Stuph II

( I was born a ramblin' man, trying to make a living and doing the best I can )

Last 5 games:

Frontline Blue 8-0 loss.
We were never in this game.

Skittlebrau 5-2 loss. Fernando and Dave with goals.
Game was close most of the way.

ICF Blue Streaks 1-1 tie. JJ with the goal.
Pretty evenly matched.

Frontline Blue 7-1 loss. I scored in this game.
Only down 2-1 at half. Couldn't keep up at the end.

Gang Green 6-0 loss.
Only down 1-0 at half. Couldn't keep up at the end.

2-1-5 (W-T-L), 7 points, 5th place in Division 5 Blue, 10 GF, 36 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 5
Izi - 2
Fernando - 1
Dave - 1
JJ - 1

At least my exercise has been helping me run better during games.

Thanks to having two games cancelled due to county field closures (soggy ground), there was over 3 weeks of layoff between games. That didn't help off the bat. Now that summer is here (hurr), it was an unsettling 80 some degrees out too. Throw in that I've been a useless blob-like eating machine during the layoff, the result is as follows.

We actually kept up with this team for most of the game. We were only down 1-0 at half, and 2-0 for most of the 2nd half. We fell apart with less than 15 minutes to go when their march to our net was unrelenting. They're one of those teams that are stacked with people that just run constantly, and our team just wore down and couldn't contain them.

I had a few decent runs. I had only one horribly awful shot. Nothing much to report there. I was not feeling anywhere near as good as I felt the first couple games. It was apparent after only being in a few minutes that I was going to suffer through this game. I probably shouldn't have even been on the field. I need to get on the trail again. I was hoping to find that same motivation I had last year, but I'm coming up short at the moment. It's all a mental game.

2-0-1 (W-T-L), 6 points, T-3rd place in Division 5 Blue, 6 GF, 9 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 4
Izi - 2

Next game: Sunday, 5/3 @ 8:45 in Centreville.

(I am not a fan of late Sunday night games.)

April showers bring May flowers. What do May flowers bring?



PAIN.


Woke up today. Proceeded to bathroom. Floor is wet.

Floor is wet?

"I pity the foo' that has a sub-par domicile!"

Me too T, me too.

I look up to see that droplets of water have formed where the exhaust fan is. Some of those droplets have made their way down to the floor and surrounding areas. That... is just great.

"T is going to have to regulate the situation."

So after partially dealing with that debacle, I finally decide to make my way into work. I get in my car, sit down, and hey, look! What's that all over my gear shifter and window controls?

Water.

"I ain't getting on no plane!"

Easy, T. I'll make sure of it.

So, now that both the left and right side of my car's roof has been sealed, the direct center of the roof has finally given way. So I'm going to have to wait for the rain to stop sometime later this week and see what part of the sunroof needs goop poured over it.

Things couldn't be more fantastical.

"Once I find out who's responsible, Mr. T is going to have a whole bunch of pitying to do."

You and me both.

This just in... Cedar Point's Roller Coaster Authority has just deemed my bathroom a water ride.

It was a dark and dreary night, a light shower coming down just hard enough to soak us over the course of the game. In other words, perfect soccer weather, haha. Very satisfying to start the season 2-0. I'm feeling good about our chances to win it all so far.

The only goal scored in the first half was my wicked left footed shot 'tween the goalkeeper's wickets. And by wicked, I mean "worst shot ever that happened to skip and slide due to the wet turf surface". I'll take it! My dominance continues. The give-and-go pass from Alex that set up the shot was much prettier.

I almost had/set up a 2nd goal shortly after that. I can't remember the play, except that I got my foot on the ball after I got knocked to the ground, and it was rolling ever so slowly into an empty net. While laying on the ground and watching the ball slowly roll closer, it was evident it was not going to make it, but Samir happened to be running on to it, and I figured he would end up with the empty net goal, as the keeper wasn't going to make it back in time. But on his heels was a defender quickly closing in, and in a panic, he launched a shot that hit the crossbar and popped high up in the air. I sort of let out an "oh-no" as I gathered myself off the ground in a hurry, and I was blocked out by two defenders as I jumped towards the ball. So while we weren't able to cash in on that easy-peasy goal, it didn't come back to haunt us in the end.

The other team evened the score in the 2nd half, but our bend-but-not-break defense was able to keep the ball out of our net the rest of the game. Izi put in two beautiful, unstoppable shots to give us the lead and the insurance marker halfway through the 2nd. The first goal was a 30-yard shot that floated perfectly over the keep's outstretched hand and below the crossbar. The second was a blazer that hit the right goalpost and went in. The placement was gorgeous. That's all we needed to secure the win. Big props to Tito for making timely saves and keeping us in the game.

I had a couple other shots, none that were too "high quality", so I'm not bothered by those misses. I did have an opportunity to put in a goal right before the end of the game, but my crossover move put the ball one step too far in front of me and as I caught up to the ball, the defender was right there and the ball popped over the bar. Other than that, this game further proved my need to get back on the running wagon.

2-0-0 (W-T-L), 6 points, T-1st place in Division 5 Blue, 6 GF, 3 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 4
Izi - 2

Next game: Thursday, 4/16 @ 7:30 in Burke.

A beautiful start to the Spring '09 season. It warmed up enough so that the temps weren't too cold in the evening. We played at Braddock Park for the first time. I'm glad they have a turf field there, I much prefer that over the sub-par grass fields in the area. The exception is Arrowhead Park which usually has gorgeous grass fields.

We had 20 people show up, which is par for the first game of the season. It usually goes downhill after that, haha. I think that was our main advantage. We've played this team every season, and have only have one win the past 6 games (which is how long I've been participating against them). They were still fast and had some talent, but for some reason didn't bury us.

We were up 2-0 at half. The first goal came off a cross into the 18 yard box. As they unsuccessfully played the offsides trap, I sat there on-sides as the ball was lofted in. It bounced once, and I left-footed it over the keep who charged out to try and make the save. Goal! The second goal was a pass that I ran onto up the left side of the field. The guy on defense decided to keep a couple foot distance from me until I made my move. Turns out I didn't need to make any move. We got close enough that I simply shot the ball, left footed again, past him and the keep into the opposite side of the goal. Easy pickins'.

The other team scored within the first minute of the second half to draw within one. I didn't even see it, just turned around on the sideline to the cheers from the other team. We got our insurance goal about halfway through the 2nd. I was sent a chip shot that I tried to no-look back-heel all fancy-pantsy over my head. It was *ugly*, but it actually worked to my surprise. I gathered the ball, beat a couple other defenders, sent a shot into the right corner of the net, 3-1. That's right kids, hat-trick! I was feeling great before the game started, had no idea I was feeling that great! They managed to pull within a goal late in the game off a superb cross that we couldn't do much about. After that, we hung on by thin thread as they kept all the pressure on our half and kept sending crosses and shots into our defensive 18. Our defense managed to get in front of their shots and force them to take other bad ones. It was quite the nail biter.

Great to start out the season with a win.

1-0-0 (W-T-L), 3 points, T-1st place in Division 5 Blue, 3 GF, 2 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 3

Next game: Wednesday, 4/1 @ 7:30 in Springfield.

HP wins the "bane of my existence" award today, for being oh-so-helpful with their serial numbers and font size selection. I'm angry and have packing tape gun, WATCH OUT.

Here's a fun conversation:
Me: "Where is everyone today?"
Them: "She's on a honeymoon, and she's feeding her baby..."
Me (to myself): "God. Dammit."
Note to self: girls who are even remotely more attractive than a mailbox are most likely off the table. I think it's time to start finding asian street whores to feed me roast beef sandwiches and sides of potatoes of some sort while wearing the costume of the 2010 Olympic mascot while hula-hooping. I'm bored and I have money.

What else? McAfee Framework Services can eat a dick.

Do you know where I've found zen recently? Winding cords for AC adapters around the plug, so that the wire is perfectly straight with no twists or turns. Japanese sand and rock garden? I think not. Gimmie a box full of AT&T Blackberry chargers and back the fuck up.

That's today's update, tune in next time where I will see how hard I can throw cans of tuna into beltway traffic. While hula-hooping.

I shouldn't be surprised this already existed. Still, it's brilliant.

I am going to capitalize off of the success of Facebook and create a social networking website called Facepunch. The catch is: no one will be able to sign up for it. Instead, if you load the site and happen to see your name on there, it means I will be traveling to your place of residence to punch you in the face. It will be the most visited website on the internet, as thousands - nay, millions of people will be loading the site on a daily, or even hourly basis. This is in the event that if one was to view their name on there, they may be able to better prepare themselves for my arrival. In a year's time, I will be awarded the Nobel Peace prize - ironically - for solving all the world's problems, and be placed in the most revered echelons of history for my work on this planet.

Finally got the parking passes last night. I can park legally in my own complex! Amazing! Anyone that visits can park in the non-reserved spots until midnight. 12a-6a is when they tow people. I was towed promptly at 12 am when it happened right after I moved in. Just an FYI.

Had the electrician come out and install the grounding rod I needed. $80 parts/labor! That's a steal compared to the estimated $300-$400 I was hearing about. Eff that noise. I already have the call in with Verizon, just need to schedule a time to have them back out to hook up the cable/internet. I don't know if this month is feasible (unless I do some fancy accounting), but very soon, I hope to purchase that HDTV I've been talking about for a year now. I've got to get back to my 3 tv rotation, haha.

The next step will be buying blinds or curtains or something for the windows/sliding doors. Right now there is a full size mattress and box spring set at the front of the house, and a twin mattress at the side window. Classy, I know :) After that is taken care of, the place should be suitable to have people over. I love it when a plan comes together.

And that's about it.

Oh, and to prove I'm still a nerd, I tried using both my work-issued Blackberry and an old i605 Nextel phone as a Bluetooth modem with my tablet pc to try to get an internet connection this past weekend. I'm pretty sure the only reason it failed is that the software on the devices didn't support the connection. But dammit I tried! Oh, and of course all the wireless routers in the complex are encrypted or protected. Gone are the days of tards with open internets. What a shame.

My boy DK has 16 goals and 30 assists for 46 points, 2nd on the Bruins in scoring. 37 points in the past 24 games. +25 with 12 PPP's. 2 consecutive game point streaks of 9 and 10 games. Go-go David Krejci, you mighty morphin' David Krejciiiiiii!

I need a certified electrician.

I need a grounding rod installed.

I need this to happen before Verizon will install my FiOS.

It's not so much that I've completely missed the internet/tv.

I've listened to hockey on my XM radio.

I've used my Blackberry to check hockey scores.

I can catch up on tv shows at anytime once they are online.

I can check e-mail, bank account info, and whatever else at work.

But seriously?

I won't feel completely moved into my new place until I can put together my living room, which is a heap of furniture and electronics at the moment. The rest of the place (for the most part) is "moved into".

Blech.

Nothing is normal about 2009 yet. It's all out of whack. Still need to do a lot of moving-out administration (addy updates, new drivers license [my face is fat], finalize bills, get the security deposit). Still need parking passes for the new place. I've recently become accustomed to no one wanting to answer their phone. I don't know what that's all about.

I'm finally at the last stages of my cold/sinus extravaganza that's ruined the past two weeks. That's a plus at the very least.

I'll have the super-large post on the mothership once I do gain access to some internets at the new house. This is my "hey, he's alive" update.

Until then... emm effing grounding rod.

It was a gorgeous night. Straight up November soccer weather. Playing on a more-than-decent field. What could possibly ruin the night?

As the whistle to start the game sounded, there were 7 of us, and 10 of them. We had plenty of substitutes... for guys. Only two of our girls were present, so we had to play down a few people... the entire game.

But fear not!

When you don't win against the team that has only 7 field players, there's issues to be addressed. Mainly, why aren't you marking #13? Oh, that's me :) I admit to not being speedy. For some reason, I was outrunning their defense more often than not. The first goal came on a fluke by the other team. Dude brought the ball up, stopped on a dime and tried to deek around me. He made himself look foolish, as he stumbled on the ball, fell down, and I took off with the spoils. Snack cake! Straight down the right side of the field, measured up the positioning of the goaltender... back of the net. 1-0. On the other end, they ended up with a penalty kick due to a foul that was "supposedly" inside the box. That's debatable. Regardless, Chris, our awesome keeper, stopped the shot with no problem! Oooh, but they got to kick again because our team encroached into the box before the ball was kicked. They scored on the retry. 1-1.

Still in the first half, as they managed easily to keep the ball on our defensive half, they were awarded a corner kick. I gauged the ball incorrectly, and their player headed the ball in with ease. 1-2. At this point, I figured it was done with, and due to the lack of a full playable squad, we'd surely lose. But alas, another team tried the offsides trap against me. Seriously? The trap doesn't work when your left defense on the other side of the field is keeping me onsides. Pay attention. So, as I call for the ball, Cemi threads a pass through the defense, who then let up expecting the flag to go up. But oh no! The side ref sees exactly what I see! Sprint down the field. Pull up around the 18 yard box. Two defenders catch up and run right by me. I loft a shot over them and the goalie. 2-2. Halftime.

The ref has handed out a few yellow cards by this point. I think by the end of the game, we had amassed 6 yellow cards, and one red card. Yep, Izi was ejected for a "professional" foul during the second half, but the ejection was for his 2nd yellow card in the game. 2 yellows = the red card. The ref was questionable. Whatever. 2nd half hobbles along. I'm sort of content with getting a tie at this point. But, we're working the ball up the field. They stat fouling us regularly. We end up with a free kick 40 yards out. JJ tries threading it through, I try to run on to it. The goalie gets there first... but completely botches it. Off their legs, right to me, hat-trick. 3-2. BAM!!! About time I score 3 in one game!

It's now nothing but defense and clearing the ball down the field. Around this time, Izi gets his 2nd yellow and leaves the game, and we are down to 6 players. I know, could it get any better?

Snap back to reality, oh, there goes gravity.

Courtney was able to make it late to the game, and put us back at 7 players. But that was short lived. We clear the ball down the field, their defensive player starts it back up the field, and as they kick the ball, it got a whole lot of air under it really quickly and knocked C upside the face. Everything seemed routine for a moment, until she swerved violently and collapsed to the ground in a heap. She was out cold for a good minute or two. The game must have been stopped for 10 minutes until she regained consciousness and we got her off the field. Even then she wasn't holding up too well. After the game ended, a couple people took her to the hospital. Hard to say how serious the problem is, but most likely some type of concussion. Just like most things, you don't think about these things until you see it happen in front of your eyes.

And, as the post title eluded to, we couldn't hold the fort. With maybe a minute left in the game, they manage to shoot a shot from 30 yards out into the upper corner of the goal. Complete luck in every sense of the word. It just wasn't our night, but to put up the fight we did and manage a 3-3 draw, it's commendable. More importantly, I hope C recovers and is okay. I can't say I've seen a concussion to someone as it was happening in front of my eyes.

4-3-4 (W-T-L), 15 points, 5th place, 30 GF, 21 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 12
Izi - 6
Matt - 4
Cemi - 3
Courtney - 1
Laura - 1
Alex - 1
Anna - 1
Dave - 1

This was supposed to be our last game, but the previous Tuesday one that was canceled hasn't been rescheduled yet. Hopefully we can still go .500 after all is said and done. We're only one point off of last season's total, with a much better goal differential (5-1-6, 16 pts, 34 GF, 36 GA).

I'M FIIIIIIIRED UP!

I am *elated* that our team went up against the #1 team in our division and beat them. We played at hurting Rolling Valley, with the added bonus of the field being soggy and muddy. Bonus. Ya know, I can't even really explain how we pulled out the win. Our defense was able to stop the other team from generating quality scoring chances. They had a handful or two of shots that were close but still not on net. It wasn't by far our most cohesive game, yet we were able to keep up with them. Everyone on our team played very well, I am truly proud of our effort.

Our lone goal came off of a corner kick. As the ball floated in from the corner, I had two people swarm me, both getting in front of myself and the ball. However, I was able to muscle them forward, and one of them ended up heading the ball in the back of their own net. Brilliant! I will be taking credit for the goal, hahaha :)

They had tons of speed, they played a system and strung together a ton of passes. On another day, they could have won 4-0. It just happened to be our night tonight! I just realized I incorrectly posted the wrong team 4 games ago. It was this team who we lost to 2-1 previously. So I am quite pleased we got our revenge!

Rant: you know what annoys me? When people don't *understand* the game they are playing. I mean come on, seriously? You signed up for this and have *no clue* what's going on? If I ever get called for a foul, I'm rarely baffled as to why. When I do get called, I'm probably fouling someone for a tactical advantage. Yeah, there's strategy in taking someone down in the middle of the field, whether you know it or not. The rest of the time, when the other team is miffed that I bumped someone off the ball? It's called controlled aggressiveness. This is a PHYSICAL game, you are going to be bumped around from time to time, suck it the fuck up! No one gets that. They must watch too much international soccer and think throwing their hand up in the air after a slight breeze blows their hair back is a foul. Sack up. There's a reason I've ruined a small handful of people's shit this season and NOT been called for a foul. Because I *KNOW* what I am doing out there. I'm not out to hurt anyone, obviously, but I am out there to WIN. I will use my body within the confines of the rules and the discretion of the referee to gain an advantage wherever I can. COMPETE. COMPETITION. FUCK. Seriously, I don't understand people sometimes.

(I think I partially shattered my shin the previous game. Shhhhh.)

I will note that in this particular game, an unfortunate occurrence took place, one I don't wish on anyone. I popped into defense in the last 5 minutes to help secure the win. They rushed 4 people up the field, all their fast guys, trying to blitz our defense. However the ball popped around, it eventually ended up right in front of me, and in a frenzied attempt to clear it, I blasted it into the groin region of this one dude. Think "Man Getting Hit By Football" times 1000. I heard that unmistakable "UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH", and after he passed the ball up the field, he immediately crumpled to the ground. Bad times. He eventually got up to finish out the game, then went right back to the ground. I asked if he was okay, he actually said he wasn't, but about 15 minutes later he seemed to be managing himself alright. I've been there, that's just no fun at all, haha.

However you slice it, we're movin' on up!

4-2-4 (W-T-L), 14 points, T-3rd place, 27 GF, 18 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 9
Izi - 6
Matt - 4
Cemi - 3
Courtney - 1
Laura - 1
Alex - 1
Anna - 1
Dave - 1

2nd place is out of reach, so we'll still be in Division 5 in the spring. I would like to be .500 or above at the very least. It's what this team deserves.

Next game: Tuesday, 10/28 @ 9:15 pm in Burke. At the same field. Ugh. It's going to be a cold one too. But if there is any team I want to wipe the smile off of, it's Gang Green's stupid faces. FIIIIIIIRED UP!

Ramble on!

Of the 24 recyclable items produced by the household this week, only 2 were alcoholic containers. I do not think there has ever been a time since I've lived here that there were this few items of that nature in the bin.

My appetite is not satisfied. I'm back in my unhealthy phase again. None of my do-good food piques my interest as of late. Meals need to cost more, feature more fat, and taste effing delicious. Seriously, why is this a never-ending cycle? This has to be a mental deformity of sorts. If willpower were a tangible thing, mine would represent a soggy paper plate that is deteriorating at a rapid pace. In battery acid.

Reading my archives interests me more than posting right now. I should reverse that trend, so later on, there are more archives to look at. I mean come on, how many people make references to Kris Kross that crack you the eff up? I think it's just me. Whatever the syndrome is called where you live in your own little world, that's what I have.

Minnesota and Nashville both lost their games tonight after being up 3-1. Boston lost after being up 2-0. To have all 3 games implode in the 3rd period like they did, that's the ultimate dagger. The head-to-table ratio increases twenty-fold during these times. I'm disgusted.

Maybe I should be some kind of analyst. I list "dream crushing" as a job on the myspace, but there was an instance today where I felt like it was true. I feel I'm pretty adept at punching holes in people's ideas and finding points of failure. I don't know how many "here's what's going to happen if you proceed with this" instances I've come across at my job, but it's always my go-to when anyone brings up anything that can be remotely classified as "procedure". How can I prove to you that your idea is going to fail, and fail hard? It's not so much that I'm trying to be glass-half-empty, or not supportive of an idea. Rather, it's an effort to fix as many problems or nuisances up front that someone might not take the time to think through. Sometimes whoever is talking to me isn't halfway through their explanation and I've already pegged 5 things wrong with their process. And in a few cases, I wonder how much more money they are paid to do their job than I am. Yes, file this under the "this is every company since the beginning of history" tab. So I feel I have two strong strengths: organizing and analyzing. I wasn't going anywhere with this, just noticing a trend in my "professional" life that I hadn't picked up on before.

Hah, professional! Listen to me. You'd think I was an adult or something. I'm 27 ferpetesakes.

This week has been strange. My schedule is way, *way* off. I'm not getting to bed anywhere near the time I'd like to be. My to work/lunch/leave work times are extremely uncharacteristic. Work itself has slowed down to almost a trickle. I'm rarely hungry in the morning and absolutely starving at night. It's all topsy-turvy for no reason. IT'S OCTOBER 23RD. It was just August!

"People You May Know" on facebook should be renamed to "People That Don't Want To Be Your Friend". Or else, they'd be on your friends list already. Right? No, of course not. I'm really stretching for content right now.

Stacy Keibler is on the cover of the most recent Maxim. Sweet sassy molassy.

Aaaaannnd... I'm done.

"Your mama's so ugly, they renamed Halloween 'Yomamaween'!"

Backdated for your viewing pleasure. So yeah, I don't know about this game. We were up early 1-0 on Courtney's goal which was a beautiful strike from the left side of the field. I was mid-fielding it for most of the first half. I thought we were doing quite well early on. Then the defense sort of hemorrhaged, a couple breakaways got through and we were down 2-1 at half. Cemi was home sick, and JJ pulled a muscle somewhere along the line, so there was a presence that was missing the entire game. Hell, our entire team was off. The handful of feeds that came my way were all mis-connections of small proportions, so I never got going offensively. I popped in the D for the second half and let Izi go up front. I figured sooner or later we'd spring him for a goal or two, but that didn't play out. We were keeping a lot of pressure on their half of the field in the 2nd, but weren't generating any shots on goal. I was keeping two to three of their faster people in check as they came in for shots. For a good 30 minutes, no one got by me, and on the occasion they did, I had the rest of my D backing me up. It wasn't until they got their 3rd goal that the wheels fell off. I had flashbacks to the final game of high school after I analyzed what happened. Their forward came from my right, and crossed the field to my left. It was crummy defense, I didn't get any of the ball or enough of the guy to disrupt the play, and he waltzed in and scored. It was trifling. I moved up to forward for the rest of the game. They got a 4th goal shortly after, and it was just about over. Our consolation 2nd goal was generated when I was finally able to spring up the right side of the field, cross a shot into the middle that bounced around something strange before going in the net. While it would have been nice to call it "my goal", Laura was closest and received credit for it, but it probably should be officially scored as the other team's own goal. No bother though, as it didn't change the end result. I did have last gasp effort at trying to make it 4-3 on a direct kick 25 or so yards out, but my shot was also trifling, and the keep made a simple save on it. After taking two other solid indirect kicks earlier in the game, there was no excuse for such a poor showing on that shot. Eh.

3-2-4 (W-T-L), 11 points, T-5th place, 26 GF, 18 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 8
Izi - 6
Matt - 4
Cemi - 3
Courtney - 1
Laura - 1
Alex - 1
Anna - 1
Dave - 1

My goal streak comes to an end, which is fine. Losing is what sucks the most.

Next game: Sunday, 10/26 @ 9:15 pm in Burke. Against the #1 team. Who we only lost 2-1 to with a depleted roster. You know what, our team has two 1-goal losses, and two 2-goal losses. That says quite a bit from when I started last fall, when we were losing 8-0 and 9-0. And 10-0. And... 11-0.

They only had 8 people and a goalie show up. We had a full flight plus 3 substitutions. It was lopsided from the get-go, but that's how it is some days. A year ago, our team was on the losing end of such a contest many times. After being up 4-0 at halftime, there was a general sentiment amongst most of us that we'd ease up, as we didn't need to score anymore. Haha, but Izi put in 3 more himself in the second half before finally giving way to sportsmanship. He ended up with 4 goals, I had 2, and Cemi had 1. It was nice to run around, even if it was a tad on the cooler side of balmy (ha!). Arrowhead Park has a decent grass field. It's definitely the nicest one I've played on thus far in the area.

3-2-3 (W-T-L), 11 points, T-4th place, 24 GF, 14 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 8
Izi - 6
Matt - 4
Cemi - 3
Alex - 1
Anna - 1
Dave - 1

I am currently rocking a 5-game goal scoring streak, with all 8 of my goals being scored during this run.

Next game: Tuesday, 10/21 @ 9:15 pm in Springfield.

Ice the kill!!! You've got to ice it!

I scored twice. I *should* have had 4 goals. I had 7 shots total. I had a good game after basically not playing for 3 weeks. Our team featured 4 new players tonight: a new goalkeeper, who I hope shows up every time, because he's damn good at what he does. We also had 2 other guys who played a lot of defense and some midfield, and another girl who was great at right mid. I hope they show up the last 5 games, we win them all with them mixed in with our usual skeleton crew that shows up, heh.

The first goal... pleh. It was a 50-50 ball that was between myself and the goaltender. I think I barley touched the ball past his foot and walked the ball into the goal. I'm pretty sure I could have got down on my knees and used my nose to push the ball over the goal line, haha. It was the easy-peasy fo' sho'. The other team tied it at 1-1 after a nice cross that was headed in. It was picture perfect, and I pretty much didn't mind giving up that goal since it was impossible to defend. I don't give too many kudos to other teams, on that goal I do. Our 2nd goal was a breakaway Izi was able to slip under the goalkeeper. Standard fare there, haha. The third goal was highlight reel worthy. Cemi took a corner kick from the right side of the field. Dave ran interference behind me, and I slipped unmarked into the box, jumped in mid-air and karate kicked the ball into the other side of the goal. It was puuuuurty. A goal scorer's goal is what those FSC announcers would say. It was a beautiful night, and a 3-1 win capped it off very nicely.

It's a lot easier to shrug off missed opportunities when you win a game. However, of the 5 shots I botched, two of them stood out. Within the first minute of the start of the game, their defense played some weak-ass ball right into the middle of the field to where I was at. I'm 35-40 yards out with a WIDE open net. I have no idea why the keeper was all the way out of the net. I think I one-timed it with my foot in the "general direction" of the goal, but shlubed it wide left of the post. That one doesn't bother me a bit though. I mean, there's crippled paraplegics that score that goal, but I laughed out loud at how absurd the whole situation was. I wasn't properly warmed up, so I blame that, hahaha :) My last attempt on net, however, was annoying. Their *entire* defense basically fell asleep as the ball went out of bounds, and I was *screaming* at my teammate to throw the ball into me as I soared down the field. There was no one in sight. A one-on-one, me and the keep, the nearest defender left in whatever dust my speed is able to generate, haha. Eventually I grasp my bearings, analyze the situation as I charge down field, pull out the folder in my brain that says "this is what you do in this *exact* situation". All that was left was the execution! Now, why the goalie decided to give me the right side of the net, I don't know. Usually you cover that up against right-footed strikers. So I shoot at said open portion of the net... and graze the outside of the post. Embarrassing. Had I not already scored two goals in this game, I would have cut myself from my own team, hahaha. Seriously, someone pull up the tard-cart to my house, I need to go for a spin. I still don't have a hat-trick yet while on this team, but that was by far my best opportunity to achieve that. (Best game ever? 4 goals and 1 assist against Clawson back in '96. Don't ask why I remember that.)

But *anyways*, the most important part is the win, which improves our record, and our morale.

2-2-3 (W-T-L), 8 points, 5th place, 17 GF, 14 GA.
Team scoring:
Brad - 6
Matt - 4
Cemi - 2
Izi - 2
Alex - 1
Anna - 1
Dave - 1

I am currently rocking a 4-game goal scoring streak, with all 6 of my goals being scored during this run.

Next game: Sunday, 10/19 @ 8:45 pm in Centreville.

Where have I seen this before? Oh yeah, last season. Fall soccer season part 1 ended on September 23rd. Thanks to a game canceled due to rain, I am amidst a 3 week layoff between games, before part 2 commences. 6 games in 3 weeks starting on the 14th, the patten being Tue, Sun, Tue, Sun, Tue, Sun. It's annoying to say the least. There's no rhythm, no groove. Sans a game on the 23rd and the all-star contest, I've been couch-potato-ing it for 3 weeks. Tonight was actually warm enough out to try to get myself back in my running routine. I want to make that final push until it starts dropping into the 40's at night, which will be here in no time.

The Wings didn't start this season off right, losing to the Leafs 3-2. I'm also regretting my drafting strategy I used to make my fantasy team this year. I know, I'm not even a week into the season yet, and I think my run of making the finals 3 years in a row is in jeopardy. Dare I say I am more excited about my football team? Being 5-0 helps. My opponent this week at 1-4, however, is making a bunch of moves that may stop my winning streak this weekend. I'm not too thrilled about that.

Versus is apparently rolling out a show called "Sports Soup". This is a continuation of "The Soup", which was a descendant of the original "Talk Soup". I do not know how good this show is going to be. I loved John Henson who put the original on the map. While I don't catch Joel McHale's version too often, when I do, it's comedy gold. One thing "Sports Soup" will have going for it is the same crew working on the regular Soup will be on this show. However, I have not heard of the host Matt Iseman, therein lies the wild card. I think I need more DVR's.

My job today was rage-tastic. It made me want to chase down a semi-truck on the beltway and head-butt it straight to the moon. But as the financial world crumbles around me into a spiraling pit of despair, there's something to be said about job security. Apparently the entire country of Iceland is under financial martial law. That's messed up.

I just felt like posting for the hell of it. No real agenda here. I need to shower and sleep.

I came down with a serious disease today. It's called "Center Ice". Symptoms may include: being anti-social, lack of interest in other activities, selective hearing loss, chronic fatigue, loss of sleep, or feeling that moving takes a great effort. Symptoms can last up to 8 months, or whenever the "team" is out of playoff contention. There is no known cure for "Center Ice". Many studies and theories have been tested in controlled lab experiments, but none have proven to have long-term effectiveness.

FiOS has Versus in HD now. That means more HOCKEY in HD. That means the Leafs-Wings opener tomorrow night at 7 pm will be CRISP. Woo!

I'm doing the happy dance, doing the happy dance...

After further thought, I think this game just wasn't meant to be. We went up 1-0 on the goal I scored. Laura tapped a ball from the left side of the field into the middle, and I had to bust my tail off to get to the ball before the defender. I brought it inside the box and shot short side on the goalie. From there on things were going well. For a bit.

Katie was already out with a hamstring injury. Dave pulled something. Matt had a groin injury. Javi had a hamstring pull. Katrina had a knee injury. Elke puked up her dinner. I got bopped in the face, also tweaked my knee and ankle just slightly. My upper lip is all sorts of swelled and purple. Cemi had his shin whacked good. The only thing missing was the triage unit on the sideline. We eventually surrendered the lead, as they were able to basically sprint past our defense at will. They were fast... but didn't have the skill. A little more ball control by them and they win 7-1 against our depleted team, which once again had maybe 1 substitute at one point during the game.

This is what I hate the most: when I am the one responsible for the screw up. Not just in soccer, in general as well. Most things in life you can make a mistake, make up for it, and let it go. Soccer is included in that, especially co-ed Division 5 soccer. But it's when I make the mistake and can't make up for it. The perma-mistake. That *EATS* at my soul. Yes, I'll wake up tomorrow and be done with it. Right now, I'm pissed at myself.

Cemi and I break up the field with a 2 on 1 with less than 10 minutes to go. I tap it over to him and sprint to stay level with him. LEVEL. (I am convinced the side refs are horizontally challenged. ALL OF THEM.) We break into the box, defender commits towards Cemi, he lays a soft pass right to my foot, goal. GOAL. Tie game. Right? NO OF FUCKING COURSE NOT. Somehow I apparently drifted "offsides", despite the fact that I was ELL-EEE-VEE-EEE-ELL with the godmothereffingdamn play. I just put my hands on my head and stared off into space in disbelief. It's moments like that...

(insert the word "fuck" in capital letters and the 72 pt. bold font)

1-2-3 (W-T-L), 5 points, 6th place (out of 7 teams), 14 GF, 13 GA.
Team scoring:
Matt - 4
Brad - 4
Cemi - 2
Alex - 1
Anna - 1
Dave - 1
Izi - 1

Next game: Tuesday, 9/30 @ 9:00 pm in Annandale.

Note: This kind of overshadows the news that the team voted me as our all-star representative in the NVASA All-Star Game(s) taking place on October 4th at RFK Stadium. I am honored :)