (Houston) it comes down to one game.

A small number of fans were alive to see the Dodgers win in 1955 when they were in Brooklyn. Some Angelinos were around in 1959, 1963, and 1965 for the Koufax and Drysdale era. Many fans following the Dodgers today weren't even born in 1981 or when Gibson hit the homer played on endless loop since 1988.

But tonight, together, generations of Dodger fans will root and cheer and when it is over there will be disappointment or jubilation.

Win or lose, thank you to #ThisTeam the 2017 edition of the LA Dodgers!

###

Some excerpts from LA Times coverage ....

Baxter:
Dodger Stadium has played host to a Pope and the Kings. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Three Tenors have performed there. So did the Harlem Globetrotters. But baseball’s third-oldest ballpark, which opened in 1962, has never seen Game 7 of a World Series played there. Until today. [......] “Game 7,” Dodger President Stan Kasten said. “It’s the greatest thing in sports. And Game 7 for the first time at Dodger Stadium? It literally does not get any better.”

Hernandez:
The words were simple, but Yu Darvish found the sentiment behind them to be particularly heartwarming. “We’re going to get this one for you.” That’s what Darvish said he was told by the other Dodgers in the team’s pregame huddle the day after he lived a nightmare in his first start in a World Series. [.......] When Turner returned to the clubhouse after the game Tuesday, he made it a point to speak to Darvish. “I came in here after the game, gave him a big hug and told him his time was tomorrow,” Turner said. And if it’s Darvish’s time, it will be the Dodgers’, too.

Plaschke:
A dozen outs from the end of their season, pushed by a raucous Halloween crowd and fueled by their own desperation, the Dodgers dug deep. They trailed by one run. They had one hit. They were leaning on a tattered bullpen. The night was cooling. The sky was spitting. Winter was coming. But then, in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series against the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, it happened, the wondrous realization of a nightly cry that brought back summer. It was time for Dodger baseball........

Shaikin:
There is a time to stand up for your teammates, for justice, for what you believe to be right. This, presumably, was not that time. This was the World Series, and an elimination game at that. So that might have been the greatest testament to what Rich Hill did Tuesday: He put his sense of right and wrong ahead of winning and losing, at least for a few moments. It had been four days since Yuli Gurriel of the Houston Astros had slanted his eyes and used a racial slur to mock Yu Darvish, the Dodgers’ Japanese-born pitcher. Hill still was bothered that Commissioner Rob Manfred had decided not to suspend Gurriel during the World Series. [.......] And Hill was Gustavo Dudamel, with a ball rather than a baton, silently conducting the crowd, pausing time and again to let a cascade of boos rain down upon Gurriel. Hill stepped off the mound so the crowd could jeer, made a pitch, stepped off the mound for another round of jeers, made another pitch. He turned into a veritable Pedro Baez, lingering between pitches so the crowd could rev up its vocal cords once again. “I think the one thing was just to let the crowd speak their mind,” Hill said. “I didn’t think anything else would be as loud as that. The people spoke. I left it to that, and that was it. “That was the best way to go about it, not hitting him or doing anything like that, but making sure that things like this shouldn’t happen.”

McCullough:
“You got this?” manager Dave Roberts asked. Jansen stared at his manager. He had blown one save and lost one game to these Houston Astros. He understood that the Dodgers resided on the brink of elimination because of it. His gaze was firm. His answer was brief, biting and unequivocal. “Yes,” Jansen replied, and he walked away. Roberts needed to hear no more. Jansen climbed the stairs for the ninth. He refused to relinquish the baseball. And he refused to wilt, slamming the door shut in a 3-1 victory that guaranteed something that has never happened at Dodger Stadium. World Series, Game 7. Could you expect any less? Could you ask for any more? The baseball gods might not answer letters, but they do allow dreams to flourish. The Dodgers kept theirs alive Tuesday, 48 hours after an excruciating Game 5 defeat, by playing like the team that ran away with the National League West and bulldozed the other contenders for the pennant. [......] After the chaos of this series, in which homers soared in record numbers and bullpen decisions endured unceasing scrutiny, a winner will be crowned Wednesday. The Dodgers couldn’t wait. “We never stopped believing in ourselves, that we can win a championship,” Jansen said. “So here we are.”

###

As a sports fan, have to tip my hat to the Houston Astros for winning the 2017 World Series. They led in almost every statistical category in offense during the regular season. In the end, Dodger pitching won games 1, 4, and 6 and Houston hitting won games 2,3,5, and 7. Congratulations to the Astros. Hope springs alive again for all the clubs at next year's spring training!

As a Dodger fan, there is disappointment of course but also great memories of an incredible season. #ThisTeam gave fans who were old enough to see them win in 1955 to those who weren't even born in 1988 a wild ride of a good season filled with the entrance to the stage of new stars and the consistent efforts of veteran ballplayers. Generations of fans linked in the shared disappointments and jubilations of a season culminating in the first World Series appearance in a long time.

Thank you Dodgers!

MLS playoffs

The Premier League and other levels of the English soccer pyramid awards the title to the team with the best record. There are no playoffs for that prize.

However, in the promotion part of the competition, there are playoffs.

For example, in the English League Championship (tier 2), the top team wins the title and promotion to the Premier League. The second place team gains promotion to the Premier league. The third place team plays the sixth place team in one of the semi-finals, while the fourth and fifth place clubs play in the other semi-finals. The respective winners match up in a final with the winner gaining the third promotion slot to the Premier League.

MLS does it entirely differently. There is no promotion/relegation. The regular season winner gets the Supporters Shield (and an automatic bid to the CONCACAF Champions League) but the MLS Cup goes to the winner of the playoffs. The MLS is divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. The top two teams in these conferences are slotted into the Conference semi-finals with their opponents determined by knock-out matches between #3 vs. #6 and #4 vs. #5. The Conference semi-finals are two-legged as are the Conference finals. The MLS Cup is a single match at the home field of the finalist with the best regular season record.

This year Toronto dominated the regular season and are expected to win their playoff contests for the Eastern Conference's slot in the MLS Cup. It isn't clear who is the strongest in the Western Conference as the regular season point separation between #1 through #5 was a mere 4 points. An indication of the parity of the West is the first leg results between Portland/Houston and Seattle/Vancouver yielded the identical scores of 0-0!

Portland scored the most goals in the Western Conference. Seattle had the second best defense in the Western Conference. Using the "defense wins in playoffs" rationale, am picking Seattle.

In a Seattle vs. Toronto re-match for MLS Cup.... will it be 0-0 like last year with Seattle winning in PKs? I suspect this year Toronto wins it in regular time!

Anfield European Night - Maribor

LFC easily beat Maribor on the road and should have no trouble at home.

Of course, just saying that is tempting fate with the soccer script writers!

Starting XI:
Klopp is a creature of habit and he will use Karius in goal.

As for the back four:
Moreno - amazingly, he is number 4 in minutes played for the club after barely playing last season.
Alexander-Arnold (Klopp likes to rotate his youth so Gomez rests and AA gets the call)
Matip - the man with the most minutes on the field this season
The last spot will be filled with either Lovren or Klavan. Klavin should get the start even if Lovren is largely recovered from injury - update he is not. I think Lovren needs the break from the grind.

Midfield:
Wijnaldum, Henderson, Can.
I think, for rest purposes, Milner will be rotated out and Can rotated in. An intriguing option would be to put in Oxlade-Chamberlain instead.

Front:
Salah, Firmino, Coutinho (if healthy - update he is not). Sturridge is in if Couthinho isn't ready to go. An intriguing option here would be to play Solanke instead.

Sturridge, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Solanke will get minutes, it is just whether any one of them gets a start. And, if LFC can jump out to a big early lead, the sooner you will see them worked into the line-up to give the big guns a break.

Queen Park Ranger Defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1

Well done by the Hoops!

I read the match reports and see the highlights on the QPR site. Sometimes I'll watch sections of the full match replay if there is one posted at the QPR site.

Anyway, the team is always putting forth an effort. But in so many matches it is just a mistake or two and they get defeated or they miss some good chances and get only a draw.

Well, today, they got it done!

Late goal by the big man Smith at 81' to get the victory 2-1!

I wonder how many R fans are there in Los Angeles?

Below is the short highlight package without commentary at the QPR You Tube site. A longer version with commentary can be seen at the QPR page with registration.

Los Angelino visiting West London's Loftus Road

Was recently in the UK on business travel. However, did have a little bit of free time in London. On the free evening I had, there was one soccer match in London: Queens Park Rangers vs. Fulham.

Went online and ordered up a ticket on the South Africa Road stand. When I bought the ticket online, I figured I should read up about the club before seeing the match and the big news was QPR's involvement in the Game For Grenfell. In the summer of 2017, a horrible fire engulfed Grenfell Tower killing 80 and impacting the lives of multitudes in the West London area. Some of the leadership of Queens Park Rangers, a club just a couple of miles from the Grenfell Tower, felt the need to do something for the community and the idea of a charity match gathered support from a wide range of people with ties to West London. As it stands, the effort may raise nearly 1 million pounds. I found it easy to like QPR because of their can do community spirit!

In terms of QPR's on-the-field efforts, they had been competitive in matches but couldn't seem to get any wins. Expectations against Fulham were hopeful but confidence couldn't be considered high given QPR's form leading up to the game.

Took the London Underground and got out at Shepherd's Bush Market station. This part of London is very ethnically diverse and Uxbridge Road buzzed with activity in shops and restaurants.

Walked to the venerable Loftus Road stadium that sits in the middle of the residential area. The TV trucks were parked on Loftus Road as the evenings match was a West London Derby and televised. It was a nice Friday evening just a little cool for a Southern Californian but at least no rain!

Went to the team store and picked up a cap.

Walked back to Uxbridge Road and looked for some pre-game food at Lahore Spice. Had some reasonably priced chicken biryani.

Walked back to the stadium, showed my ticket, and entered the stadium. 

One of the stewards took a photo of me. He told me about the vocal but largely calm nature of the derby between Fulham and QPR compared to the more difficult Chelsea fans that are also part of the West London soccer scene. He observed that in the past, there were many American fans attending matches involving Fulham when Clint Dempsey with them. In an effort to establish my soccer fan credentials, I mentioned that Tim Ream is the current American on the Fulham squad. He asked me how I became a supporter of QPR. I told him essentially what I have relayed here: it was an opportunity to experience English football culture and I was impressed by QPR's efforts for the community with the Game For Grenfell. 

Wonderful atmosphere as the QPR supporters cheered for their team. Alas, the visitors had more to cheer about as Fulham won 2-1.

Queens Park Rangers will struggle to be in the top half of the table as they operate under the shadow financial fair play violations from their mad dash for promotion to the Premier League during the 2013-2014 season. There is no question they broke the rules. Their only hope is that the size of the fines could be reduced upon appeal. As a small club, their finances are somewhat precarious and the current management is trying to run QPR in a financially sustainable manner and are hoping to put that sorry chapter behind them. 

I will continue to follow and root for QPR even as they struggle as a bottom of the table English Football League Championship club because they are a community club with a heart as seen in the Game For Grenfell. More of that heart was on display the evening of the Fulham match when they had some participants from the Tiger Cubs on the field pre-match for photos, to meet players and receive the applause of the fans. This initiative involves the use of soccer and other activities to promote the well being of local Down Syndrome individuals.  

Come on you R's!

Liverpool vs. Huddersfield Town

After the drubbing taken by LFC last weekend, the team and staff had a week to chew things over.

Am figuring the biggest decision is who gets the call for goalkeeper?

Have seen reports that Ward is injured; thus, does Klopp stick to his stated plan of Mignolet in Premier League and Karius in Champions League? I think this is a coin flip as both have had issues. But it might be time to roll the dice on Karius and see what he can do with a longer run of matches as the keeper.

As for the defensive back four, if Lovren is really taking painkiller routinely to stay in the game, he should be given the day off. As much as fans complain about him, the reality is who on the depth chart is a better or even comparable option? So if he is healthy, he still gets the call but am suspecting he isn't really anywhere near 100%. Thus, am looking to see Matip and Klavan as CB, Robertson at LB and Gomez at RB.

Reports say Coutinho is injured and won't be available. D-Midfield will be Can and Milner with Oxlade-Chamberlain and Henderson pushing ahead to link with two forwards Salah and Sturridge.

Subs likely to get game time, Solanke to replace Sturridge. Wijnaldum and Grujic to enter for whomever looks to need a break.

Go Reds!

UPDATE: 3-0 win by Liverpool! Klopp stuck by Mignolet and continues to choose Moreno over Robertson at left back. He also stayed with his preferred 4-3-3 thus Salah, Sturridge and Firmino were at the top. Milner, Henderson, and Wijnaldum were in midfield. Coutinho and Lovren were unavailable for selection due to injury.

Will be interested to see who he sends out for the mid-week match against Maribor. Karius in goal of course, but beyond that who gets the call?

Star Trek Discover Episodes 5-6 (contains spoilers)

I think what makes a TV show work is that you find the characters interesting enough to want to find out more about them and to see what happens to them. I think they are doing that. Tilly is no longer one dimensional. The writers are filling in Burnham's backstory in an interesting way. Saru continues to get some great scenes. Lorca remains a question mark to me. Sisko had his "In the Pale Moonlight" episode. However, Lorca, appears to be going farther off the reservation. Is he simply overzealous win at all costs? Or is there something pathological about the guy? Am thinking the writers want us to sit in that tension.

As far as plot points, especially in science fiction, you do accept some things that are implausible. However, if the writers make too many mistakes within the narrative world they have created, it can get pretty annoying pretty fast. Thus, for this review of Star Trek Discovery Episodes 5-6, I have complaints on that front.

The narrative arc of episode 5 is to have Captain Lorca captured by the Klingons so that they eventually escape with the help of prisoner (a subject of internet debate) Lt. Ash Tyler and be rescued by the Discovery using the spore drive under the control of Lt. Stamets instead of the poor dying tardigrade. Also, we get hints of the problem with the spore drive with the time shifted mirror image of Stamets at the end of the episode.

All fine and good but the whole episode rests on getting Captain Lorca kidnapped by the Klingons!

The Federation military knows that the Klingons have cloaked ships. Thus, Klingon ships can travel undetected until the last moment when they appear just before taking offensive action. Knowing this, you probably don't want to be sending one of your top military leaders (Lorca) in a lightly armed shuttlecraft to attend a meeting. Rather, you rely on your encrypted secure communication systems! You don't sending him in a rinky-dink puddle jumper with just one other armed soldier on board.

Of course the other problem is that even if you were stupid enough to send Lorca in the equivalent of a Cessna Piper Cub to attend the high level confab, how did the Klingons know his exact route and exact time he would be traveling? This would suggest there is a mole in the Federation providing such valuable intelligence data. Perhaps, that will be revealed in future episodes.

In any case, the various developments we get from episode 5 rests on an implausible premise.

As for the narrative arc of episode 6, the key is Sarek's diplomatic mission to assess peace feelers from the Klingons. This leads to the revelation of a radical faction within the Vulcan political system as its operative attempts to kill Sarek and sabotage the mission. With Sarek injured, Burnham senses his agony leading to some interesting character development as the story unfolds.

We know from Star Trek Enterprise that the Vulcan's had their share of political intrigue and even with the recovery of Surak's foundational teachings (episode arc in Enterprise season 4), bad habits are hard to put away fully. Nicely played by the writers here linking that with the Sarek/Burnham relationship.

If the episode ended there, things would have been fine. But instead, we are "treated" to the plot twist of Admiral Cornwall taking up Sarek's mission and getting kidnapped by the Klingons.

UGH!

First of all, Sarek, a seasoned diplomat, would not have arraigned a meeting at a location where either side would have had an easy opportunity to set up an ambush.

Second, even if Sarek was willing to take the risk of being caught or killed, as a Vulcan diplomat, he would not have detailed knowledge of the Federation's military plans and thus would not yield valuable information under torture.

Instead, we have the sorry spectacle of the highest ranking red shirt (Admiral Cornwall) ever getting into a situation that isn't going to end well. No one in her right mind and no aide/advisor to Cornwall would have allowed her to go on such a mission. She is way too familiar with both the political and military situation of the Federation. She would be an intelligence treasure trove of information should she break under torture.

Finally, there is the internet storm about the Tyler/Voq conspiracy. It is quite possible that this fan theory is correct. However, if the writers have gone down this path, they did not do their continuity with canon work with much care. We know from TOS, the Trouble with Tribbles that a Klingon can be modified so that one could appear human. In the story, Darvin, a staff aide to a Federation development official, has been placed as a Klingon spy to poison a grain shipment. However, his secret is blown in Act 4 when the tribbles squeak and squawk at Darvin. Since the only other time the friendly cuddly creatures reacted that way was around Klingons, everyone is suspicious. At this point, McCoy runs a quick medical scan of Darvin and announces, "Heartbeat is all wrong, his body temperature is ..... Jim, this man is a Klingon!"

Thus, if Tyler is really Voq engineered to be human, they did an incredible job. The effort would have been so good as to fool the Discovery medical team that would have examined Tyler head to toe as a victim of months of torture and possible brainwash. If the ST-DSC writers have gone down this path, they will have to "break canon" to make it work. Of course, maybe, it is all just a big head fake to drive up the fan based conspiracy machine!

Dodgers vs. Astros by the numbers

Looking at the statistics from the regular season ......

Fielding:
Dodgers 88 errors = error ever 1.84 games
Houston 99 errors = error every 1.63 games

That is not a large difference spread out over 162 games. Very slight edge to Dodgers.

Pitching (ERA):
Dodgers 3.38
Houston 4.12

ERA is probably the best metric of a pitching staff as it removes the impact of a poor fielding team. Since the fielding ability of the two clubs is pretty even, the ERA stat appears to be informative indicating a Dodger advantage on this.

However, you might think the AL with the DH means higher scoring in the AL thus they may have ERA inflation. The average number of runs in the AL was 763 runs compared to the NL 743 runs. This is only 2.7% more runs. The league ERA differential is almost non-existent (4.37 in the AL 4.34 in the NL). The differential by ERA between the Dodgers and Houston is a whopping 22%.

Thus, strong edge to the Dodgers in pitching.

However, Houston did win 101 games that made them 3rd best (Cleveland was 2nd best with 102 and Dodgers were number 1 with 104) in the MLB this year. Houston won with offense. They were #1 in 9 of the 12 sortable batting categories. The Dodgers made the top 10 in just a few of the sortable categories.

Thus, strong edge to Houston for hitting.

As such, this appear to be shaping up to be the classic match-up between a team with powerful hitting against a team with strong pitching. When an irresistible force encounters an unmovable object who wins?

If you go to the stats limiting the data to the post-season what do you see?

Houston hitting has struggled. However, they faced good pitching in the form of the Yankees and still beat them over seven games. The Red Sox had better regular season pitching than Houston and were defeated in four games.

As a lifelong Dodger fan, I am rooting for them.

As a sports fan dedicated to looking at what the number say, the advantages of each club reside in different areas of the game making predictions difficult. Houston's hitting eventually wore down the pitching advantage (relative to Houston) of the Red Sox and the Yankees. On the other hand, Dodger pitching wore down the stronger offenses (compared to the Dodgers) that Arizona and Chicago had.

Go Dodgers!

Tottenham 4 Liverpool 1

Sometimes, the other team is just better.

Of course, there can be some tactical decisions Liverpool could have taken like perhaps playing it safe for the first 15 to 30 minutes to settle into the game before opening things up. Sometimes you can start the game too amped up. But that is 20-20 hindsight.

Lovren has certainly come under a lot of criticism but he is almost certainly playing hurt. It is pretty much personnel malpractice by Liverpool to keep running a guy out there who has to take pain killers to keep playing. The club knew going into the season that fixture congestion is part of Premier League and European scheduling and should have gotten at least one center back of similar caliber to Lovren and Matip regardless of whether they could land Southampton's Virgil Van Dijk.

In the end, though LFC is called part of the so-called big 6 (Man U, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool), it has less margin for error in the open market since they don't have the mega-budgets of the big 4 (Man U, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal). As such, they do have to do more "moneyball" thinking and the fans have to accept the diminished expectations that come with the inability to throw money at problems.

Liverpool did spend some big money this summer on Salah and he has become a fan favorite and is a key part of the offense. The somewhat high cost (considering his meager track record) of Oxlade-Chamberlain seems a bit high for what appears to be a role player rather than first choice starter. Solanke is a young and a work in progress but looks very promising. Robertson was a modest expense and remains to be seen what his eventual role will be on the club since Moreno is still getting the lion's share of the minutes at left back.

Klopp has often said, show me a center back in the open market that is better than what we got?

Fair enough.

But might there have been center backs that were just as good as what they have that they could have gotten in the summer to step in for the inevitable injuries that will happen in a long campaign?

Klopp's managerial brother a mile away at Everton (Ronald Koeman) has been sacked for a poor start. Some hyperventilating LFC fans are calling for Klopp's ouster. Hopefully, those fans can be talked off that ledge but I suspect not. LFC isn't in such a dire situation.

They will need to do something about the defense at the January window at the very least.

How does MLS compare with other leagues?

With the increasing popularity of soccer, the team at 538 have now included their stats analysis on various leagues in world soccer.

Since teams within a continent can play across club lines in things like the Champions League or Europa League, some head-to-head comparison is possible. However, how strong is a league in one continent compared to another?

The 538 people make an attempt. Not surprisingly, traditional soccer powers and their leagues are at the top of their charts.

Looking further down, you eventually can find the MLS.

One should note that the "market value" of a league is based on salaries. By that metric, the English Premier league is highest due to "wage inflation" that is possible with the rich TV contracts they have throughout the world. The same notion of "wage inflation" is true for MLS in the USA since Designated Player salaries are probably inflated for the level of talent that is obtained.

Yet, despite the monetary strength of MLS, note the weakness of MLS in direct competition! MLS is below many lesser priced leagues including Sweden! Of course, these are based on math models. In practice MLS teams never play head-to-head with anyone outside of MLS. The only exception is MLS teams that make it to CONCACAF champions league where they usually beat everyone except Mexico Liga MX clubs.

What to make of the analysis?

In Sweden, there is only so much money available from TV contracts and funds from local fan support. Good Swedish talent eventually transfer to more lucrative salaries available in other parts of Europe. If one looks at the Swedish national team roster that are striving for a spot in the World Cup, almost all play outside of Sweden. Nonetheless, some solid talent remains in country in the club system. On average, they earn less than MLS on average.

The MLS wage structure is not a strictly free market system. There are high priced players who are Designated Players earning 7-digit salaries. Teams are limited to a maximum of three such players. The rest of the team is comprised of mid-priced players picking up 6-digit salaries and players at or just barely above the league minimum with 5-digit salaries. 

Thus, how strong would an MLS club be against second and third tier European clubs? 

The 538 data would suggest that MLS would not fare well. 

I suppose the average Swedish player is paid more than an MLS player at the league minimum?

As for talent, would those Swedish club players be comparable to the typical mid-priced MLS player? If so, it is possible that overall, a Swedish team might have more players at this level than an MLS club and thus would win in a head-to-head match? Or would those 3 Designated Players push an MLS club over a Swedish club in an on-the-field match-up?

Who knows!?

The life of a sports fan - victory or misery!

Been crazy busy. However, still keep my ears and eyes open to the soccer teams I follow.

USMNT - if you can't get a victory or a draw against Trinidad Tobago you don't deserve to go to the World Cup. The men's side of US Soccer is in sackcloth and ashes with calls for sackings. Coach Arena within a matter of days resigned. The question now is whether more changes will occur and what changes would be most helpful to improve the program. The major criticism I have heard is that the team simply didn't play as a team with any sense of urgency. They thought they would just roll the ball out onto the field and show up and win. Once they realized they were in a real match and having to play catch up the team just didn't have the mentality to recover. The other observation is the "missing generation" hypothesis. USMNT has relied on that group that came to prominence about a decade ago with Donovan, Howard, Dempsey, Bradley, and others. This group is now running out of gas as time has caught up with them. Unfortunately, the group that is now in their 20s doesn't appear to have the right stuff to take their place. I will now be rooting for Sweden to upset Italy to gain spot in the World Cup.

Elfsborg - they are bottom half of the table. It has been a tough year. The manager, Magnus Haglund, has been sacked. Barring losing every game and someone below them winning every game, they should avoid relegation. But beyond the team is playing for spots in next seasons roster.

Falkenberg - they made a run at the third spot and a place in the promotion playoff but they have since slipped back to fifth. They started the season poorly in the relegation zone for several weeks but slowly creeped up the table reaching third for one week. Will see if they can make a run at promotion next season.

LA Galaxy - they are currently last in MLS with one game to go. Its been a rough season with clubhouse tensions, injuries to key players, and far more defeats than expected. The question for the brain trust is who is going to get sacked in the front office and which players on the roster will be retained. Might Cole get one more year at left back? Will they be able to lay down the curse of right back injuries and find someone who will survive and thrive in that position? Which of their many midfielders (Jones, Pedro, Husidic, Lleget, Boetang) will stay and which will go? We assume the three DPs are "untouchable?" Which of the three goalkeepers will stay and which will go?

Liverpool - they put a lot of shots up but they don't get them in the net and losing Mane to injury makes that even more challenging for them. There have been many draws where they had the lion's share of possession and opportunities and the defense surrendered soft goals. Big win against Maribor with seven goals! Perhaps, that will restore their confidence. On the other hand, it could be that Maribor is simply not very good. Big match this weekend against Tottenham!

Meanwhile, in baseball, Go DODGERS!

It has been a long time since 1988 when they last climbed to the top of the MLB mountain. Two times against the Phillies they were at the short end of a 4-1 NLCS. Two times against the Cards they were at the short end of a 4-2 NLCS. Last year, they were at the short end of a 4-2 NLCS against the Cubs. But this year, they knocked out Arizona in three straight and have gained a 3-0 lead over the Cubs. Let's finish this thing and advance!

Go DODGERS!

Star Trek Discovery episodes 1-4

Yes, I am a Star Trek fan.

I’ve seen all the movies. I’ve seen most if not all the episodes of all the flavors of the show. Therefore, when CBS decided to launch the latest edition of Star Trek on their streaming service, I signed up.

My impressions thus far after 4 episodes: production values are very high, characterizations show great potential, story line is wait and see what they will make of it since it is serialized storytelling.

(spoilers ahead) 

Episode 1 begins with the “4th act” of a previous episode that has Burnham and Georgiou bantering while going about saving an indigenous species by restoring their water supply. Hard core Trek fans might cry foul as it would be a violation of the Prime Directive. However, in various flavors of the show, the Prime Directive rule was often set aside in these kinds of situations. Clearly, the writers wanted to establish a mentor/mother figure in Georgiou which they did well.

Enjoyed the opening title sequence and music!

In the episode 1-2 story package, they also introduced us to the lively relationship between Burnham, Georgiou and Saru. I think they did a fine job here as well and sadly I wonder if this is a missed opportunity to have built the show around that relationship?

Burnham’s crisis quickly arrives as she makes the decision to take matters into her own hands in trying to get the first shot at the Klingons. Some critics have felt this was way too abrupt. She is human trained in the way of Vulcans so she may have in some ways the best of both worlds and the worst of both worlds. Nonetheless, we have to recall Vulcan’s can be very determined about a course of action once they are convinced of its correctness. Think of Spock’s actions in TOS episodes: The Menagerie, The Galileo Seven, Paradise Syndrome, and The Tholian Web and in TNG episode Unification. Also, recall Tuvok in Prime Factors. Lastly, in the entire series run of Enterprise, we find the Vulcans quite pragmatic in their diplomatic relations. As such, I’m willing to grant this premise to set in motion Burnham’s story journey into episodes 3 and beyond.

The attempt to capture T’Kuvma was not consistent with what we know about the Klingon warrior ethos. They believe dying in battle is honorable and to be captured a dishonor. Thus, the rationale used for this ill-fated mission to use his capture as a bargaining chip would not be sufficient grounds to get the Klingon’s to negotiate.

In episode 3 we are introduced to the Discovery and a new set of characters. We shall see if the triangle of Lorca, Saru, and Burnham will be a good one. Certainly, as I had mentioned, the Burnham, Georgiou and Saru could have been good to build a show upon.

Tilly as a character has great potential though I thought they may have overplayed her wide-eyed enthusiasm a bit too much.

The “spore drive” concept seems a bit much. Science fiction by nature has to resort to deus ex machina to some extent. But this new way to travel in this episode was invoked in rapid succession (1) spores as tying into the fabric of the universe allowing near instantaneous travel (2) the unusual tardigrade that can interact with the spore/network and (3) the invention of a device that can tap into the mind of the tardigrade and control its actions and (4) that this could be connected to the Discover and Glenn starships.

The plot point of having T’Kuvma ship be stalled out and needing to steal the Shenzou’s dilithium converter to get repaired was sloppy plot planning by the writers. The writers had established that the Federation does destroy its technology to avoid losing it by destroying the Glenn (episode 3) when it had its malfunction. The Federation would have scuttled any and all of the abandoned vessels lost in the Battle of the Binary Stars (episode 2).

The killing off of Landry was another sloppy plot twist by the writers. Yes, you want to establish that major (or potentially major) characters can get killed off but these should happen within the plausible structure of the characters and the plot line. Landry is a high ranking officer and would probably not act in such an ill considered manner.

Anyway, we shall see what future episodes bring! Perhaps, more commentary is ahead?

Ooofff - LA Galaxy season hits bottom, Elfborg in the middle, FFF with still something to strive for

It has been a rough season with many low points and it seems the season has hit yet another low with a 4-0 defeat.

I had a prior event commitment so I was not able to watch the match.

However, from the post-game report from Corner of the Galaxy, it looks like Coach Sigi Schmid had seen enough and was at wits end. Excerpt:

The normally talkative Schmid appeared worn out and frustrated after a 4-0 drubbing by Toronto FC. His hand was pressed against his face as he struggled to find the right words to express his anger at the events without yelling at reporters.

And some of the fans had seen enough such that the Angel City Brigade (one of three official supporter groups) demanded a response from the club. Excerpt:

Meanwhile, back at field level, Galaxy supporters group Angel City Brigade still was singing nearly 45 minutes after the final whistle. Those fans were determined to stay in section 121 at the north side of the stadium until either a player or Galaxy President Chris Klein talked to them. They wanted answers for a disappointing season and were adamant in not leaving without them. Not even L.A. County Sheriffs, a K-9 unit and several officers in bulletproof vests could persuade them to leave.

Eventually, Romain Alessandrini came out to address the fans. Excerpt:

according to one fan, “Romain just apologized for the situation and said, ‘We need you guys.’ “He assured us that next year will be very different. Considering Sigi is getting ready to chop heads and players’ jobs are on the line, we feel a lot will change next year. But this year is lost.”

###

Meanwhile, keeping an eye on Swedish soccer, Elfsborg's season continues to be inconsistent. Throughout the season, they win some, draw some, lose some and thus sit at eighth place right in the middle of the 16-team table. Today, they have a home match against Djurgarden, one of the Stockholm clubs. who currently sits in second place.

As for Laget vid Havet, the team by the sea, Falkenberg, the opportunity to make the promotion playoffs is slipping away. After the huge win over number two in the table Bromapojkarna, FFF has had two draws and a loss and have slipped back into fifth place and six points behind number three Trelleborg. Trelleborg has been on the upswing going undefeated in eight matches of which seven were wins.

FFF does face the two teams ahead of them so those are essentially must win matches. They also need to collect three points from some of the other matches and need Trelleborg and Helsingborg to take a few losses in order to get back into the race for that promotion playoff spot.

What it feels like to be a fan - LFC struggles

After the initial teeth grinding of the Watford 3-3 draw, LFC went on a pretty good tear: winning on the road against Hoffenheim, winning against Crystal Palace (a team that has always caused trouble), closing out Hoffenheim to stamp their ticket to the Champions League, and then the demolition of Arsenal.

Fans were dreaming of a serious run at the Premier League title and in the Champions league.

The wheels came off the band wagon with the crack up at Manchester City when Liverpool went down to 10 men and gave up five unanswered goals. This was followed by getting only a point against Sevilla when Liverpool had three points well in hand. And to top off the stretch of matches, Liverpool fired shotgun pellets against Burnley (35 shots) but only came up with only 1 goal. Meanwhile, Burnley got 5 shots of which 1 went in, 1 was headed away by an alert Matip right at the goal-line and 1 blocked away by Mignolet again right at the goal-line. LFC fans ground their teeth down breathing a sigh of relief their club didn't LOSE to Burnley after those two set pieces.

The 35 shot stat is a bit like baseball's "left on base." You win baseball games by scoring runs which is made easier by getting people on base. But of course, you need clutch hitting to cash in those runners in scoring position. Likewise, in soccer, Liverpool was running rampant dominating possession and firing shots at the goal. But in the end, of those 35, I can't recall how many were near misses verses weakly hit shots and shots that went somewhat wide of target.

The draw to Sevilla was similarly frustrating. LFC missed a PK and failed to cash in an extra goal from their many opportunities.

In my observations, losing to Manchester City is not surprising since people are saying Manchester City and Manchester United are likely to be fighting it out for the Premier League title. And given LFC went down to 10 men, the situation was doubly difficult to salvage anything from.

What will Liverpool do?

Certainly, the key is Mane and Salah. If Mane was in against Burnley, I think Liverpool gets a second and even third goal either from Mane directly or the fact that he would so scramble the minds of the defenders that someone else from LFC would have scored.

However, Mane will miss two more Premier League matches so Klopp needs to figure out if Sturridge is the best running mate with Salah. Perhaps, Solanke may take that role? And who does Klopp send out to give Salah (340 minutes in 5 Premier League matches) and Firmino (396 minutes in 5 PL matches) the occasional break.

As for the midfield, when Coutinho's rust gets scraped off, Liverpool's attack will go up another level. Also, key will be for one of the other midfielders to be much more conscientious about defense. Who can play the "6" best?

EFL Cup on Tuesday. Its a 50:50 proposition since LFC will send out some members of the "B-team." Will be curious how many of the "A-team" will start and will come in as substitutes.

Playing catch-up - USMNT struggles

Been away from blogging for a bit.

To catch up some ....... there was quite a stir over the defeat of the US to Costa Rica and then the late rally to snatch a point in Honduras.

As a result of the bad results, Alexi Lalas went on an epic rant.

Hey #USMNT, @AlexiLalas has a message for you. pic.twitter.com/xzXfOywU22

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 11, 2017

Craig Burley on ESPNFC also went on a rant about the USMNT.


The USMNT still controls its own destiny. They need to beat Panama and Trinidad Tobago to finish third which they should. If they don't, they don't deserve to go to the World Cup, it is that simple

I think USMNT has the players to make it through. However, there is the feeling the team is less than the sum of its parts. How much of it is players not being alert on the field - losing concentration at the wrong moments? How much of it is picking the wrong combination of players to match up against the opponents? How much of it is the coaching staff not preparing and motivating the team? How much of it is the players themselves not pushing each other to give that extra 5% that often separates victory from defeat?

After all the storm and thunder of Burley and Lalas - correct sentiments if stated in a somewhat over-the-top fashion, the bottom line is the USMNT needs to get it done on the field. I think they will. However, we may have to acknowledge that CONCACAF number 4-6 have gotten better and USMNT cannot just toss the ball out on the field and win playing something less than 100%.

FFF has an epic fail against Gefle

Falkenbergs FF fans witnessed a total collapse in the home match against last place, relegation bound Gefle.

Using google translate, here is how the reporter at the Hallands Nyheter put it.

It was Saturday night, there were nine matches without loss. It was sunny and hot in September. It was Gefle's last placed on the other side of the board, a team that lacked three suspended punches (players). Everything set for celebration; tjo and tjim (idiom for making sounds of celebration) and much more. It ended in embarrassing silence at the Falcon Alcohol Free Arena and crowds who left far before the end signal.

Final score: 0-4

The result leaves FFF in fourth place in the table two points out with 8 matches to go.

FFF goes on the road to take on Dalkurd in the next match.

Swedish soccer is unpredictable. Brommapojkarna and Dalkurd are sitting respectively at 47 and 46 points and in solid position for promotion. Nonetheless, FFF beat Brommapojkarna 5-1 on August 27. Dalkurd has been on fire going undefeated since June 12. However, in the previous meeting FFF beat Dalkurd 2-0 back on May 21.

We shall see!

Laget vid Havet!