After an incredibly sloppy and slow start at Qwest Field, the Sounders settled down and beat up on expansion team the Philadelphia Union. The Union’s mohawked defender mugged Fredy Montero and was given a yellow card early in the first half, and 35 minutes later Toni Stahl had received two yellows and the Union were down a man. In the interim, the Sounders began to control the game and scored on a beautiful counter attack started by Freddie Ljungberg and ended with a low shot from 8 yards by Brad Evans. Freddy Montero’s diving header in the 43rd minute made it 2-0 and the game was all but over. Despite numerous chances in the 2nd half the Sounders couldn’t score again, and this was their downfall last year: not taking advantage of great scoring opportunities and putting teams away. The comments I read in the PI today were encouraging though, with no one on the team seemingly satisfied with the game, and not just because they were playing a lowly expansion team from Philly.
The Union’s head coach Peter Nowak was very critical of Ljungberg’s whining and flopping, but perhaps he hadn’t seen him play before because that’s always been his M.O, at least with the Sounders. I agree with Novak and hate this part of Ljungberg’s game, criticizing him harshly last season on this very blog. But one comment struck me as sounding like sour grapes. Nowak indicated he wasn’t impressed with Seattle’s crowd and said it was quiet in the 2nd half. Well, it may have been quieter, but the team was up 2-0, it was pissing down rain, and the chanting continued throughout. The crowd was fantastic, loud and engaged, all 36, 241 of us, and it was a great night and start to the season. Good luck the rest of the way Sounders!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
What a Heartbreaker in Spokane!
What an absolute heartbreaker but kudos to the Terps for their furious comeback, despite falling a bit short. It seems it was about 6 seconds of defense short, which is the ultimate shame (well that and knowing that KS and G-Town were gone from the tourney). It was the perfect end to a morning in which I started watching the game on the computer b/c the GA Tech and WVU games were on the two CBS channels, headed with Shelby to Coopers which was closed at noon (WTF!!!) then to the new “sports” bar called Scorecard, in which we sat at the bar and watched the bartender set our place settings and try, painfully slowly, to locate the Terps game, finally handing the remote over to Shelby who checked the guide only to determine it wasn’t on. After 10 minutes of sheer frustration, we went to the other local, Pinehurst Pub, where we were immediately told the game wasn’t on. So, I had some Stellas and Shelby some Bloody Mary’s, then we returned home to watch the last 8 minutes.
I thought we had it, and it was this team’s style frequently this season to fall behind by double digits only to come back and win. It’s not a good way to play though, obviously, and it finally caught up to them. Thanks to the seniors for four memorable years, and thanks, in particular to Greivis Vasquez, who is no doubt one of the greatest Terps ever. What a career! I also tip my hat to Gary Williams, for a fine job and a well-deserved ACC Coach of the Year! Take that Coach K! Next season will be very strange without GV, Hayes and Milbourne, and I fear that not having a sound PG will prove to be our downfall. Time will tell, but I will be watching and cheering from Seattle. Go Terps!
I thought we had it, and it was this team’s style frequently this season to fall behind by double digits only to come back and win. It’s not a good way to play though, obviously, and it finally caught up to them. Thanks to the seniors for four memorable years, and thanks, in particular to Greivis Vasquez, who is no doubt one of the greatest Terps ever. What a career! I also tip my hat to Gary Williams, for a fine job and a well-deserved ACC Coach of the Year! Take that Coach K! Next season will be very strange without GV, Hayes and Milbourne, and I fear that not having a sound PG will prove to be our downfall. Time will tell, but I will be watching and cheering from Seattle. Go Terps!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Down with the Blue Devils! Congratulations Seniors!
What a fantastic team effort last night in College Park and it was the signature win that the Terps just didn’t have so far this season. I’m so thrilled for the three seniors and Gary, in particular. What a way to finish your career at Maryland, and GV, as he has done for 4 years now, stepped up and wanted the ball at the most critical times of the game. The last shot he made was a thing of beauty, one that you say “No Greivis,” and then as the ball rattled around and dropped in “YES Greivis!” It was so much fun to watch with Shelby, especially after several very stressful days in trial for her. She even had her Terps shirt on which clearly the difference!
I couldn’t be more proud of how the Terps kept battling and played hard and tough for 40 minutes. Jordan Williams was incredibly tough despite getting constantly banged around by that stiff Zoubek, and he made several critical foul shots as the game wound down. Overall I think the refs did a pretty good job of letting them play, but there were a couple horrible calls that went against the Terps at critical times but they were able to overcome them all. And just b/c a guy is 7 feet tall, (as Zoubek is or 7’1” whatever he is) it doesn’t mean that you can use your strength and height to grab rebounds standing behind players who have boxed you out. He constantly gets away with murder in the paint, but looking back over the years, Duke consitently has had big guys in the middle who get away with murder. See tape of Shelden Williams four years, and I could rattle off a few more players too, but what’s the point?The screens Zoubek sets on the perimeter are typically moving picks, and I referred to him last night as a rook in chess b/c that’s about as mobile as the guy is. One foul that was called late in the first half on a shot that Singler made was an NBA continuation play and I don’t know how the refs missed it. The replays showed his left foot was on the ground when he was fouled and then he “jumped”, approximately 7 inches off the ground, making the shot and the subsequent FT for the 3 point play. But to me, the most ridiculous foul was the one when Scheyer was shooting a 3 pointer as he kicks out his feet to draw the foul. He does this all the time and gets away with it but I have no idea why. The Terps got some calls too, but they were also playing at home which helps. Despite my complaints about the officiating, the Terps did what they needed to do and persevered. That’s a team that has developed the personality of its coach, and that’s awesome!
To me, the combination of only 11 TO’s and grabbing the same number of rebounds as Duke were the two biggest factors in this game compared to the first meeting. Of course it helped that we shot 50% from the field too. Adrian Bowie made some huge shots and didn’t miss a shot all night, and Mosley played very well again. He only had 3 rebounds which was very surprising to me, but he plays great defense and plays hard ALL the time. Making 17 of 19 FT’s was so huge too, and we made them when we needed to down the stretch. I’m still wondering what’s going on with Milbourne and think he may have an injury or be sick, b/c he only logged 18 minutes and they were uninspired at best. Let’s get it going Landon, we really need you for the next 10 games Poor James Padgett too, who came in, grabbed a rebound and immediately turned the ball over. He looked lost, which at this point of the season is really disappointing. I expected a lot more from him this year and hope he can provide at least some valuable minutes down the stretch.
Saturday’s game now is for all the marbles, a tie for the ACC regular season title, and while I don’t often root for Carolina, I will be cheering for them against the Blue Devils on Saturday night. It will be senior night in Charlottesville Saturday for the Terps, so they can’t overlook this game and waste this golden opportunity to tie or win the ACC regular season. People will still say Duke is the “Class’ of the ACC, and that’s just the way it is, but we will all know better. Congratulations Terps, Greivis, Eric, Landon and Gary Williams, ACC Coach of the Year!!!!!! We are really going to miss you seniors! Fear the Turtle!!!!
I couldn’t be more proud of how the Terps kept battling and played hard and tough for 40 minutes. Jordan Williams was incredibly tough despite getting constantly banged around by that stiff Zoubek, and he made several critical foul shots as the game wound down. Overall I think the refs did a pretty good job of letting them play, but there were a couple horrible calls that went against the Terps at critical times but they were able to overcome them all. And just b/c a guy is 7 feet tall, (as Zoubek is or 7’1” whatever he is) it doesn’t mean that you can use your strength and height to grab rebounds standing behind players who have boxed you out. He constantly gets away with murder in the paint, but looking back over the years, Duke consitently has had big guys in the middle who get away with murder. See tape of Shelden Williams four years, and I could rattle off a few more players too, but what’s the point?The screens Zoubek sets on the perimeter are typically moving picks, and I referred to him last night as a rook in chess b/c that’s about as mobile as the guy is. One foul that was called late in the first half on a shot that Singler made was an NBA continuation play and I don’t know how the refs missed it. The replays showed his left foot was on the ground when he was fouled and then he “jumped”, approximately 7 inches off the ground, making the shot and the subsequent FT for the 3 point play. But to me, the most ridiculous foul was the one when Scheyer was shooting a 3 pointer as he kicks out his feet to draw the foul. He does this all the time and gets away with it but I have no idea why. The Terps got some calls too, but they were also playing at home which helps. Despite my complaints about the officiating, the Terps did what they needed to do and persevered. That’s a team that has developed the personality of its coach, and that’s awesome!
To me, the combination of only 11 TO’s and grabbing the same number of rebounds as Duke were the two biggest factors in this game compared to the first meeting. Of course it helped that we shot 50% from the field too. Adrian Bowie made some huge shots and didn’t miss a shot all night, and Mosley played very well again. He only had 3 rebounds which was very surprising to me, but he plays great defense and plays hard ALL the time. Making 17 of 19 FT’s was so huge too, and we made them when we needed to down the stretch. I’m still wondering what’s going on with Milbourne and think he may have an injury or be sick, b/c he only logged 18 minutes and they were uninspired at best. Let’s get it going Landon, we really need you for the next 10 games Poor James Padgett too, who came in, grabbed a rebound and immediately turned the ball over. He looked lost, which at this point of the season is really disappointing. I expected a lot more from him this year and hope he can provide at least some valuable minutes down the stretch.
Saturday’s game now is for all the marbles, a tie for the ACC regular season title, and while I don’t often root for Carolina, I will be cheering for them against the Blue Devils on Saturday night. It will be senior night in Charlottesville Saturday for the Terps, so they can’t overlook this game and waste this golden opportunity to tie or win the ACC regular season. People will still say Duke is the “Class’ of the ACC, and that’s just the way it is, but we will all know better. Congratulations Terps, Greivis, Eric, Landon and Gary Williams, ACC Coach of the Year!!!!!! We are really going to miss you seniors! Fear the Turtle!!!!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Huge Game in College Park Wednesday Night!
What a week for the Terps, with another huge game tomorrow night in College Park. While GV has continued to lead, Mosley has really stepped up in the last two games, and Milbourne has struggled. His shot has been off and he just hasn’t played as aggressively as he has throughout most of the season. I read that he only has two rebounds total in the last two games, so we really need him to get going again down the stretch.
The character and calm that this team consistently exhibits is outstanding, and they seem to have an insatiable will to win, save the Duke game. Duke’s size advantage isn’t going to be any different on Wednesday night, but I really would be surprised if we don’t win that game on Senior Night. And this may be foolish and bulletin board fodder for Duke b/c I’m sure they are reading Earl’s take this week, I am predicting a double digit win. I read that Duke would have the tiebreaker if we do finish the regular season tied, and I think it comes down to head to head against teams behind both teams in the standing. But, we can’t worry about that right now. Here’s hoping Comcast is louder than it has ever been, and the Terps can get a huge win! Go Terps!
The character and calm that this team consistently exhibits is outstanding, and they seem to have an insatiable will to win, save the Duke game. Duke’s size advantage isn’t going to be any different on Wednesday night, but I really would be surprised if we don’t win that game on Senior Night. And this may be foolish and bulletin board fodder for Duke b/c I’m sure they are reading Earl’s take this week, I am predicting a double digit win. I read that Duke would have the tiebreaker if we do finish the regular season tied, and I think it comes down to head to head against teams behind both teams in the standing. But, we can’t worry about that right now. Here’s hoping Comcast is louder than it has ever been, and the Terps can get a huge win! Go Terps!
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