I. I caught part of Brazil's 2-0 victory over the USA in Tuesday's friendly soccer match at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. Only a handful of key players from either side's World Cup squads participated, with a lot of younger players getting big minutes. None shone more brightly than Brazil's Neymar, the 18 year-old scoring sensation. Despite an endorsement from the great Pele, Neymar was left off Brazil's World Cup roster by former head coach Dunga. In his senior national team debut Tuesday night, he tore apart the US defense and tallied the opening goal.
Neymar certainly seems to have all the makings of the next Brazilian superstar. He combines the flash of Ronaldinho with the precision of Kaka. And like most international soccer superstars, he has a proclivity for sporting funny haircuts (see above). He currently plies his trade at the club level with Brazilian club Santos, but it is only a matter of time before he moves over to a major European club- in all likelihood English powerhouse Chelsea. Remember his name in four years when 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil seek to take back the title for a record sixth time.
II. In the NBA, yesterday Houston, New Orleans, Indiana, and New Jersey pulled off a four-team, five-player trade. Deals like this tend to be confusing, so let me try to explain in the simplest manner possible:
The Rockets traded SF Trevor Ariza to the Hornets. The Hornets sent PG Darren Collison and SF James Posey to the Pacers. The Pacers sent PF Troy Murphy to the Nets. The Nets sent SG Courtney Lee to the Rockets. Got it?
Basically, the trade involved a bunch of decent role players moving from one lottery team to another. Still, the deal actually makes sense from a personnel and/or financial standpoint for all four participants. The Rockets sacrificed defense for salary cap relief, moving Ariza and his contract for an offensively as talented, cheaper, and younger player in Lee. The Hornets moved the likewise expensive and older Posey for Ariza and attempted to appease disgruntled star point guard Chris Paul by moving Collison. The Pacers got a two-for-one package, moving Troy Murphy for Posey and Collison, the latter their possible point guard for the future. And the Nets moved Lee in exchange for Murphy, a power forward who can stretch the defense with his shooting but also rebound, a nice compliment to star center Brook Lopez.
III. The Eagles asked a fan at their practice yesterday to remove the Donovan McNabb Redskins jersey he was wearing. Security told the fan in question the request came from head coach Andy Reid, though the team later denied that claim.
Regardless of whether this came from Reid or not, this is just ridiculous. The fan is an actual Eagles fan who said he wore the jersey "to get reactions from the fan base." The logic there is kind of amusing. I personally would never wear Yankees or Cowboys gear, even as part of a pseduo-social experiment. But to each his own.
As for the Eagles, how can you make a big fuss over this? All it does is make you look stupid. It's not like McNabb pulled a LeBron and left Philly out to dry. YOU TRADED HIM AWAY! Maybe you should focus on your actual practice instead of what jerseys fans on the sideline are wearing. Just a thought...
IV. Finally, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals got in a bench-clearing brawl Tuesday night. The incident stemmed from Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips' comments describing his "hate" for the Cardinals and insinuating that they complain too much (in more vulgar language). When Phillips stepped into the batter's box in the first inning, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina stood up and began to express his disagreement with Phillips' comments. Things turned ugly when both men removed their helmets/masks and both dugouts cleared.
The highlights of the brawl included Johnny Cueto, the Reds starting pitcher that night, crazily kicking at Cardinals players against the backstop (Cueto has since been given a seven game suspension for his part in the melee). The Reds also wisely tracked down Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter (who had beaten them the night before) and managed to pin him against the netting of the backstop in a rather vulnerable position (fortunately for the Cardinals, Carpenter was not hurt). And the two managers, St. Louis skipper Tony LaRussa and Cincinnati's Dusty Baker, went straight for each other and held a passionate screaming match in the middle of the chaotic scene (LaRussa and Baker were the only participants who were actually ejected). Still, no one topped the utter rage of the Ohio woman who tried to order McNuggets during McDonald's breakfast hours.
Well, that's its for the inaugural Pu-Pu Platter, hope you enjoyed it.
No comments:
Post a Comment