TYLER TALK

It makes no difference if someone is born gay or choses to be gay

2012-02-06T12:41:00.000-05:00

I never understood why it is such a big fucking deal if someone chooses to be gay, rather than someone that is genetically born gay.

This crossed my mind, because the other day, I was talking with a friend about Virginia passing this incredibly regressive law about homosexuals being prohibited to adopt children. I was venting about how we still live in an era of modern day discrimination, and bigotry. What do I get as a response? The classic sudern conservative response. You know, that bullshit that reads: "well, it's a choice, so..."

My response?

WHY THE FUCK DO YOU CARE IF IT'S GENETICS OR CHOICE. WHO GIVES A SHIT. IS SOME STRANGER'S DECISION AFFECTING YOU IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. HELL FUCKING NO. SUCK IT UP.
Really. Why is it such a huge fucking deal if someone decides that "hey, I like people of my gender, more than people of the other gender?" Cause really, it is not affecting you in anyway whatsoever, other than maybe you may cringe your face in ignorant disgust. But you know what? You live and survive from some "ungodly" sight.

I don't have much more to say other than that.

Things change

2012-02-02T18:13:00.002-05:00

Things change. Extremely fast sometimes. College taught me this. It’s insane. As quick as things come, they leave. The title of this song best explains the way college goes in some way. The 300 MPH thing, you know.

New single from Jack White

2012-01-31T11:00:00.000-05:00

Single from Jack White, you know that dude from The White Stripes, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, etc. Yes, him. Solo album in March. It’s called Blunderbuss. Anyways, today he released a single called “Love Interruption.”

It’s so apt for the times I’m going through it’s scary.

Overanalyzing

2012-01-30T18:09:00.000-05:00

Something I’ve noticed that I need to work on, is to stop overanalyzing situations I am in, and just stop and breathe for a moment, and use common sense and think if that’s what I truly think. And not say something insincere, wrong or skewed.

Oh, and know things aren’t as bad as I put them out to be, and that in the end, everything will be okay.

One little void

2012-01-24T23:00:00.001-05:00

Everyone has rough patches in their life, and for myself, I truly cannot complain. At all. Whatsoever. I'm fortunate to have a rather easy life. I'm in college, I do not have to pay for it, I was given a freaking car as a "graduation gift" (far from deserving of it) and I managed to get into a decent university. I somehow have found excellent people to become friends with, and am fortunate enough to look decent, be socially acceptable, and healthy most of the time. Still trying to nail down my major, it looks like I'm nearing the end of that journey soon enough. And to sum it up, I grew up in a rather upper-class household, and was given anything I really wanted, even when I didn't really want much.

Of course though, like everyone, there is always one thing a lot of people have that I do not have the privilege of having, or really have ever had. And that's a true relationship, or a first kiss or losing my virginity. Not that the extreme latter is something I vie for at the given moment, but I feel that I'm quickly on track to being the latter half of my generation to get that taken away, and one of the very, very, very last to get the former pieces.
Frankly, I never truly let it bother me, partially because I didn't really care for a relationship, partially because I couldn't find anyone that wanted to be in a relationship with me, and partially because I kept telling myself to not let it bother me. And, given everything, throughout high school it didn't bother me terribly too much. Sure there were some sour moments of being rejected, but it was sparse and infrequent. All misfortunes given, I counted the pros in my life and continued being my dorky, soccer-esque, moviemaking artsy self and never made any enemies or rivals, oddly enough.

But as years passed, many of my close friends found themselves in a relationship, whether it was a month or a year, but they were able to end their dry streaks with the elements I have yet to experience. While I mostly expressed joy of my friends and their newfound boyfriend or girlfriend, the flustering afterthought of "when is it my turn?" was often pushed away and not really regarded.

I feared there would be breakdowns where I would just vent and wonder why is nothing coming my way, and why, but I dismissed those opportunities for what I had, and knowing that a majority of privileges I had, the ones getting action did not have, ultimately evening aspects out. I mean, afterall, I had it well: car, core friends, Eagle Scout, captain of my soccer team, solid grades, activities, and semi-popularity from blogging and moviemaking.

Yet, I cannot wrap my head around the idea that because of those things, that it means it's okay for myself to remain single since day one of my life. Lately, despite what I have, I've lost interest in whatever other things I have, and feel willing to give it up for something I really want, and to settle a basic desire; just someone to be with, talk to, care for, and express mutual interests, in a more deeper fashion than with any of my closer friends. And I feel thanks to Biology and learning about the basic need of mating, and it is the primary key thing to life, it really caused the pot to fiercely stir, and my head to spin, and my eyes to water, and vocal chords yearning to scream.

And any resiliency I had built up to singleness over the last nineteen years, or five in terms of really showing an interest in dating, collapsed in the span of hours. I hate it, I'm tired of it, and I'm just unwilling to accept rejection again. I cannot actually say that, or speak that, because it shows ignorance to anyone I'm interested in, but sometimes, if people really understood the frustration of misfortune, they can understand how extremely tiresome it has become to restart the process in meeting someone, falling into a crush, and wanting to date them, and falling short, only to return to square one for an additional godforsaken time.

I feel like I'm wasting time, and it might jeopardize the effort of my other outside activities. Sadly, I hardly care about performing subpar in outside areas, because the want to finally be in a relationship outpaces tiny little nuicanes called homework, studying, or tidying up a website. This seems like a basic need I urgently want to satisfy before I can truly put my outright first effort into something.

The frustrating part? None of my friends nor family will never understand. They will continuously lay down the trite old, "be patient", or "that is not something to worry about right now". Of course they do not mean it in this way, but it often feels so cynical when they tell me that. And you know what? It's easy for them to say something like that. A majority of my friends have been in a relationship within the last year or two. My parents have been together for 25 years in May. My sister's had a fair array of boyfriends, my brother...well...he's had girlfriends and his moments. I haven't. I just want to finally taste it.

Bizarre text message

2012-01-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

About two days ago, I met up with this girl named Jessica to buy a History 103 textbook from her. Accidentally, I emailed her calling her Eric, because PostYourBook.com told me that was her name. When she emailed me her number, she said the area code was 704, not 703.
Being a Northern Virginia brat like I am, I didn't realize at first how 704 means the Charlotte area. So, to be safe, I sent a text to both the 704 and 703 number. The end result from the 703 number? This picture above.

One thing I would change about Boy Scouts/Scouting

2012-01-15T23:08:00.000-05:00

In exactly two months from today, it will be the fourth anniversary of me earning Eagle Scout rank. (earned the honor on March 15, 2008).

It crossed my mind, because earlier today, I came across an article saying how Major League Soccer (I WOULD) is pairing up with the Boy Scouts of America for a bunch of fitness-related activities. I'm not delving into that, because that hardly has to do with what I'm talking about.

While reminiscing about earning Eagle Scout rank, I thought of the Eagle Scout Board of Review, and I thought about the questions they asked me. I'm probably not suppose to share the dialogue asked, but I'll just share this one question they asked me:

If you could change one thing about Boy Scouts or Scouting, what would it be?

At the time, being 15 years and six months old, I probably said something along the lines of different merit badges the organization should offer. I honestly do not remember my answer, but just the fact the question was asked.

Some people I know that are near my age have recently achieved the rank, and it has made me wonder what I would say if it was around this day and age I earned Eagle Scout. And if you ask me, I would make it so that atheists, agnostics and homosexuals could openly join Boy Scouts or be Boy Scout leaders.
As many Scoutaholics are aware, that violates several conditions of Scouting, and it is in Scouting's right to exclude these groups since it is a private organization. However, the sheer fact that Scouting is non-accepting of nonreligious or non-heterosexuals has made me lose an incredible amount of respect for the organization. Sure, these days there is the whole "don't ask, don't tell" policy implemented for homosexuals in Scouting, but that irks me to an unbearable degree. You cannot be openly gay and be in Scouting? It's painstakingly backwards.

One thing also about Scouting was the 12 Laws of Scouting. The very last law, which might be the least-important of the dozen laws is "reverent". And I feel that Scouting, or at least my troop at least, was less about doing "duties for God and country", and more of just going by morals with no center focus on faith or religion. Sure, one can just pretend to be a certain faith and coast through Scouting, but why is it so wrongdoing to just be irreligious?

It sometimes gives me the vibe that Scouting believes that nonreligious have no set of ideals or morals, and that religion is the only outlet that offers a set of guidelines for living your life and being the pristine type of individual, what again, flusters me.

It sometimes makes me ashamed to have once been a member of Scouting, or that I am an Eagle Scout. I heavily dislike the of exclusion for outrageous reasons. Maybe one day the organization will cut loose its religious roots, and accept all.

Hate that it's 2012 and I'm talking about the need for inclusion of nonbelievers and gays. I wish I grew up in a society where this was more accepting. Probably will happen when I'm a father of kids nearing my present age.

Back in RVA: 20 Goals for the Spring 2012 semester

2012-01-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

Now, it's time for the list of goals for the Spring 2012 semester.

Go for straight A's. Need to set goals high.
Study properly. Not study nonstop, but gradually study material as the semester progresses.
Support people's decisions.
Live in the moment.
Destroy every single one of my dining dollars and swipes before the semester is said and done.
Make the road trip to the Pacific Northwest happen.
Meet as many people a possible.
Figure out whether I want to major or minor in Mass Communications (Urban Planning is for Fall 2012 semester).
Be less ignorant towards and more accepting towards people who decide to drink and party heavy.
Exercise at least thrice a week: soccer, run, etc. Do it with friends.
If I met new people, do not brush away old friends.
Keep in touch with some close high school friends.
Maintain good habits made during the fall; such as eating breakfast everyday, and regularly attending classes.
There is no reason to be upset. If mishaps happen, know they're blessings in disguise.
Make movies with Andrew, Tony, and whoever else wishes to help.
Be more active in the student media department. Cement a role in that area.
Do things differently, but don't be afraid to have corny moments.
If struggling in a class, swallow my pride and get help.
Make the most of the current set up I have at college.
Take nothing for granted.

Back in RVA: 20 Lessons from Fall 2011 semester

2012-01-15T13:26:00.000-05:00

I had planned to write out a list of goals I have this coming spring, and lessons I learned from the fall to apply to my second semester at VCU. Sadly, this one person beat me to a list of goals, but oh well. I will do the lists anyway. I'm moved in entirely, and I haven't worked up an appetite to eat just yet. So here we go:

20 Things I learned during the fall semester

Be ambitious.
Speak your mind, life is short, don't leave this World with hidden thoughts.
College friendships are unpredictable. Just be yourself, and you'll find the right friends.
Don't expect to find your close friends overnight, or within a week, or month. Give it time.
Always be willing to hangout with people you just meet. Even if it's just a casual lunch convo, or walk and talk to classes.
Taking breaks from work is always essential. Just make notes to finish it.
Getting good grades on exams is not about how long you study, but by how you study.
Use your dorm room as nothing more than a place to sleep, change clothing, and as a small oasis for downtime.
Keep downtime to a minimum.
Be open to other people's views and insights.
Honesty goes further than people would like to think.
Skipping a class is never the end of the World, but keep it to a bare minimum.
Take a few weekends to go exploring. It could be your campus surroundings, or go on a road trip somewhere else, and see the World.
Don't beat yourself up if you spend a Friday or Saturday night in. You cannot spend every single day being out an about.
Fearlessness will build confidence.
On school days, just get your work done, or portions of major assignments done. You'll thank yourself later.
Diversify who you hangout with.
Try to spend any portion of the day hanging out with someone. Even if it's only at night or during the morning or afternoon.
Call your parents, and keep them up with what's going on in your life. They'll be extremely happy you did.
Don't forget why you're at college in the first place.

The Chaser

2012-01-12T01:13:00.000-05:00

Oh me, wonderful me. Always trying to be unique, or be honestly different.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m that person that just blends it and acts like any other chaser. Chasing, grasping, vying, whatever you wish to call it. As if I’m nothing else than another bleep to pop into one’s spectrum.

Now, it’s a chain of metaphors, but it hits it on point. I’m in a mindset of just chasing, and being seen as another chaser, rather than something else that’s different. But, thing is, I may just be thinking it to myself, and yes…overanalyzing. Which I tend to do.

Though, in such situations, who doesn’t overanalyze. We try to see the finest of fine points in people’s lives, in the hope we truly understand.

Do we?

We might have a glimpse, but it’s probably like some iceberg. Yes, that good old symbolism, representing the fine picture we’re missing. See, and iceberg, you can only see so much of it – you get what I’m saying.

Yet, we may understand more than we think we understand.

Studying abroad in 2013–14: England?

2012-01-09T13:04:00.000-05:00

I don’t believe that I’ve been hinting a wanderlust of studying abroad. So if I have not, here is a post expressing my desire to travel abroad a study away from Virginia Commonwealth University for a semester. Anyways, the first thought of it came up during a study abroad fair sometime in September, and I figured I might do it during the 2013–14 school year, which will be my junior year in college. Whether it’s Fall 2013 or Spring 2014, who knows.However, throughout October, November and December, the notion of traveling abroad came up only sparingly, and I never put further thought into it, until about a day or two ago, once my parents confronted me saying that I should take a semester to study abroad. The thought of them being extremely encouraging of me to travel away like that for an entire semester threw me off.

They are the type of parents that want to me to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible though, but still, it’s great to actually see and hear them be supportive the idea. But they really pressed for me to study abroad in England for a semester. Whether it’s my soccer love or the fact the British speak the same language as myself, that’s about the only primary reasons they’d want me to study abroad. Or, because England is terribly, terribly far away from the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.

This month of January...

2012-01-08T22:21:00.000-05:00

Has been clicking like no other. Eight days in, and it’s rather unbelievable.

Once the D.C. United season begins, reality might set in…

25 Things I Learned in 2011

2011-12-31T14:50:00.000-05:00

One year ago, I made a list of 25 things I learned over the year. And, pardon everything, that list was obviously a tad bit half-kidding while depressingly amusing. Thanks to 2011, the fuming has faded, and now 2012 looks swell. Cannot guarantee that, because who knows what 2012 will bring.

One can map out thousands of scenarios, but the end result will never be as expected.
Life is about living in the now, and making the most of what you have while you have it. Nothing can be taken for granted, and while it may be hard to appreciate it, if one takes a moment to appreciate something they have, it may make it easier to let go.
For any ideal moment one aspires for, the moment will arrive when it arrives.
If you’re truly happy with your persona, then that’s all you need.
Not everything is about going out there, and trying to be crafty or witty. It causes one to overextend themselves and seem like they’re trying too hard.
Any misfortune that happens ends up being a blessing in disguise.
Share parts your life with your parents. They’ll be extremely glad you did.
It never hurts to take a different approach, even if it doesn’t work out, you won’t regret trying something new even if it goes awry.
Honesty is a solid trait.
Humbleness sometimes feels expected of people, but it’s never wrong to be proud of accomplishments you’ve done. Use it as a foundation.
Everyone you meet has a story, and everyone is interesting in their own way.
Just because you don’t speak to someone in a long time doesn’t mean you are no longer friends with that person.
New year’s are not about redefining yourself, they’re about discovering yourself.
I NEVER thought I’d see the day where I’d quote a Jane’s Addiction song, but this lyric is true: “you never really change like they say, you only become more like yourself.”
If someone has the curiosity about yourself and is willing to learn about yourself, take the time to do the same, even if they do not have that many mutual interests.
Religion isn’t something to scoff it. It teaches several good morals.
The best way to escape from everything is doing what you enjoy.
One’s real first impression with someone is when you have your first true conversation with that person.
No one should go out just for the sake of being out. Those “memories” made will quickly be forgotten.
If you meet someone, don’t try to manipulate your interests for the sake of seeming like a perfect friend or more. It’s cheap and insincere. Come clean and admit your differences, it will show more about your character.
Whether we’re conscious about it or not, we affect our peers’ day in some way or another.
Means of logging your life such as blogs, vlogs, photos, and videos are excellent ways to document your life. The Tyler Talk blog, TRW Films, all those, have served as ideal pieces of looking back on my life, and seeing how I’ve changed, and how I perceive things around me.
My artsy side eclipses my soccer side by a whole helluva lot. I still like soccer, but I don’t really see it as something I like as much as it seems. It’s more of a satirical act.
Time heals, but don’t keep the things that sting to yourself.
Don’t do everything for the sake of an incentive. The only true incentive is how you feel about yourself, and if you’re proud of yourself.

The 2011 playlist

2011-12-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

Hey, in case you did not already know, today is the final day of 2011. For me, it was easily the most expansive year in music. It was the first year the largest increase of songs in my iTunes library wasn't of rock genre. Instead, it was alternative. Not that it's saying a whole lot, but hey, the rate of growth in hip hop/rap, electronic, and other genres expanded more than rock. Anywhom here's a playlist of songs that I overplayed throughout 2011 in chronological order.

2011 playlist by Tyler Walter on Grooveshark

Those nonexistent summer memories

2011-12-30T22:46:00.000-05:00

A problem I’ve noticed with softer, acoustic songs is those moments that make you think of the summer, and how they make you reminisce over that glorious, epic moment. Moments, in which, you wish the World around you and time and continuum itself would paralyze. Whether it was thinking or being with someone, I’ve noticed I’ve never had a luxury or privilege of that. Even during those nights, evening, afternoons, or times during the summer, I’d be on the beach or near a beach, or staring at a summer sunset.

Consequently, it gives me a sense of urgency, a sense of loneliness, and a jeering sense of hopelessness that summer upon summer, I find myself staring out there questioning things and feeling irritated. And when summer-like songs come up bringing up memories I’ve never felt, or experienced.

I always wondered why it happened, but when listening to some songs such as Grouplove, it’s just like “wow, nothing.” It kind of sucks.

Catching lightning in a bottle

2011-12-26T17:41:00.000-05:00

Winter Break is still slightly over a week old, but given the amount that has happened in such a short timespan, it sometimes feels as if it has been a month’s worth of events that have occurred in the duration of a week. It’s the sign of productivity, and well, makes me wonder what will truly happen in the long run of life.

Anyways, as I’ve recently learned, everyone has their own story and is interesting in their own manner. They may have different tastes, and likely a good deal of similarities, but it all comes down to capturing that lightning in a bottle and grasping those types of relationships when you see, or in my case, when you least expect it.

There might be someone right at this moment, you just casually find yourself speaking with, and for all you know, there could be someone you disregard that you might find yourself falling for. And the person you might be falling for, or that person you see as a best friend might end up being something different than you anticipated.

But it comes down to how it all is conveyed.

The weight of finals week, but in terms of friendships/relationships

2011-12-23T23:58:00.000-05:00

As the final minutes Friday close in on my, it's another week in the books, is it?

Far from it.

But, before I go into that, I should decipher the decision of my choice of title. You see, I wanted to connect the weight of finals week with this week of the year. As I learned in college, it seems like 99% of the stress occurs from studying for those finals, which take up 1% of the year.

This week, while it was a very nice break from schoolwork, it was a different case socially. In fact, what may define my friendships for 2012 and conclude the relationships I had in 2011 might have just occurred in this one week alone. And that's a tad bit less than 2% of the entire year.

Crazy, right?
But, I beg to differ. In fact, I think I realized the fate of friendships of the past when I was hanging out with my high school friends over the past 168 hours. The number was far less than I would have envisioned about, say, two years ago. It's weird to think though, how few of people I truly wish to stay connected to. And, I believe it set a marker on what those relationships as well as other high school friendships will have in 2012, which will be the first year of my life where I will solely be a college student.

And I as more vehemently look forward to hanging out with a new collection of friends, it strangely reminds me how drastic 2011 has been. I did blog about the turbulence of this year about a month or so back, but it really hits, especially since a lot in this final month has happened. And only more may happen within the coming weeks.

Anyways, when 2011 began, I was in the midst of stressing over a Psychology project for my first semester grade of my high school senior year. 2011 began with a looming crapshoot as to where I was gonna end up in college. In fact, I never thought it would be VCU. I always thought, if I got into VCU, I'd be set for Mason. Well, as I learned mid-way through 2011, not the case.

Now 2011 ends, I'm now focused on new interests, obsessions, and wondering how the second half of my freshmen year at college will go. And strangely, as my dad told me tonight, it's only a blink of time before I'll be in this same spot, wondering where the college years go. There's a lot between now and then, so make the most and that cliche.

Photo of the Day: December 22, 2011

2011-12-22T11:50:00.000-05:00

Scary post-religion era

2011-12-21T01:10:00.000-05:00

Right now, it could not be anymore evident that we are in an era of homophobia, where society and conservative government views those who are homosexual as inferior, second class citizens. It's a shame, it's embaressing, and backwards thinking.

But, like all things people vent on, because it's not what's seen as "normal", there will be an era where the ignorant get their heads out of their ass, accept people who love whom they like, and marriage will become entirely legal. Will take longer for the Southeast to catch up, but hey, it's the Southeast afterall...
Anyways, it bears the question as to what will be the scapegoat for the next generation to hate. It was first racism, then it was homophobia.

One theory I ventured into thinking came up when talking with my friend Brandon. It may be a few generations from now, but as we head into a post-religion era, I fear that those who chose to have a faith will be scrutinized for it.
Already, my generation seems to be more disconnected with religion than any generation in the past. I'd say there are more Irreligious, Agnostics and Atheists than any other religion in the nation (amongst kids my age). And what I've noticed? Some of them, not all, but some, can be sour towards religion and just dismiss it as sheer brainwashing with nothing of value to be learned.

Thing is, brainwashing can be anything. In fact, everyone is at some point, and not necessarily for worse, but, because of how society functions, brainwashing is seen as a dirty word. I mean think about, is it bad to raise someone to be friendly to someone, or to tell them that harming another is bad? Minor examples, but hey, it could be "brainwashing".

But religion, is not really all that bad. Media gives it a bad wrap sometimes, but it shouldn't reflect on it entirely.

I dunno, it's getting late, but it was irking me. Thank God for blogging. Oh woops...

See this post on my Tumblr!

Travel ambitions: Portland, Oregon

2011-12-20T20:34:00.001-05:00

If you take a look at my Facebook checkin map, you will see I have an obnoxiously high number of checkins on Facebook, primarily at the thanks of tagging the locations of photos.

Screenshot of my overall checkins.

By a simple glance at the map, the bulk of where I have been has been in the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeastern United States. Sure there were a solid number in New Mexico, but that was from one trip to Philmont, and there were several times I've gone to Florida. But then again, everyone I know at least travels to Florida.

Apart from that, there's checkins in Chicago and Dallas from transferring flights from going to New Mexico, and a mistakingly tagged check in Louisiana, which should be in Alexandria, Va. Point being, I haven't really travelled anywhere except along the Eastern Seaboard from New York City to Miami.

And I've vied to go to extravagant locations for the longest of times. Obviously, obstacles like money may serve as roadblocks, but saving up over the Spring and Summer may change that. Heh, what a lousy pun. Okay, so here's a bucket list of the 10 cities I want to visit in the United States before I travel out of the nation. Everyday for the final days of 2011, I'll list the cities I want to visit, and well, I'm going to start with the most desired city to visit.

1. Portland, Oregon

Yes, I get it. Portland, while a West Coast city is not what the typical person thinks of when thinking West Coast travel. Immediate thoughts are easily the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, and for obvious reasons.

But what sets Stumptown apart is, well, first their incredible love for soccer. Don't believe me? Their team, the Timbers, have a storied rivalry with the Seattle Sounders, that goes back to the 1970s. OK, that's pretty impressive for soccer, and it's easily the most bitter American soccer rivalry. Yes, even as a D.C. United faithful, it pains me to say that the Atlantic Cup derby with Red Bull New York doesn't compete.

Here's a video about them:

Now, that would be stupid to just list Portland as a place to visit solely for soccer. Soccer is a major factor, but it isn't the only other factor. Other factors include their eco-friendly attitude: an elaborate streetcar system, extensive bike network, clean air, etc.

That's always a nice thing to someone like me, but it only gets better. Low crime, and the scenery!

Also, there's coffee, I'm not a big coffee drinker, but hey! It smells good.

Citing "Gypsy Slang"

2011-12-20T17:14:00.000-05:00

Since my post to Kelsey didn't include a works cited (sorry can't link it...Andrew might see it), I have composed a well-organized works cited page. It's all in nice MLA 7 style, however, it relies a lot on single sources. What a shame.

Gesbeck, Kelsey. "Favorites." Facebook. Facebook.com. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. <https://www.facebook.com/kelsey.gesbeck/favorites>.

Gesbeck, Kelsey. "Reasons." Web log post. Gypsy Slang. Tumblr, 6 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011. <http://kngesbeck.tumblr.com/post/8554768823/reasons>.

Gesbeck, Kelsey, and A Bee. "Swoonin' Over Bees." Web log post. Gypsy Slang. Tumblr, 19 July 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011. <http://kngesbeck.tumblr.com/post/7792862002/swoonin-over-bees>.

Gesbeck, Kelsey. I Took a Deep Breath and Listened to the Old Bray of My Heart. I Am. I Am. I Am. 2007. Photograph. Profile Pictures, Phoenix, Arizona. Facebook. Facebook.com, 8 Dec. 2011.
Web. 20 Dec. 2011.<https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak- snc7/377981_10150439457681112_639536111_8353353_1832919304_n.jpg>.

Walter, Tyler W., and Kelsey Gesbeck. To Kelsey... Screenshot 1. Digital image.
Tyler Talk (Tumblr Version). Tumblr, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011
<http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwft5eIm4y1qc8eqo.png>.

Walter, Tyler W., and Kelsey Gesbeck. To Kelsey... Screenshot 2. Digital image. Tyler Talk (Tumblr Version). Tumblr, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011
<http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwft7v3Gpm1qc8eqo.png>.

Walter, Tyler W., and Kelsey Gesbeck. To Kelsey... Screenshot 3. Digital image. Tyler Talk (Tumblr Version). Tumblr, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011
<http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwft7v3Gpm1qc8eqo.png>.

How I feel

2011-12-19T01:54:00.000-05:00

Ra Ra Riot - Foolish by ginoballon

To Kelsey...

2011-12-19T01:29:00.000-05:00

Well, in the three years of doing "Tyler Talk", I never thought this would EVER be the way I use my blog, but just for you! Because...well...you'll figure that out.

I would have preferred saying this in person or by phone, but, well, impatience got to me, and it got to you. So...how to word this, cause this isn't something you do on Tumblr.

So Kelsey, let's put this way. Think of these IM's I've sent you in the past:

Okay, doesn't help. Here's another:

These were simply extreme measures Facebook gluttony. And usually, with it, comes an interest, obession and liking.

Are you following what I'm saying? Nope. Okay, we'll let's try again.

Let's just simply go back to the clues:

~~I can only tell you in person.~~
It does not pertain to moviemaking.
It has nothing to do with tassels.
It is big and massive.
Andrew knows what it is.
It does not pertain to Andrew.
You're gonna find out before January 4, 2012.
I told Andrew this past Friday.
It is, to me, rather corny, that I'm doing this through these clues and such.
The song "Out Again" by the band Torche.
It is not a prank.
I would tell you if I could see you in person.
You will really like or hate it what I have to say.
It isn't bad.
It shouldn't surprise you.
It is a statement, then a question.
This IS NOT something you blog.

So, it is a statement then a question, something you don't blog, and does not pertain to hanging out with you and Andrew in January, particularly January 4. It is not a bad thing, and you may either really be excited or unexcited from my statement and question. I think what I think I'm doing is corny, but you love it! I told Andrew what I'm about to tell you about four days ago!

AND...what does "Out Again" have to do with it. The question contains the word "out". So, that really reveals a lot. If not...keep reading. If so, you can stop. And you'll know why I REALLY wanted to tell and ask you in person.

I know I'm beating around the bush, and let's go back to the IMs. It was me obsessively stalking your profile, which in all honesty, just shows a liking or interest. Which, is a big no brainer. But the consistent Facebook browsing, mixed with frequent texts and IMs and a huge wanting to hangout with you. That alone should really give away what I think of you as a person. Oh, yes, and this really made me go bananas:

PACIFIC NORTHWEST?! Well, that has nothing to do with it. But it was the excitement from mutual interest, which pertains to the whole liking and interests. Okay, so PNW did have something to do with it, or it was the personality you had while talking about it.

Probably-- no it was personality.

So, now you figured out my opinion of you, it should be obvious by now what I was asking, and why I preferred to ask you face-to-face.

And yet, somehow I bet you'll be confused as fuck when this is done.

Hope not. I'm ancy now.

Now THAT's a gif

2011-12-17T09:39:00.004-05:00

Rarely to I say that there was an online gif I find really hilarious, but here's the perfect one to accept rejection and defeat, but have a sense of humor about it.

Second guessing cliche Facebook updates

2011-12-15T18:41:00.003-05:00

Around this time a year or two ago, I would be that kid that would be aggressively trying to eliminate cliche, trite, outright simply dull Facebook status updates. Statuses about topics that very few would find interesting, or pertain to them in any credible way. In fact, I would venture to say that I was that kid who mocked, sniped, and unfunnily sneered at statuses.

We're they uncalled for then? Well, at the time, probably not. But these days, there has been a chain of statuses, from people my age (newfound college kids) excitedly sharing to come home, ready to return to Northern Virginia, and see friends and family. Yes, family. Maturity has come its ways. And hey, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's exciting to make it through the first semester of college and take a well earned break from all the stresses it delivers, and it's always a pleasant experience to reconnect with friends and relatives you haven't seen since the trees were painted green.

But yet, there is a cynical wave that has subsequently followed, something that is unprecedented. People sneering at others claiming that no one cares that their finals are done, or that no one cares about their accomplishments or excitement to be home.

Well, maybe at a different epoch in my life, I'd praise the angry posts, but lately, I've realized that those posts might just be worse as a cookie-cutter update about Facebook about a mainstream event. After all, not everything that's mainstream is bad, and Facebook does not need to be an outlet to exquisitely solely slam wit, nor a place to vent your frustrations. To me, it's become more of a public log, and why be so self-conscious to abstain from completing a major life event, just because 40-50 of your friends are posting about the same thing?

Think about it.

Photo of the Day: December 14, 2011

2011-12-14T20:03:00.001-05:00

Oh, Graham. The awkward ways of you standing out are simply a wonder. Congrats on returning to the Photo of the Day section.

Sober fun

2011-12-10T19:46:00.001-05:00

I think I heard the most depressing thing, that may be just be true. Earlier this evening, I was doing my usual scheme of exercising my wit on Facebook chat. I was conversing with a newfound friend, who'll we just call "Drew" for now., who goes to VCU just like myself.

He instant messaged me, apologizing for the crazy weird texts he sent me last night. To catch you guys up to speed, here's some quotes from his texts:

I fuckinggg hove yu man hyahahahahaha

Yaaaaaaa bnkighta

Dude thats so awmeome i love chjejklse

Now, I presumed one of the following three things. Either Drew was high as a kite, drunk or one of his friend's took his phone and jammed all the keys together to make gibberish nonsense. The very latter, or the gibberish hypothesis, was what I was banking on.

But the depressing part? While apologizing for being drunk, somewhere in the conversation, he claimed that "nobody knows to have sober fun anymore". Thus, he was inflicting that the only way one must have a good time is if they get drunk and wild, and possibly even flirt with intoxication.

Oh God, yes, I am sounding like some anti-alcohol bastard. So, in order to look like a condescending jackass, I should now say there is nothing I have against drinking, let alone underage drinking. Personally, I do believe the legal drinking age of 21 is obnoxiously high. But the problem regardless of what the drinking age is, is how people behave when they have too much to drink.

Woops! I seemed to have gone off on a tangent there. I'll save that argument for a future blog. Where was I? Oh yes, sobriety and fun. Back to my opinions!

I personally feel like it's pathetic and sad if people think the only way to have fun is to drink. I mean, there's nothing wrong with drinking, other than the legal age is way too high, but I think people don't know how to handle themselves, and put themselves in extremely serious danger.

To put it into Karl Marx's "opium of the people", Marx says the true happiness can be found without religion, and I'll use it to my notion of drinking and fun. True fun and really knowing how to have fun comes with sobriety. The ability to enjoy oneself without the excessive aid of substance shows the character, the cunning mindset of them, and their ability to be creative.

I feel like it's as if people are too uptight and cannot just loosen up and relax for a bit, that they need a substance to do it for them. I just wonder why people cannot simply do it as just a drink...it's intended meaning.I mean granted, beer taste ungodly awful, which is possibly why I don't drink. Some of it might be understandable. Some people just may not know how to deal with stress, or they in fact have too much stress to deal with to just simply "relax" on their own.

Who knows? I'm some triangle kissing straight edge angel OBVIOUSLY (hint the tinged sarcasm).

2011 has been a turbulent year

2011-11-30T16:15:00.001-05:00

In a few hours, it will be the beginning of the end for the year 2011. That is, it is the final month of the year, and it marks a month when we reflect on another passive year and glance on its successor. For obvious reasons, this year, already glancing back, has been turbulent.

Now one is easily questioning my knowledge of the word, and trust me, there is a reason to explain why "turbulent" properly defines 2011. The general summed up meaning of the word is instability and confusion. Take the start of the year. I had no firm idea as to where my college aspirations were, where I would be standing, or if I had everything in order for graduate. Plus, there was prom stuff soon to follow. For the opening months of the year it was a sheer lack of firmness in plans, or a sense of idea as to how things would turn out.

Flash forward to summer, and there was a loss as to how college would wind up being and a sense of shock that my high school career had finally, and even abruptly, concluded. Looming all throughout the summer was what college life would be like, and how I would adjust into find my way around, meeting people, and developing friendships. Still a subject working on.

Then lets go to now, where there's a loss as to what I want to declare my major to be, and a stark reminder that my first year of VCU is halfway done.

Random, deja vu, coincidences?

2011-11-26T22:00:00.001-05:00

Pending that I don't die, today was my last full day in Northern Virginia until December 17. The relevance to the topic of this blog is nonexistent. I suppose though it goes along with the whole "ending the time being home with a bang" type of deal. Somehow. I think.

Now, let's get into the story itself. It began when I picked up my friend, Kyle B., en route to Fairfax Corner to get something to eat. As we were turning right off of Oak Leather Dr. on to the Burke Centre Parkway there were two pedestrians in the median of the Parkway. Naturally, being my kind self, I waved to let them continue their walk across the Parkway.

The moment, I looked at their faces I noticed that the guy was my Physics tutor last Spring, Mr. Straight. Now, I was a tad bit unsure if it was him, but I noticed the guy was wearing a Navy jacket (Mr. Straight went to the Naval Academy). Immediately upon seeing this, I outrageously reacted in sheer shock, surprise and made a vocal scene. Thankfully, at the time, the windows in my car were sealed shut, preventing an eyewitnesses from seeing the scene I was making.

Evidentially, Kyle asked me what was up with my reaction, then I quickly told him how that was my Physics tutor. Kyle's eyes got big in surprise with the whole situation, and then I went to thinking when it was the last time I saw it. And then it hit me, it was back in late May, I believe the 26th of May. Anyways, I then realized the last day I saw him was when I asked Laura to prom. Instead of thinking this, I was saying it out loud, in more shock that it had been so long since I last saw him. Still driving though, we were at the corner of Burke Centre Pkwy and Ox Road by the time I stated everything.

That was only the start. As me and Kyle proceeded towards Fairfax Corner, I accidentally turned a street too early, and went on the Fairfax Government Center Parkway, nearby the Fairfax Wegman's. As I was looking over at the drivers waiting for the light to turn green, I noticed someone in a white car that looked exactly like Laura (she drives a white car). Thankfully, the college connections helped once again, when I noticed a University of Virginia bumper sticker...okay it was on the rear glass, but whatever. (She goes to UVA).

Behind her, was a lady that looked like the librarian at my high school. Just thought I'd throw that in.

By now I was like "WHOOOAH HOLY FUCKSHIT WHAT THE FUCK THIS FUCKING FUCKING WHAT ON EARTH?!" Yeah, I was dropping F-bomb's like it was a Blitzkrieg or some insane bombing firestorm. Normally, I try to abstain from saying "fuck", because society tells me to wash my mouth from bad language. Did I say my mouthwash? I meant brainwash.

To wrap it up at Potbelly's I then saw some random stoner dude walk in, wearing a Virginia Commonwealth University Baseball t-shirt. First off, the hell? VCU?! I mean, yes, VCU is a big school, larger in student population than the big guns like UVA and Virginia Tech, but still! Rare stuff.

That's that. This was madly informal storytelling, but oh wells. (Purposely made "well" plural).

Drew Carry imprinting his thumb on the MLS Cup

2011-11-18T17:17:00.001-05:00

Drew Carry TOUCHING the MLS Cup?! Oh no. Seattle Sounders will never win the playoffs again. No. No. No.

VCU life, in .gif format

2011-11-18T15:39:00.001-05:00

Via Dirty Richmond Tumblr blog.

Normally, I'm not super keen on brining the .gif world to Blogger, it's perfectly suited for Tumblr.

But of course, there are these exceptions, as an unidentified police officer pets a student dressed as a...as a...cat? Dog? I think cat.

Maybe I should do a .GIF of the Day. I'm kidding. That would get old. Fast.

Google Music has launched, now what?

2011-11-17T14:04:00.001-05:00

Part I

Now, it has been awhile since I last blogged about Google (sorry, Tyler Talk's no GKS here) but this bit of news was pretty big to miss out on blogging about: Google Music has (finally) launched to the public, and we can now temporarily go insane about the new project of the Internet giant!

Want to hit the breaks? Of course you do, I mean, honestly, Google+ is not on the high that all the anti-Facebook people wanted. In fact, it's been painfully dormant by people who are not celebrities.

Immediately, that is a raising question of concern: will Google Music just be a quick hype, before quickly following into obscurity. Well, maybe, but in terms of how you look at music. Discovering music? That's presently dominated by Last.fm and Spotify. Spotify, mostly because of Facebook's Music app being powered by the program. That's a different topic.

What else? Well, there is ~~purchasing~~ downloading music. We can claim it's through iTunes, which is a fair statement, but several torrent sites serve that market, and are in no danger of dying.

But Google Music is more about storing music, and for good reason. Saving space on your computer, and all that. But are people willing to export their entire libraries, which can be stored all over the place into one site so abruptly. That's a yes, since it is rather simple to export your iTunes playlist straight on to Google+.

New York Trip '11: Seeing Red Bull Arena

2011-11-14T22:10:00.001-05:00

Red Bull Arena. Easily one of the most beautiful soccer stadiums in the United States.

In truth, this happened yesterday, but let's not let the little things in life (being time) hold us back. In fact, it was the sole reason me, and my two newfound VCU friends went to New York for the weekend: to see Red Bull Arena.

This next sentence will incredibly destroy the readership of the page, but it is what it is. Red Bull Arena is a soccer-specific (OOOH! OW! SOCCER. AGH!) stadium in Harrison, New Jersey; and the home of Red Bull New York, a Major League Soccer club/franchise/team/whatever fancies you.

Immediately walking up to the venue, I got excited, checked in on Foursquare and snapped this hasty photo (above) with my Droid.

I wouldn't realized until earlier today how unsettlingly creepy this photo is. Adjacent to the stadium was this warehouse, ~~which I believe is going to be a parking garage~~ (no it isn't). Had these posters of the star players on RBNY: Tim Ream, Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez (lol, yeah okay) and Joel Lindpere.

Should be a parking garage...but oh well.

Now, the game. It was Connecticut and St. John's playing in the Big East Men's Soccer Championship. The match itself was alright, but ended anti-climatically.

Oh, and more photos. Here are some internal shots.

Stadium interior.

St. John's celebrating the Big East Championship.

Photo of the Day: November 13, 2011

2011-11-13T22:48:00.000-05:00

Kickoff prior to the St. John's v. Connecticut soccer match earlier today. This was at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ; just 10 minutes west of New York City. This was also the 2011 Big East Men's Soccer Championship.

Photo of the Day: November 12, 2011

2011-11-12T21:41:00.001-05:00

I've been slacking on my Photo's of the Day, a symbol of Tyler Talk, and what made the blog so unique. But the pic above me should make up for it.

Behold! Kyle Lynch and Graham Rockwood getting a pic with Santa! Should get you all in the early pre-Holiday spirit!

New York Trip '11: Night in Newark

2011-11-12T21:08:00.001-05:00

My social accounts have been streaming talk about New York, and the topic of going to New York. However, though none of you care, but I have the loving to document my life, I'll delve into this topic some more.

First the disclaimer. TECHNICALLY, I'm not in the New York City proper, nor in the Empire State itself. Instead, I'm presently in a hotel room in Harrison, New Jersey directly overlooking the Newark, NJ skyline.

WHAT?! You don't believe me?! Didn't you see my Google+ po–wait. I forgot Google+ is so July 2011, and it's November. My mistake. So, here's a nighttime photo of the Newark skyline:

Newark, NJ. I took this shit with my Droid.

Now that you believe with my photographic proof, I must say, Newark skyline vaguely reminds me of the Norfolk, Virginia skyline. Click here to see why.

Oh yeah. I'm here because of the Big East Men's Soccer Championship. Yes, sadly, I'm here for soccer, but why would I have any reason to otherwise come to Northern New Jersey. Okay, one of my best friends' girlfriend (obviously, close connection) goes to Rutgers, and I have an uncle who lives in Brooklyn (in essence, 45+ minutes away), so to come here better be good.

And it is. Believe me. The tickets were dirt cheap. Like six or seven dollars. To go to...RED BULL ARENA.

Sigh...I forgot. Soccer, United States, the next big sport since 1966. That being said, I'll post photos of it tomorrow.

Looking back: 2011 MLS season predictions

2011-11-10T21:54:00.001-05:00

On March 11, 2011; seven months ago, I made a couple of MLS predictions regarding the big external tournaments, being the CONCACAF Champions League, the North American SuperLiga and the U.S. Open Cup. Here was how I did and my commentary on my predictions.
Prediction: Real Salt Lake will make it to the final of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League, but lose
Result: Correct 

In ways, I look back and cannot believe I was completely correct. Then again, given Salt Lake’s path to the final, it was extremely plausible and expected they would reach the continental final. What I didn’t expect though, was for them to tie Monterrey in Mexico, but to lose their longstanding home record in the second and final leg.

Prediction: In the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League; both FC Dallas and Seattle Sounders FC will advance to the Group Stage, making it the first time in CCL history four American teams are in the Group Stage.
Result: Correct

We’re finally in the era where the Champions League is seen as more prestigious an honor than the MLS Cup Playoffs. We can thank Real Salt Lake for that, but also thank the organizations in Seattle and Dallas to acknowledge the hierarchy of tournament importance.

Prediction: FC Dallas, playing a similar style of soccer to Central American clubs, will be a challenging opponent for their competition. Should things go their way, not only will Dallas become the first MLS/American club to win in Mexico, but they will likely end group stage with possibly five wins and win their group.
Result: Correct

I knew I was going out on a limb with this prediction, but I ended up making a wise guess in saying Dallas would succeed against UNAM. Sure, UNAM played their reserves, but that’s the consequence of playing a second-tier team in a first-tier tournament: the infamous title of being the first Mexican club to lose at home to an American club in meaningful competition.

Prediction: Sounders FC will advance to the quarterfinals as the second place team in their Group.Result: Correct

Actually, if I decided to reevaluate this, I would have changed it to say Seattle would win their group. Glad I didn’t. But they showed maturity in the tournament with depth, and patience.

Prediction: Los Angeles Galaxy will perform poorly in Champions League, but they will end up advancing by some luck
Result: Partially correctThey did advance, but by no means did they perform poorly! In fact, the Galaxy won their group, got robbed of winning at Morelia, but Morelia now pays the price of playing Mexican opposition in the first knockout round in Champions League.

Prediction: Colorado Rapids will not exactly tank in the tournament, but they will probably end up in third place
Result: Correct

Colorado, lets face it, emphasized why MLS Cup is a bit of a crapshoot tournament. Essentially, this was like allowing the Bolton Wanderers entry into the UEFA Champions League...yeah...

Prediction: In the U.S. Open Cup, U.S. Soccer and MLS will pray for a Portland vs. Seattle final; however, they will end with Portland making the finals, but Seattle losing to D.C. United in the semifinals. USSF will likely try to assemble the bracket in such a way that a Portland vs. Seattle final is likely, but when that happens, always backfires. The 2011 Open Cup final match will be in Portland, but D.C. United will end up winning.
Result: Incorrect

By miles! Wow, this might be the worst prediction I made. Both Portland and D.C. got eliminated in the qualification propers, and Seattle went on to three-peat.

Prediction: Vancouver Whitecaps FC will gain a postseason birth, but the Timbers will fail to do so. Result: Incorrect

Should have swapped the two sides and then I would be making a good run with that prediction!

Prediction: No SuperLiga will be played
Result: Correct

For better or for worse?

Probably better, but I’m going to miss having a Europa League of CONCACAF. Beats the corny World Football Challenge, but money talks, and there are plenty of plastic euro snobs in this country.

Four Dream Saga

2011-11-10T21:20:00.001-05:00

As everyone college graduate or current college students knows, you either have nights of literally no sleep or nights of overwhelming quantities of sleep.

For me, it was a night of sleep that involved going to bed at 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday night and waking up (for good) at 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning. As uninteresting as it might generally sound, the three hours intervals of sleep (9-12, 12-3, 3-6, 6-9) all carried bizarre dreams with them, and even some lucid ones.

The real one I remember entirely was, I believe, the third dream, which occurred during the 3-6 a.m. interval. You know how at the end of a YouTube video the screen darkens and thumbnails pop-up with the label "related videos"? Well...my dream was kind of like that...towards the end. Instead of it saying "related videos", it simply read "related dreams" all listed with various, dorky expressions of my face, much like the face I have for my Facebook, Twitter, and–the rest you don't care about–accounts.

To make matters funnier, I "clicked" on one of the dreams, and that was the dream I had after I woke up and went back to sleep. It involved walking on a fishing string from Brandt to Johnson Hall, which is about 12-14 stories in the air.

The two year nostalgic rule

2011-11-08T22:46:00.002-05:00

Ever since my sophomore year in high school, I have fallen under the sickness that is nostalgia.

Yes, I get it. We make memories and do things to enjoy them not only in the now, or look forward to them in the future, but to look back on them once they're in the past.

I am a firm believer of this rule I call, for lack of a better name, the two-year nostalgic rule. In my opinion, no one really looks back on an chain of memories so seriously until it has been two years ago. Looking back at something a year ago feels too new to really call distant past, and looking back at something three years ago makes you laugh and say, that was that, before going back to counting the amount of likes your most recent status update achieved.

Anyways...the two year rule. It's rather self-explanatory. You dwell on something that happened two years back. And in tenth grade (2008–09 birth of Tyler Talk), I began to glance back at all the memories that went on in...eighth grade (2006–07)...for whatever reason. I guess as a college freshmen, I'm not dwelling on that era of my life, primarily because so much has happened since than and better memories have happened since eighth grade, to bury it under an awkward era full of braces and inexplicable boners in class.

WAIT. THE FUCK?! MOVING ON NOW...

The same principle came true in 11th grade (2009–10), which involved glancing back on 9th grade (2007–08) memories. As you could imagine, senior year in high school sparked the memories of sophomore year in high school, which created heavy nostalgic trips in between sessions of doing things. Likely, this was the result of my senior and sophomore years of high school being, by far, the best years of my high school days.

The principle continued even in college. When I do the reminiscing process, I'm tending to focus on 11th grade. But it hit me one day when I had a memory of being in 11th grade, of having a memory of being in 9th grade. Then I realized there at that moment that I had hit the limit in reminiscing. Something is way off, and terribly sad, if I can have memories of having memories. It makes it seem like it was an empty year of nothing, and that it was wasted time. Granted, we can be existentialist assholes and say everything is waste, but that's just ruining all the fun of existence.

And with that, I need to stop this blog and go do something fun.

Let's talk about teens, Tumblr and Twitter...

2011-11-08T22:32:00.000-05:00

If it was this time in 2009, and someone gave me their notion that Twitter and Tumblr would, one day, become a site that would bring Facebook to its death knell, I would have naively believed them. Turns out these sites grew slowly in 2010, but became parallel outlets to express ourselves alongside Facebook.

The growth of these sites, I think, came from people's internal desires to vaguely express their innermost desires, without having to broadcast it to a massive, frequently-attentive Facebook audience. The notion to make Tumblr's and Twitter's was not to replace Facebook, but to filter the stream the content that is posted on Facebook. That all started with the rise of people talking about the "Facebook scene" outside of website, and made actions one does on Facebook as critical as actions done in reality.

In fact, for my grade (high school class of 2011) it has become ever so important to look extremely slick and sly on Facebook, because our friends that live hundreds of miles away, can see us on Facebook every day, but cannot see ourselves everyday in reality. Sure there's Skype, but let's face it, we would get boring Skyping someone every single day.

Because of this constant need to look smug, and quick-witted, it leaves no room to vent our frustrations, not unless we want to be cleverly or tritely trolled by our sarcastic friends, or if we want people to scan the post, do nothing at that moment, but gossip about it the next day. It leaves no room for aggression, anger and frustration. Consequently, people have turned the personal semi-frustrations away from Facebook and fumed it all over Twitter and Tumblr.

And why not? Essentially, Twitter allows one to scream into the dark, not have to worry about consequence, nor a concerned response, while at the same time, makes it easy for them to vent knowing someone might be listening to them. It's picture-perfect of a place to post rage-ridden tweets and blog posts. One can limit who sees their tweets, and tweet to a far smaller audience, making it easily to aimlessly vent about someone or something. The best part of the process has to be the fact that your tweet is easily buried under an influx of incoming tweets. Additionally, it is the best place to be passive aggressive; if you do not allow someone to follow you, or you do not follow them back, there is no hard feelings felt, primarily because it is seen as Twitter, and not Facebook. It is a secondary site just to see blurbs about people, so the ones you follow are more about the topics you like, rather than the people you know.

Tumblr, might even in this day and age be tertiary. All I've seen it is a site for girls to post random posts about love and shopping, or their love for shopping in a heap of photos illustrating just that. Obviously that can be an incredibly arrogant generalization, so I have to include that sentence in order to prevent that one hardcore reader from seeing this post and slashing me down for my presumption of the site. That being said, lets move to dudes (okay girls do this too). Apart from snobby, egotistic bloggers like myself, I've just seen Tumblr as a site to nab some pics to post on Facebook walls they find relevant, yet funny (again, showing wit). Then you have the artsy people who use it as a portfolio.

To sum it up, Facebook is the place to show your wits when taking lyrical status updates too literally, to name an example. Twitter is to angrily vent about being upset that your friend cannot grab lunch with you, and well, that might be it. Tumblr is the spot to connect with your imaginative self, and to feel like a hipster-wannabe. Internet. Defined.

Washington Post Social Reader: The perfect way to attract teens to news (blogs)

2011-11-07T23:52:00.000-05:00

Joining the ranks of Spotify in the category of "lets brag about our activity" comes the Washington Post Social Reader, a revolutionary online newsreader that allows you to read the latest Post articles without ever having to leave Facebook. Immediately upon the release of this application, I, along with many others have been caught by this application and found ourselves, *gasp*, reading articles!

Wait, the hell is this?! Teenagers reading posts published by the Washington Post? The fuck is this? Kids my age are suppose to be mean to the newspaper and belittle it to nerdcore material, and obtain news from the gossip on TV, magazines and the Facebook news feed.

Oh, there we go! The Facebook news feed! Facebook! What a revelation! Teens only care about material that can be accessed via Facebook, and since the Post has designed this incredible (seriously, this who program is revolutionary) application to easily read its online content without ever having to leave Facebook, itself, how hard is it glance the headlines that the Post will think you like? Tell you what, it isn't. Plus thanks to the new sidebar in the upper-right hand corner of your Facebook page, you will never miss an update about your friend finding zebra cakes in his dorm room, or about some loser that reflects on his anti-Nickelback mindset during sophomore and junior years of high school.

Did I just cut myself down? How embarrassing. Where was I? Oh yes, the miracle of getting teens to read and give a flying fuck about the Washington Post. Back to the rant.

It is, though, about time that the Post understood the busy, lifestyles that us Generation X's and Y's have to deal with. Usually, the day of us teens begins with mustering together an already half-assed homework assignment, sleeping in class, slyly jacking off to some free online porn (oh wait, just kidding, no teens looks at porn. If you ask teens if they do, 100% of them will immediately and aggressively say they don't!), running around or pumping iron at gym, before spending a modest six or eight hours on Facebook.

Like I said, kids my age are far too busy with that type of activity to get out of our seats and drown our eyes into some paper. Oh, and our class "A" excuse? Going green. Really, it's to make us feel better when we forget to turn out the lights, or shamelessly throw that gum wrapper or cigarette butt on the sidewalk, in the hope no eco-freak cries foul at our laziness to properly dispose waste.

Wow, I have gone off a tangent. ADD moment. Where was I? Oh right, the Social Reader.

Naturally though, I have taken a look at some of the articles my peers have looked at. The connection? Fellow contemporaries (teenagers) like myself only delve into stories with catchy, misleading titles that end up being snarky blog posts that clearly style themselves after Tyler Talk. I'm kidding, that was sarcasm. Let's not get carried away. Tyler Talk is pristine, but it isn't the golden beacon of blogging. To bloggers like myself, that's a paradox of Internet subculture.

I could go on a rant and age myself with the spew that kids are not getting true news, but the way overly political adults love to call every newspaper post sheer bigotry, that would mean kids would have to read Assoiated Press briefs to get the "real news". And, would Social Reader risk that so that we can avoid a loud minority?

Didn't think so.

Photo of the Day: November 4, 2011

2011-11-04T22:50:00.000-04:00

Was at the Watch The Throne concert with Brandon last night. For those of you that don't follow the hip hop/rap world, that's these two underground acts called Kanye West and Jay-Z. Concert was, for the lack of better word choice, insane, amazing. Can't believe I got to go!

75's across the board

2011-10-25T14:51:00.002-04:00

I never previously blogged about my HIST 201 paper, primarily because it is a boring subject to blog about, and in our day and age, blogs are by far the most boring thing to read. But if I'm still keeping your eyes glued to your glowing screens, here I go: There was a paper in HIST 201 that focused on two articles arguing about the Great Depression. I had to analyze them and see which article made the stronger argument.

While working on the paper itself, I was consistently mixing up citations, repeating paragraphs and plaguing the paper with fragments far more evident than I ones I make when I try to make friends. By now, some people's eyebrows have risen far enough to reveal a crease or two on their forehand. The sole thought of that is undeniably odd. Not the citations, please, or messing up the paper, but that I could have more fragments from a paper than ending being tongue-tied while talking.

In the end, after pessimistically pondering how poor I was going to do on the paper, I, of course, ended up in a grey space: earning a 75% on the paper. Worthy of a C. That alone is nothing worth boasting about, nor being ashamed about, especially given my novice collegiate experience.

The whole reason I'm even bothering to blog about this, other than a pointless personal record I'll inevitably reminisce over, is the bizarre..."coincidences" that came with the grades on the New Deal essays in my class. I spoke to literally about nine or ten people around me, and all but one of them earned a 75% as well on the essay. For those of us dying to know the outlying statistic, the lone outcast earned an 85%. But of those people, every single kid I conversed with within my learning community (I'll delve into what that is some other time, in the mean time just work with me here) earned an identical grade on their paper, and had strikingly similar styles of teacher (assistant) feedback.

I'm not denying that they did not throughly examine the paper, but it seems unusually suspect that such a large sampling upwards of a few dozen, would all end up with identical grades, and receive similar feedback. Even though college paper criteria is differently graded than high school, since college papers seem to focus on interpretation more so than strength of writing style, it seems highly unlikely every person took the same identical approach and contained the same errors to relegate their grade to a "C" level, nor had enough points of identical strength to obtain a passing grade.

Gorilla man, banana man and cameraman

2011-10-10T20:34:00.000-04:00

It's about fucking time some random...shenanigans occurred in my dorm. To be fair, in a suite style building that's 17 stories tall, that's no easy task, yet this fearless trio did just that.

It was technically today, since it was a hair past midnight, but my roommate's friends came by to see if my roommate was there. He was not, and before they could head out, we heard this loud crash in my suite's common room. Naturally, I slowly get up off my computer, and lunge to the door. Instantly, I see a guy fall down screaming, wearing a banana suit. Attacking the poor banana dude is a another guy in a gorilla suit, and he is just outright relentlessly mauling the guy in a banana suit.

When I go into the commons room to get a better look at the commons room, I look at see a third guy, who is creating a series of photos of the whole scene. When I walk up to the three, the guy in the gorilla suit gets off the guy in the banana suit, and the victim dressed as a banana pleads for me to help him up. To be a fair sport, and help them out with their fun, I give the banana man an hand and help him up. And this whole time, the cameraman is snapping photos of us.

And as soon as I help the banana guy up, he bolts out of the suit and across the floor. Following him are the gorilla and camera man. And there, I notice my floor is flooded with students trying to get a glance at the commotion. My "what the fuck"-esque face gave some of them laughs, and a bit jarred by the whole incident, I got on Facebook and posted about it, to get a cheap status that would earn some likes. And well, it's Facebook-worthy.

2:30 a.m. fire drill

2011-10-10T20:22:00.000-04:00

To keep this prolonged and cruel story all short and sweet, some inconsiderate, likely drunk, fucking asswipe dipshit, thought he was an invincible badass and pulled the fire alarm at Brandt Hall. Located in downtown Richmond, the residence hall stands 17 stories into the sky, and likely houses well over 1,200 kids. Adjacent to Brandt, is an 18 story, rather older dorm named Rhoads Hall, housing an additional thousand or more students.

2:30 in the morning on a Friday? Well, to sum it up, there were some angry people who had disrupted sleep heading into the weekend.

My story? I was brushing my teeth at this time, disgruntled at the fact I got carried away reading some obscure hipster soccer blogs into the wee hours of the morning. Studying a bit for an INTL 101 quiz the next day, my Thursday night was spent in my suite. Don't worry, it wasn't entirely because of something lame like a quiz the next morning, oh no, it was because I had no plans to do something more illegal. What a shame.

As I spat out my toothpaste and eagerly flossed, I heard the obnoxious wailing of the fire alarm. And wearing underwear and a blank T-shirt, I needed to put some clothing on, because I realized neither of the two represented my soccer nerd lifestyle. So I slapped on some D.C. United sweatpants (yes, I do in fact have D.C. United sweats), and with it, a VCU sweatshirt. I made sure to grab my ID, keys, and mobile device, and along I went down the 14 flights of stairs.

While skipping angrily down the stairs, I realized that if the alarm went off at this hour, there might be an actual fire. There was a minor fire in the dorm earlier last week, so I kept drudging down the remaining dozen flights of stairs. Maybe I'm being morbid or pessimistic, but if there was a real fire, I would probably be either in the hospital or dead and gone forever. Then again, fireproof walls, I hope, so maybe not.

Walking in the park, and realizing there was not the slightest glare of any real fire, I looked over at Johnson Hall and saw all the students (that were still awake) glancing at the Brandt/Rhoads crowd and likely laughing at our misfortunes. For I second, I almost felt envious of them. Until I realized, they live in Johnson Hall. That's enough torture as it is. To sum it up, Johnson Hall is this 60-something year old building with shitty elevators that don't work. And, each floor is single gender; girls on even, guys on odd, and the two elevators either go to even or odd level floors. Ouch.

Trolling Brandt, one piece of paper at a time

2011-10-06T16:43:00.000-04:00

I suppose at VCU, it is a necessity for everyone to have that half-a-dozen clan of indie/hipster friends that you can show of your ability to be sarcastic with, and make a fool of yourself citing stereotypes of the label for the label-less. With that, there is going to be that one dude, who is just an artsy person, but doesn't exhibit hipster rhetorics. For now, we're going to just go with the name "Dan" to describe him. One: because that's his name. Two: because it's only his first name.

From what Dan has told me, there is a Tumblr blog that circulates photos taken in or around the RVA (Richmond area). These photos, are taken with a cheap disposable camera. I believe the bloggers leave this camera in Monroe Park with a note, and I suppose someone goes and takes pictures? Not sure. But when I get the link I'll know.

Recently though, as the two went to go get their disposal camera, a note, along with the ever infamous trollface.jpg was there instead saying the camera is their's now. About two weeks beforehand, Dan had jocundly taped some trollface.jpg's to the elevators at Johnson Hall, since the building is old and the elevators frequently break. In other words, he just wanted to ask if people were "mad" that the elevators were broken, but in a sly, slick method. The maneuver, consequently, has put him as the culprit for an action he did not do. Coincidentally, the bloggers' headquarters are two floors beneath me on the 12th floor of Brandt Hall.

After lunch today, me, Dan and our pal Thomas decide to see the notice ourselves. And, yes, it was there, directed at Dan:

To sum it up, the letter just says that they would like him to return the camera. Scribbled in pen on top of the letter, the unidentified person wrote that "he doesn't live here." And we posted this return passage, confirming that he doesn't live her, nor was he the culprit.

Update 12:28 p.m., Friday: The Tumblr blog is called Fucking Weird Shit That Happens at VCU. The blog can be found at http://fuckingweirdvcu.tumblr.com/

Virginia Tech Trip '11

2011-10-05T14:40:00.000-04:00

Lane Stadium, the home (American) football field for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Will Kennerly and I spent two hours and 45 minutes looking for our friend's tailgate. We never found it.

This past weekend, me and Mike Willis ventured out of central Virginia outward to the Appalachians, specifically the Blacksburg area, which is an informal term given to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (lets be real, this place exists because of the school), which itself is a formal term given to Virginia Tech. And at Virginia Tech, often abbreviated VT, which thankfully saves paper when typing blogs, nearly every single one of my friends decided to go there for 13th grade.

Part I: The Drive

Because I live in Richmond and attend VCU, and Mr. Willis lives in Fredericksburg, and yes, attends University of Mary Washington (or, to save breath when typing, UMW) I had to make a strange, triangular loop through the state as I rolled northbound on the I-95, before we plowed through forest and fields on VA-3, then went through bustling Orange to get on VA-20. From there, we were in Cavalier Country (also sometimes called Charlottesville) it was a shot westbound on I-64 to Staunton then on I-81 to Tech. If any of you know of these places, I'll, sadly, be amazed.

The trip involved music, and music in short. At Tech, I realized that not all college buildings exceed 15 stories. The feat of this was astounding, but that was beyond the point of Tech's incredible features. While most buildings were single digits in terms of stories tall, every building was castle looking, and vaguely reminded me of Hogwarts. You see, the last time I was on the Tech campus, during broad daylight, was literally a decade ago. Specifically, the date was October 20, 2001. So, yes, LITERALLY a decade.

Part II: Parking, police, security

Veering back to the chronological events, Mr. Willis and I made excellent time driving in triangles to Tech. It was around 5:45 p.m., or for those of you who do not know AM/PM time, it was roughly 17:45. However, it was not until, around 7:30 p.m. (19:30) last Friday evening when the two of us actually parked. You see, the two of use made the fatal mistake of going during a college football weekend. Tech was playing Clemson, a soccer powerhouse, and well they have a football team too, but they're only ranked eighth, so that's unimportant. The issue was trying to find the police station to get a guest pass, and Mr. Willis, whom has been to Tech before, completely forgot where it was. Annoyingly, I do not know my spelling and I made the VT mobile website look crappy, so it took awhile finding the right address of the police station on my Google Maps GPS. Technology 6, Tyler 3.

Point being, we found the police station. And, I made the police officer ask a dumb question! You see, I was wearing a VCU shirt and he asked me if I was a visitor or not. But before I could politely say yes, he immediately cought himself saying "I should not have asked that, cause you're in a VCU shirt." Point being, we got the pass, got lost trying to find visitor parking that was not closed off for the game, but a security guard drew us a map to find a spot. We found the spot.

Part III: This thing called "parties" (?)

Being unfamiliar to college American football, since I go to VCU, apparently college students go to these off campus houses, drink unhealthy quantities of piss-stenched beverages and decorate the lawn with red cups. It's better known by some people with imbalanced social lives as partying. Since the concept is very foreign to me, Mr. William Kennerly and Mr. Taylor Pearman decided it would be in my best interest to join them in seeing what the party scene is like. The decision was not made to go out until minutes before midnight, which sparked a doomsday clock in itself, all parties were in the dry, pre-hangover stages.

So, first, they sneak me on the Virginia Tech campus connector, and I'm probably the only one within miles upon kilometers donning a VCU sweatshirt. Strangley, I learned that Tech kids love VCU second to their own school. I'll delve into that topic later on. In the meantime, the three of us barged our way through herds of drunk, and tipsy collegiate students while seeing what the scene is. We made our way to the back kitchen of this townhouse, where a makeshift beer poing table, which was a corkboard of the Maryland flag on top of a foosball table, was assembled. Since it was foosball, I endorsed such activity. However, with most beer and such gone, it was simply water pong. And there were these two kids who were dominanting the games more so than Real Madrid and Barcelona dominant the competition in La Liga. Oops, did I say competition? I meant financial backing.

Anywho, Will and Taylor seemed eager to challenge them, and good Lord, they got "mad respect" from the two, despite losing both times. These two beer pong titans they went up against, had spent the previous two or so hours thrashing their challengers. This time around, Mr. Kennerly and Mr. Pearman took it to them, immediately eliminating three of the cups within the first two turns! But, unfortunately, the titans came back, and Mr. Kennerly and Mr. Pearman subsequently lost. The second time at it, the beer ponging got down to the wire, and I mean...THE WIRE. Both Mr. Kennerly and Mr. Pearman as well as the beer pong titans each had one cup remaining, but they kept hitting the table tennis ball off the rims of the cups, as they hopelessly sailed to the floor. Sadly, as the story ended, the titans made a splash and emerged victorious.

It is a learning lesson for the dynamic duo that is Will and Taylor. It builds character. I hope they improve their water/beer pong talents, cause so much potential only as freshmen!

Part IV: Two hours looking for a tailgate

Scenery during me and Will's unsuccessful two hour and 45 minute walk around the Lane Stadium parking lot. As we can recall, this past Saturday within the East Coast was rather chilly. In Richmond, was a frigid 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Okay, fair enough, that's mild to most people's standards; in Blacksburg, the temperature was hovering in the mid 40s, which is well nearly seven degrees Celsius. With the rain, it was uncomfortably misty outside, as Mr. Kennerly and myself trotted through the acres of pavement attempting to find a tailgate of newly-acquired Robinson Secondary School alumni. In short, we never found the tailgate, despite jacking up Mr. Pearman's and the Patel's phone bills while they gaves us directions we simply could not comprehend. For two hours and 45 minutes, we lost our way trying to find them, and I burned off enough calories to make myself feel less guilty about my monstrous breakfast. My hands were raw, my mood was content, and my feelings were uplifted by very nice, and very loud VT fans chanting:

YEAH VCU! GO RAMS! YEAH MAN!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH!!!!!!

How nice! And later a kid told me that he and quote "loves VCU". Made me smile. But what's there not to hate about VCU? Well, in terms of basketball, Tech might hate Commonwealth for that. While that was nice to get some love for my school, the hopeless excurision culuminated in the best of ways! See the photo below:

SOCCER FIELDS! OMG THANK GAWD THIS TRIP WAS WORTH SOMETHING!!!!

Part IV: The finale of the trip

Once you see as many beautiful, green soccer fields such as the ones in that photo above, it is incredibly difficult to top that. I tried, and from there, I had a series of events such as getting into a heated battle with Michael Callo, Taylor Pearman and their floormates in Apples to Apples. I came in second, so, well, it was almost as good. Then the next day, Sunday, Mike and I went home, and there was shit traffic. Did not get back to VCU until 8 p.m.

An average day at VCU thus far

2011-09-26T17:42:00.000-04:00

Evidently, it all begins with the lifestyle of living in a city, since Virginia Commonwealth University is an urban campus right in core (Mr. Foster would pretend to be proud/impressed) of Richmond. Growing up in the sleepy, semi-fringe zone of Clifton, moving in a dorm that overlooks downtown Richmond is an outrageously contrasting difference. Seriously. The reality of seeing more buildings than trees on a daily basis is something foreign to me. Actually, when I think of it. If I look in the horizon I see more trees, but that's for a different day of sharing tree tak. That's not exactly something that stirs of interest, and in this context environmentalists would snore to this paragraph.

To focus more, let's talk about the negatives first, since that's what everyone these days has a talent for, complaining. And to sound more friendly, I will say, venting since that's apparently healthy: elevators. Going up and down the elevators are a trip of their own. Especially in a 17-story building, where stopping six or seven times on the way up or down the elevator or nothing out of the ordinary. It now causes me to leave for class slightly earlier thanks to the elevator trip that sometimes takes three to four minutes. That's not necessarily long, but for an elevator ride, that's rather lengthly.

But the advantage is, since it's an urban campus, everything is condensed into a few city blocks making the longest walk to a class take about five or six minutes, if you exclude the journey on the elevator. More time is probably spent just waiting for an elevator or the crosswalk signal to turn into the white walking figure than walking to class itself.

Next, I guess I'll delve into food. The food in the dining hall is nothing worth bragging about, other than probably the pizza. The rest? Not necessarily bad, but bearably edible. That's all I have to put forth about that topic.

At this point, I am at a loss of what else to really say, that sums up the major talking points about VCU for now.

VCU/Richmond loves soccer

2011-09-26T17:41:00.002-04:00

EVERYONE IS GOING TO SKIP THIS SECTION BECAUSE SOCCER IS BORING.

An my God, do they! Perhaps the largest blessing in disguise getting that wait list ticket from George Mason University had to been this. Granted, there are probably a fair share of soccer fanatics like myself that trot the campus of Mason, but I have never seen so much love for clearly the best ever sport (half joking) in one condensed area. In fact, soccer might be more popular than American football here, and that's something that even I cannot believe. Now that I have said all that, someone will say VCU is full of hipsters and soccer is the hipster sport.

As one can presume, finding soccer nerds like myself tends to be a rare, enjoyable moment. But, I have taken it for granted and rolled my eyes at the Eurosnobs donning Manchester United and Chelsea jerseys, but praised the ones in U.S. Soccer or any type of MLS jersey. Since "eurosnob" is not slang well often defined in 2010s American culture, that basically means someone who grew up in the U.S. that cheers for European power houses rather than their local soccer club. So for instance: if someone grew up in Boston, and claimed their favorite teams were the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox and Arsenal, then they're a eurosnob, or basically, a fake soccer fan. Now if there was someone who cheered for the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox and the Revolution, then they're a real soccer fan for supporting their team because of their roots and not cause they're simply good.

Some recent moments include any time I wear a Clint Dempsey, a soccer player, #8 U.S. Soccer jersey. Last week, I went to the Five Guys just off the VCU campus, and I run into some guy in front of me in the line wearing a Michael Bradley, a soccer player, #4 U.S. Soccer jersey. And soccer people, they instantly delve into conversation about the state of U.S. Soccer: the new coach, Jurgen Klinnsmen, the state and structure of MLS. In fact more American soccer fans probably talk about the means of how MLS is structured, the future of the league's popularity, more so than the actual events that occur, sports-wise in the league.

And that's exactly what has happened in the six encounters that I remember in the past month.

Insane Clown Posse and Jack White b-side "Mountain Girl" leaks

2011-09-16T23:28:00.000-04:00

The album no one has been waiting for is looming, but in the mean time I coincidentally found some b-tracks for it.

From the moment Jack White and the Insane Clown Posse announced their collaboration project through Third Man Records, White's record label, I, like many of you, have just been amused through the actual fact the two are working together, and in awe at White's ability to troll the fuck out of ICP.

And if it was not enough to have ICP cover Mozart, with White contributing some background instrumentals, how about an Primus-inspired country song, entitled "Mountain Lion". Only this time, it does not suck in the good way. Instead, it's ridiculous vocals churn laugh upon laugh, upon...laugh.

Here's the audio, you will be laughing through Monday morning.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 26

2011-09-11T14:39:00.003-04:00

Since there was little MLS action over Labor Day Weekend, I decided to hold off on the Power Rankings for a week before churning out a new list. It in itself, felt like a miniature vacation from league action, but it’s nice to return what will be an extremely heated playoff race, as well as a neck-and-neck Supporters’ Shield race.

1. LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Last Week: 1

Result: T 2-2 @ SKC, W 1-0 vs. COL

Last Five: L-W-W-T-W

With a month-and-a-half left to play, the defending regular season champions have already clinched a playoff spot. Seemingly fresh as ever, as well as the option to alternate Ricketts and Saunders, the Galaxy look in good posistion for winning the Shield with the largest point total ever, their Champions League group and the ever-illustrious MLS Cup.

2. REAL SALT LAKE

Last Week: 5

Result: W 2-1 vs. PHI, W 2-1 @ SEA

Last Five: L-L-W-W-W

Starting with their road victory at Chivas, RSL seemingly have grabbed some lightning in a bottle, as they ascend in the Power Rankings, hot off a three-match winning streak. The club is playing their best since their invisibility during the Champions League last April. And no better time to. With no outside competition to focus upon, Real Salt Lake looks poised to either make the MLS Cup final or ruin the fun for the Galaxy and nab the Shield. Either or will gift the Royals with a Champions League berth, and bring more thrill, and even more hardware to the Crossroads of the West.

3. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Last Week: 2

Result: L 1-2 vs. RSL

Last Five: W-T-W-W-L

After a red hot August, Mauro Rosales, unexpectedly, came up cold in his penalty kick, and consequently, mixed with an own goal from Kasey Keller, the Sounders blow a golden chance to cement themselves into a guaranteed Western Conference playoff berth, not to mention, a pothole in their race for the Shield. With Champions League action this week and the U.S. Open Cup final not too far away, this is not the time for the Sounders to hit a swoon.

4. FC DALLAS

Last Week: 3

Result: L 0-2 @ NE

Last Five: L-T-L-W-L

Ever since the Hoops started off hot in Champions League action, they have had polar play in MLS and USOC action, coming up dry to the Sounders in Open Cup play, and being blanked by...New England, of all teams, in league play. Maybe it’s a soccer conspiracy theory, but perhaps it’s in Dallas plan to finish as a top wildcard seed and waltz their way to the MLS Cup final through the relatively easy Eastern Conference bracket.

5. COLORADO RAPIDS

Last Week: 6

Result: L 0-1 @ LA

Last Five: W-W-T-L-L

Personally, I believe that their two-matching losing streak is rather deceiving and has some justified excuses. First, the two road matches: Colorado got the bad luck of the draw having to play Chicago when they did, and on a night Chicago decided not to draw. Also, LA. Those two lets speak for themselves. Credit to Matt Pickens though for making several massive saves. So, they move up a spot, because lets face it. Colorado is likely better than any Eastern Conference team right now, except maybe D.C.

6. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Last Week: 9

Result: T 2-2 vs. LA, W 3-0 vs. HOU

Last Five: W-W-L-T-W

Teal Bunbury is putting a neon light about himself, making himself stand out to Jurgen Klinnsmen. The two-goaled effort, along with a consolation strike from C.J. Sapong has thwarted Sporting atop the Eastern Conference through the virtue of goal differential. While Columbus and D.C. have matches in hand, Columbus’ slump in form, and D.C. only being able to draw level in points has made it very probable that Sporting can seek out a guaranteed Eastern Conference berth.

7. D.C. UNITED

Last Week: 10

Result: W 3-0 @ CHV

Last Five: T-W-T-L-W

Mind all the stories about the major upsets in the league and all related buzz. Charlie Davies has turned some heads like no other. Prying himself back into the Golden Boot race, Davies, along with the noted help of Chris Pontius, collectively thrashed the Goats in Los Angeles. The best part? Davies scored thrice...all in the run of play. Also, United was on the road, so naturally, a win or any amount of points is nearly a given.

8. COLUMBUS CREW

Last Week: 4

Result: L 2-6 @ SEA

Last Five: W-L-W-W-L

Okay. It was one thing to get routed in Seattle, and lose 6-2. But another to finally, and unexpectedly lose 4-2 to your Trillium Cup rivals, Toronto FC. Some slip up room is allowed since they technically are tied for first in the East with Sporting, and have a match in hand. But this type of from that Columbus is in, well, makes me think otherwise about Eastern Conference contention.

9. HOUSTON DYNAMO

Last Week: 7

Result: L 0-3 @ SKC

Last Five: W-T-W-L-L

The Orange Crush simply cannot do it. They lack a mindset to play in an away atmosphere. And the blank scoring on conceding of four goals during their two-match road swing prove it in its entirety. While they manage to be a point ahead of D.C., United have three matches in hand. They could easily slip away from the top three contention as soon as they hit the road again.

10. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Last Week: 13

Result: Match @ DC ppd.

Last Five: L-L-W-W-T

In what was a rather forgettable match, this road win to Philadelphia may prove to be crucial for the Timbers if they want to replicate their little enemies up the I-5 corridor, and make the playoffs in their maiden MLS campaign. A two-match home stand against New England and San Jose, whom are rather beatable opponents, will need to be six points if they want to nab a wildcard berth.

11. CHIVAS USA

Last Week: 8

Result: L 0-1 vs. RSL

Last Five: W-T-L-L-L

Again, and again, and again; Chivas USA is dropping games like flies at home, losing and being shutout in the past two outings. If the Goats end up hitting a hot streak at the end, but miss out on the playoffs, well, this three match slide is to blame. Had Angel scored on that wicked half-volley, I might be mindlessly ranting about that rather than this.

12. TORONTO FC

Last Week: 16

Result: W 4-2 @ CLB

Last Five: T-W-L-T-W

Aron Winter’s Dutch dreamland for the Reds: well, it has finally came in league play. For the first time in their existence, Toronto has defeated their Trillium Cup rivals, and taken the derby title for the first time ever. If such form can translate into Champions League action, Toronto might actually see themselves in the knockout round, and potentially turning some heads if they oust a side like UNAM from this momentum.

13. PHILADELPHIA UNION

Last Week: 11

Result: T 4-4 vs. NE, T 0-0 vs. POR

Last Five: T-T-L-T-T

Maybe the barnstorming, 4-4 draw against New England took a lot of the U. A scoreless draw at home to Portland is not exactly the form they want to “improve” to, if they want to remain in the Eastern Conference’s top three. And with three conference matches on the docket, two at home, this draw at home, lose on the road form will need to vanish, or else their season-long playoff picture might collapse in tragic form.

14. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Last Week: 15

Result: W 2-0 vs. FCD

Last Five: L-T-L-T-W

The Revs caught Dallas in a depleted mode and simply put it, they took every advantage of it. New York tying and Houston losing, have endured the Revs’ slim playoff hopes, but in all due respect, this win is nothing more than a moral builder, and a statement of proof that if the Revs can finish out games like this, 2012 could be a year they not only make the playoffs, but vie for the Eastern Conference crown.

15. CHICAGO FIRE

Last Week: 12

Result: W 2-0 vs. COL

Last Five: T-T-W-W-L

Chicago had some unfortunate turn of events to lose this one to swooning San Jose. Sean Johnson, for all he could do, had a superb night, saving a penalty and limiting Chris Wondolowski’s shooting spell to only a goal, where Johnson was simply milliseconds shy of saving. If anything really halted Chicago’s chances of potentially considering the playoffs, it was this loss. Really now, their focus will evidently turn towards the Open Cup final in three weeks.

16. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Last Week: 17

Result: W 2-0 vs. CHI

Last Five: T-L-L-T-W

This time three months ago was the last time San Jose posted a “W” in the result column. Following that, the ‘Quakes went on a sludgy, endless summer posting loses on the road and draws at home. And frankly, for any club, such form well cause you to collapse to the bottom of the table. Sadly, this win might have been too little too late for any postseason ambitions.

17. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Last Week: 18

Result: W 1-0 vs. HOU

Last Five: T-L-L-L-W

Still watching the replays to see Camillo’s apparent foul. I’ll let you know when I find it. Man, the ‘Caps were robbed of their first possible home win. Things would have gotten ugly in the RBNY front office if that happened. The hunger for a consecutive win will simply have to wait.

18. NEW YORK RED BULLS

Last Week: 14

Result: T 2-2 @ NE

Last Five: L-T-L-T-T

I’m sorry, but when the league’s worst have all had impressive nights, defeating top heavy teams, and the original lone Eastern powerhouse, draws at home, by some range of sheer luck, to the weakest out West, and the whole league...well, you might just be the worst in the league. Worst because you stocked on talented players, but you’re depth is nonexistent and you’ve had a lone win in the past four months. How they still manage to be the playoff picture has stunned me. Also, who is willing to bet that MLSSoccer.com will still have them ranked somewhere around eighth or ninth in their Power Rankings since it was a tie?

Guy tubes down Rt. 29 in Fairfax, VA during floods

2011-09-09T21:14:00.000-04:00

An example of the flooding in Northern Virginia. Photo via Fairfax County Government's Flickr. Yes, they do have one.

While I was busy studying my ass off at Virginia Commonwealth University, the sky opened for hours, upon hours, in Northern Virginia. While there was flash flooding and just outright flooding in general, a natural disaster became natural joy. At least for this unidentified man rafting down the eastbound lanes of Fairfax Boulevard near a Sunoco gas station.

VIDEO: Man tubing down Rt 29, In Fairfax VA

Initially, I couldn't help but be like everyone else an laugh at the sight. And, just like many of you, I had to click on the play button a second time, and hell, a third time. Took awhile before I picked up on someone yelling for him to get out of the road. Looks like some YouTubers already filled in the blanks to whatever the tuber comes back with, in response. But looking down the road where the tuber inevitably runs out of water, looks as if there are some vehicles blocking off the flooded area.Now I wonder what happened to him, and if he got in any sort of trouble for, well, I'm not sure what charges it would be to tube down a flooded street.

At my former high school, the band teacher gets arrested

2011-09-06T19:35:00.001-04:00

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

That's the video, and to read the article, go here.

Mastodon's Deathbound music video: Absolutely hysterical

2011-09-06T00:36:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows of Mastodon knows two things: first, and foremost, they're a prog/sludge metal band that's simply badass like no other, and secondly, they have an great sense of humor.

That being said, a b-side track from the Crack the Skye sessions, better known as Deathbound was released a while back, along with this music video. ~~Being behind the times, I am now getting around to sharing the link (since embedding the video has been seen as illegal)~~.

To get a glimpse of what to expect, think of hell literally breaking loose in the puppet land in Mr. Rodgers (sp?) Neighborhood.

If that's too much brain power here's a screen shot that might not be allowed.

Here's the website that I ended up at when I Google Image searched "deathbound mastodon".

UPDATE 9.07.2011 12:47 p.m. - I found a way for the video to be embedded. Going to the official YouTube channel of Mastodon. So here you go!

Blakroc 2: It's coming soon

2011-09-02T20:57:00.000-04:00

The YouTube video said so.

Since I'm gay for The Black Keys, it's pretty much a given that I'm somewhat outrageously excited for this preview spoof video.

Oh, woops. Here's the video which you could access on YouTube:

Texas soccer apex

2011-08-18T17:17:00.001-04:00

The Lone Star State continues to bring the country mounts of joy. As if FC Dallas nabbing a 1–0 road victory in Mexico to UNAM was great, and monumental, a rather secondary piece of news hits the blogosphere.

That's Clint Dempsey, who scored twice for Fulham in the UEFA Europa League as the Cottages defeated Dnipro of Ukranie 3–0 in the first leg of the playoff round. Below are his goals.

Dempsey's First Goal

Dempsey's Second

FC Dallas 1-0 UNAM Pumas: CONCACAF Champions League Highlights

Atheism vs. Theism

2011-08-16T00:21:00.001-04:00

I simply cannot accept either ideal. Because from the atheist standpoint, there's nothing upon your death. That's it, that's all. It was like before berth. My doubt comes from the simple question of existence in general. There's a universe, galaxies, stars, constellations, and planets. There is this entire dimension of Worlds and possibly other Worlds within other dimensions and black holes and so on and so forth. If there was nothing, then there would simply be nothing at all.

But from the theist standpoint. If there is a whimsical jolly land for the truth-faith believers and a dank, horrid underworld for the sinister disbelievers, what's the point of having the World we have when there's only something to subsequently come? And, then, why is this second life the forever eternal life, when this first life is limited? And my final question: if there's something after death, why is there something before life? You didn't existent then, so shouldn't you exist now?

Fuck, this thing is going to haunt me until my death day. When that comes, well, I may not see it coming. Hopefully further than sooner, because I'm still fearful of wrapping up life now. I mean, look, D.C. United might make the MLS Cup Playoffs and have a solid future of good seasons ahead of them. (Oh, how I relate things back to soccer sooo nonchalantly).

Religion can piss me off

2011-08-16T00:21:00.000-04:00

OMG A SENSITIVE TOPIC THAT CAN BOIL THE POT. NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

Like no other. Perhaps when your mind wonders so much in a mini golf shack, you eventually wind up getting into these deep internal conversations. Conversations that involve such simplistic questions to ask, yet so complicated to answer. Questions that circle around the topic of existence, which has led to me second guessing myself. Which, well, is something we all do quite often. Some of which in justified manner, and others due to being too hesitant to move forward in our decision-making.

That's off the central focus of religion and how it aggravates me, but lately, I've come to the conclusion that religion can be absolutely nothing more than sheer ignorance. Ignorance to what can be a broader spectrum of why things exist in the matter that they do. Exclusiveness that just slaps humanity in the face. Closed-minded thought that shows our ability to buy into what we are told, and to disregard any other ideologies, which causes haughtiness that’s simply...gross.

OH SHIT... I POKED THE BEEHIVE!

The problem about religion is that it’s such a taboo, and it causes a chain of angry, aggressive beliefs. And all of this is focused on faith. Truly, it’s fine to have faith, and have your beliefs. Religion can teach critical lessons in living life and having good spirit and positive attitude, and allow people to have their moments of talking to someone when the world loses interest in their life.

Yet...despite that, it causes people to feel elite in themselves and close the door to other religions and act as if their belief is the only true belief to exist. Often it’s as if religious folks give themselves the right to point at certain groups and label them them as hopeless lost souls that need their dirty brains washed. Hey, see what I did there?!

Honestly, I feel like organized religion hinders people to get out their and enjoy life. I understand that some of the believing is just and actions can bring consequences, but sometimes I feel one should go out and enjoy what life and the World has to offer before it's too late. And frankly, as we've been coldly reminded, any day may be the final day, and time is limited to enjoy what life has to offer. Not to poke our toes into the

To cap off this incredibly lengthly rant, organized religion, I believe, is the culprit of absolute close-mindedness. It can shrink people’s brains in believing that others are unworthy of acceptance, because some book says they are unworthy and subpar to what the true, normal human should be.

And the fuck is that bullshit? Who has any right to say how one should be. In my opinion, that's the ultimate sin: telling someone to not be who they are and to fabricate themselves to be an acceptable person. That's what caused me to lose interest in religion, probably about five or six years ago. It subsequently started a gradual transition about two years ago from being Methodist to Deist to a present state of being partially Agnostic and partially Deist.

Friendship Crossroads

2011-08-15T22:39:00.000-04:00

Like many of you, I'm at that fork in the road where you decide which people you really wish to keep in touch with come college, and whom you wish to keep a solid friendship, or relationship. Frankly, it's contributed to the enduring summer. Cause, I have been speaking to fewer and fewer people this summer than ever before, and consequently, I feel that I've probably irritated some of them to a unbearable degree. Now, this will trigger either the snarky "no fucking shit, Tyler" or the sympathetic "noooo Tylerrrr!" Some truth with those statements, yet some fabrication in the sheer hope of hiding truer feelings.

And on the topic of my job...

2011-08-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

It has been perhaps the most uneventful experience of the summer. And since it has consumed a solid amount of my summer time, yet filled my wallet, I might as well explain the diverse, intriguing lifestyle of working as a mini golf attendant. I know this will be the most exciting blog I will ever compose. Heh, get that? Irony. Cause...never mind.

The job basically involves the required knowledge of knowing how to sort golf balls based on their color, and making sure you properly insert the flags into the hole on the course. Oh, and running a register. When people make those extremely unfunny "no big deal (nbd)" jokes, this is truly no big deal. And yet, despite this I have found ways to make mistakes...as a mini golf attendant. But, I'm getting bored typing this piece, so I'm calling quits on the post.

The never ending summer

2011-08-15T21:37:00.000-04:00

No really. This summer has been enduring like no other. The first events of the summer? Prom, graduation and the All-Night Grad Party? It seems like ages ago. Really does. As much fun as they were, I have been trying tirelessly to replicate the same amount of fun during those events during the summer. Evidently, it has not worked to the degree as I would like, and mixing that in with a mind-draining job as well as only going out of town once, it causes a painfully endless period of time.

That's not to say my summer has been terrible, far from it. In fact, the summer of 2011 will likely go down as the most eventful and thrilling summer I have ever experienced in my life. However, with all the grand moments, my job, which is working in a mini golf shack has caused my mind to wonder so much for so long during a five-hour time block. Consequently, I think way too many repetitive thoughts and beliefs. All of which centers around the main question: "how much longer?"

Vague? Yes. But it refers to the amount of time remaining until college, getting off work, and until I can do something with friends, or do something in general that is a thousand times more task-enforcing than staring around a mini golf course, twiddling your thumbs, and thinking your phone is vibrating with a new text message, when really no one has replied to my text I sent 40 seconds ago.

Photo of the Day: August 15, 2011

2011-08-15T07:48:00.000-04:00

Everything, but nothing.

Collegiate quidditch

2011-08-14T16:58:00.000-04:00

Per the request of Tristam, I was told to begin hammering Facebook posts, tweets, FourSquare checkins, and the entire social media gang all with one common topic: college quidditch.

Now, I really remembered this thanks to a project of archiving my Facebook status updates from day one to day...somewhere around 1,200 by now. Needless to say, my Internet tech savviness has been good, but in regards to quidditch, it has been outright unacceptable.

Since there's still a week left until college begins, for me at least, there is still a solid 168 hours left in learning about the bustling happenings of the Virginia Commonwealth University quidditch team. Upon doing heavy research, I analyzed it and pondered my contributions to the VCU Rams' success.

They have a YouTube video from 2008 showing their practice. Demanding shit.
Rather than being cliche and going by the "VCU Rams", they go by the "Wizengamot". I'm not kidding.
You can get THE LATEST NEWS on their MySpace...if it was 2008 and not 2011.
Phew! They're storming Twitter and Tumblr like crazy. And we all know I'm married to the tweeting service, so clearly it was meant to be. I should follow them on each respective site.
VCU pride! Wizengamot has colors of black, yellow........and purple.
The team is ranked 38th in the nation by the International Quidditch Association, better known as the IQA.
Seems like they share an intense rivalry with University of Richmond, Virginia Tech...oh, and Penn State. Somewhat...unexpected.
And probably the only thing that matters...they have a Facebook group. I KNEW I WAS FORGETTING A SOCIAL NETWORK!

And it was on Facebook I found out some critical information. They will "soon" tell us when quidditch interest meetings would begin.

Wasted effort.

MLS & NBC: The long wait had come

2011-08-11T15:36:00.001-04:00

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 21

2011-08-07T13:22:00.004-04:00

Photo via Flickr user Goose #19. Used with the CC BY-ND 2.0 License.

The twenty-first week of the 2011 Major League Soccer season saw the league heavyweights, except New York (if you still consider them a “heavyweight”) return back to their normal status. Along with a return to normalcy, we got a glimpse of some very, very young talent and their professional potentially. Ahem, Luis Gill and Diego Fagundez. And finally, following a wild draw in the nation’s capital, Toronto FC just never meant to win soccer matches. We also are beginning to see the start of what will be a wild race for the wild card berths in the playoffs. Good move, MLS. You did well expanding the playoffs. And I earnestly mean that.

1. LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Last Week: 1
Result: L 0-3 @ POR, W 3-1 vs. FCD
Last Five: W-W-W-L-W

As the race for the Supporters’ Shield heats up, the league-leading Galaxy not only exhibited a winning mentality over a top-heavy Dallas side, but they exhibited an ability that was missing in 2010: the ability to earn any amount of points when playing a man down. As for the Timbers match? Well, in the meantime, I’ll give Los Angeles the benefit of the doubt and claim it was a fluky result for now.

2. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Last Week: 2
Result: L 1-3 @ HOU
Last Five: T-W-W-L-W

Even if it was at the fault of the reserves, that puncturing 7-0 loss to Manchester United sucked a lot of confidence out of the upstart Sounders, who might have the reverse fortunes of 2010 seep into 2011. Perhaps a victory in the second leg of Champions League preliminaries might help kick things back into gear as they endure a demanding schedule this month.

3. REAL SALT LAKE

Last Week: 5
Result: W 3-0 v. NY
Last Five: W-W-L-L-W

Huge night for newcomer Luis Gil, and it looked like the old Real Salt Lake we haven’t seen since their wild run in the Champions League. If they got hot right now, there’s a realistic chance they can find their way back into the Supporters’ Shield race. And why stop there? MLS Cup ambitions might follow suit.

4. FC DALLAS

Last Week: 3
Result: L 1-3 @ LA
Last Five: T-W-T-W-L

Right now, except for Seattle, there is no other team that is a realistic posistion of grabbing the first ever Treble in MLS history. This treble, obviously would consist of the Shield, MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup. However, following Marvin Chavez’s inevitable GOTW nominee blast, the Hoops hit a tack, as the league leading Galaxy rallied and took a six point advantage over the Hoops in the Supporters’ Shield race. With Champions League group stages and U.S. Open Cup semis a couple weeks off, there is still a bit of time to recapture league points.

5. COLUMBUS CREW

Last Week: 4
Result: L 0-2 @ COL
Last Five: T-L-W-W-L

A team riding heavily on confidence gets a bit of breather thanks to their Eastern counterparts results. The unexpected, but longtime Eastern Conference leaders find themselves likely having the top seed out East, but a stark chance of winning MLS Cup hardware as Colorado showed them this past week.

6. COLORADO RAPIDS

Last Week: T-9
Result: W 2-0 vs. CLB
Last Five: L-W-T-W-W

After watching some highlights between Colorado and Columbus, it obviously reminded me of their MLS Cup playoff clash last fall. And with Drew Moor look revitalized, and Cummings looking as ferocious as ever, perhaps Colorado might repeat 2010 in terms of a hot streak at the end, further demoralizing the MLS Cup through blog posts by angry hardcore fans.

7. PHILADELPHIA UNION

Last Week: 6
Result: L 1-2 vs. COL
Last Five: T-W-W-L-T

Colorado nabbed two fast goals on the, usually reliable, Philly backline. Their response went as expected, but continous failed opportunities caused Roger Torres’ lone goal to be too little, too late. Perhaps the release of Ruiz is why this Philadelphia side needs if they want to regain the Eastern Conference lead.

8. HOUSTON DYNAMO

Last Week: T-9
Result: T 1-1 @ PHI
Last Five: L-W-T-W-T

Their well deserved victory at home against Seattle shows the classic MLS side, or the side that marketeers want, a team that simply wins at home. If you mixed their home form with D.C. United’s away form, you have a deadly team jockeying for the Shield.

T-9. CHIVAS USA

Last Week: 11
Result: W 3-2 @ NE
Last Five: T-T-W-L-W

Weathering off a late surge by the Revolution, the likes of Robin Fraser with management and Nick Labrocca on the pitch are shimmering. With it, the Goats look poised to be a wildcard team that could turn some heads in the playoffs. Wouldn’t quite call them an MLS Cup contender, but they’re certainly in a legitimate stance to qualify!

T-9. D.C. UNITED

Last Week: 8
Result: T 3-3 vs. TOR
Last Five: W-T-L-W-T

Never as a result like this been so deceiving since Real Salt Lake and New England drew 3-3. Playing a man down, with a goalie (Steve Cronin) who never played a single minute of the season, along with absences of several key players, well...such a relief to be playing Toronto. Oh, I forgot. D.C. for whatever reason, can only win matches away from RFK, and hat trick hero, De Rosario was the team’s missing link.

T-9. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Last Week: 7
Result: L 1-2 vs. SEA
Last Five: T-T-W-T-L

Kansas City got a taste of their own medicine while watching their points slip away against a Sounders side that looked vulnerable as of late. With the win/draw form of D.C. and Houston and the pathetically hopeless form of New York, a wild race for third place out East is assembling as we speak.

12. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Last Week: T-15
Result: W 3-0 vs. LA, T 1-1 @ SJ
Last Five: W-L-T-W-T

This recent form of Portland has been hands down their best since the opening days of renovated Jeld-Wen Field. Fluky, maybe? But nevertheless, a commanding 3-0 home victory against MLS’ tops, Los Angeles Galaxy, and then capturing a point against the feeble Earthquakes. And just like that, some playoff hopes are flickering again.

13. NEW YORK RED BULLS

Last Week: 12
Result: L 0-3 @ RSL
Last Five: L-T-L-T-L

This is scary to think, but after waiting months on end, New York’s subpar play has finally allowed D.C., Houston and Kansas City to all muscle their way into New York’s third place spot out East. Also, I suppose the goalkeeping situation is still problematic in New York. As we noticed, Condoul came on for Rost later on. Thanks to the Gold Cup, Ream’s confidence has been drained.

14. TORONTO FC

Last Week: T-15
Result: T 3-3 @ DC
Last Five: W-L-L-T-T

My, oh my, Toronto FC. It is as if you and winning were never meant to be. Lets list out every advantage Toronto had to beat D.C. United. First, TFC played with a man advantage for 84 minutes of the match. Next, the Reds had a goal that really should not have counted. Their third? Well, they capitalized quite well on scoring on the inexperienced (to MLS) Steve Cronin. However, led by Andy Iro, who had a rough evening, the Reds found a way to squander two points in what should have been an easy three. Nothing comes easy for Toronto FC. Also, if anyone cares to know, following the result, Toronto FC was mathematically out of contention of winning the Shield.

15. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Last Week: 13
Result: L 2-3 vs. CHV
Last Five: L-W-T-T-L

An array of MLS youngsters have left their mark this weekend, and New England’s super prospect, Diego Fagundez managed to get the consolation goal. From an ignorant standpoint, it’s pretty comical to watch the little guy slither and weave his way over rhino-looking defenders, but, hardly the point. Thanks to him, Revs fans have something to smile about for the future of this club, and that one day, they’ll return to their glory years.

16. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Last Week: 14
Result: T 1-1 vs. POR
Last Five: T-T-L-L-T

The postseason window is closing fast on the ‘Quakes, and it seems as if no one is in any hurry to try to jump out of the window. Okay, maybe Alan Gordon, who has been quite a workhorse for the club. The thing is, it just seems as if San Jose simply cannot find anyone to garner three points in games they should win, but simply cannot.

17. CHICAGO FIRE

Last Week: 17
Result: Play @ VAN tonight 7:30 p.m. ET
Last Five: T-T-T-L-L

Okay. Fair enough. Chicago has yet to play their fixture against Vancouver, but lets be real: regardless of the outcome of this match, Chicago and Vancouver will still end up occupying either 17th or 18th spot in the Power Rankings.

18. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Last Week: 18
Result: Play vs. CHI tonight 7:30 p.m. ET
Last Five: L-L-L-T-L

Please see the description above. Replace “Chicago” with “Vancouver” and vise versa.

Man U v. Barcelona: We almost had the best seats in FedEx!

2011-07-31T14:43:00.005-04:00

We had to, at least according to the fan about two rows behind us. He made sure that everyone within the vicinity could not only hear how amazing his seats were, but his outspoken knowledge of Manchester United, Barcelona and the game of soccer itself.

Part of the entertainment of any sports game does not solely come from the game itself, but from the rowdy fans, or in this special case, the sheer exhibitionist behavior of this guy.

I started taking notice in about the 25th minute of the game, following a shot (I had lost focus on the player) had on goal. This guys obnoxiously loud reaction?

“Now, what ??? should have done is slipped the ball over to his LEFT foot to brace the shot. And he clearly would have scored.”

Good insights, I wish I knew the game like you did. It seem tangibly possible. But why stop there? Why stop commentating on the game every 40 seconds. Here were some of the infamous things he said.

“Ask anyone and they will tell you we have the best seats in this stadium. Ain’t that right Marcy?” (Marcy, I’m presuming is his embarrassed wife, who spent the evening texting away on her phone, hardly paying attention to the match itself.)

And, boy, did he love to mention her in his wacky statements.

“Now, Marcy, when I get back from the bathroom, you can go and buy me some food and drinks!”

“Barcelona can only do things with Xavi Alonso. He’s the centerpiece of it all.”

“Hey Marcy! Tell them how we have the best seats in the house! That’s right! These seats are the greatest.”

My personal favorite.

“I don’t understand why they are not playing Chicharito.”

For those of you unfamiliar with European soccer, that’s the nickname of Javier Hernandez, a Mexican international who plays for Manchester United. Colloquially known as ‘Chicharito’ (Spanish for “little pea”), he was not on the match day squad due to a concussion. Good thing he could cover up his reason.

His son: “Isn’t he liked injured, with a concussion. Probably a bad–”

Loud guy: “Chicarito has a concussion, so it’ll be interesting to see how Manchester United manages without his presence.”

After that, I just heard random jibber jabber sputter out of his mouth.

2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League Preview and Predictions

2011-07-26T23:33:00.000-04:00

The tide of Real Salt Lake’s throttling run has receded, and a new edition of the CONCACAF Champions League is underway.

Created in 2008, the CONCACAF Champions League is the face-lifted successor of the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup, the former North American club competition. Modeled after it’s fellow counterpart across the Atlantic, the UEFA Champions League, the tournament features league and domestic champions of its respective nations.

In the new tournament’s existence, Major League Soccer has been given three berths into the tournament, the winners of the MLS Cup and the MLS Supporters’ Shield earn a direct bye into the Group Stages of the tournament, while the MLS Cup runner-up earns a spot in the Preliminary Round, a two-leg series to earn a spot in the Group Stage. Additionally, the United States is allocated a fourth spot, which is given to the U.S. Open Cup champion.

Finally, with Canada, the winner of Canada’s domestic competition, the Canadian Championship, earns a berth in the tournament as well, playing first in the preliminaries.

This upcoming season, five MLS sides will be playing in the fourth edition of the tournament, and thanks to Real Salt Lake’s recent success, the importance, as well as the expectations, have risen significantly for all the American and Canadian clubs playing for the North American crown.

Colorado Rapids

How they got here: 2010 MLS Cup champions

Current Record: (7-6-10) 5th West, 7th Overall

The most unsettling feeling as the Rapids hoisted the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy was the reality check that...the Rapids would be playing in the Champions League. A shakey, mid table team, direct berth in the continental tourney? Jarring, to say the least. For a brief moment in 2011, it seemed like the defending champions could handle CCL well.

But that was in April. It’s July, and CCL is brewing around the corner. If this side wants to actually compete, they will need to find attacking solutions and put emphasis on it.

I do not see that happening, and therefore, I see them staying put in Group Stage.

Group Stage Prediction: 3rd in Group B

FC Dallas

How they got here: 2010 MLS Cup finalists

Current Record: (11-5-6) 2nd West, 2nd Overall

If you look at the ranks of FC Dallas: Brek Shea, Marvin Chavez, George John and Kevin Hartman; this FC Dallas squad is top heavy on talent and arguably one of the toughest and flashiest teams on the continent. Yes, I said the continent. The Schellas Hyndman led side has the capability to be the first MLS side to defeat Mexican opposition on Mexican soil, and determining by the mentality in the Lone Star State, they are taking this as a golden opportunity.

If they do so, the MLS Cup finalists might see themselves in another Champions League final, but its up to the abrupt storming of the center of the pitch by Shea, the quick finishing by Chavez, the impeccable defending of John and, of course, the acrobatics of Hartman. Right now, if any MLS side can not only win their Group, but make the CCL finals, it’s Dallas. The depth is there, the strength is there.

Preliminary Round Prediction: Defeat Alianza

Group Stage Prediction: 1st in Group C

Los Angeles Galaxy

How they got here: MLS Supporters Shield winners, with the best regular season record (17-7-8)

Current Record: (11-2-9) 1st West, 1st Overall

The defending regular season champions will look to retribute themselves following an outright humiliating letdown in last year’s tournament. Being the lone MLS side to not qualify for the Group Stages, the Galaxy fell to second division side, Puerto Rico Islanders, losing 1-4 at home. The Galaxy managed to nab a 2-1 away victory, but it the earlier match had too much of a deficit for the Galaxy to overcome.

With the Supporters’ Shield to their name, the Galaxy find themselves earning a straight berth in the Group Stage, and with it, an additional six matches over the next three months. But with a star studded lineup, and a squad bolstering some of the best depth in the league, Bruce Arena and company should not expect any complaints about too much playing, nor traveling.

Group Stage Prediction: 1st in Group A

Seattle Sounders FC

How they got here: 2010 U.S. Open Cup champions

Current Record: (11-2-9) 3rd West, 3rd Overall

Preliminary Round Prediction: Deft. San Francisco

Group Stage Prediction: 2nd in Group D

Toronto FC

How they got here: 2011 Canadian Championship champions

Current Record: (3-11-9) 9th East, 17th Overall

By far the weakest MLS side in the Champions League, it comes to be no surprise that Toronto FC have perhaps the lowest expectations in the tournament.

At minimal, given their right of passage into Group Stages last year, and being arguably one of the strongest sides to be snubbed from the knockout round, the expectations might be to match their Canadian rivals, Montreal Impact, and earn a berth into the quarterfinals.

With literally no hope of making the playoffs and the Canadian Championship well over, this tournament is practically all that the Reds have left to play for.

Therefore, I see Winter and company taking this tournament seriously. But with the lack of talent that weakens TFC, they’ll need more than that to make any noise in this tournament.

Preliminary Round Prediction: Deft. Real Esteli

Group Stage Prediction: 3rd in Group C

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 19

2011-07-25T15:41:00.001-04:00

It is that time of the year. That time where MLS clubs show their true depth, especially the stronger sides. Marred already with a chain of World Football Challenge friendlies, five MLS sides will begin their quest to North American glory, as the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League kicks off. Three MLS teams will still have the U.S. Open Cup in the back of their mind, and this is not even considering the race of the final spots in the MLS Cup Playoffs and the gasping drama for the MLS Supporters’ Shield.

For the first time this season, the top three spots remain the same, but a series of shocking upsets, perhaps some flukey ones, too; have caused some shuffling in the lower end of the rankings.

1. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Last Week: 1
Result: BYE (L 0-7 vs. MAN U in World Football Challenge)
Last Five: W-W-T-W-W

While the Sounders First XI showed their character in the first half, the reserves were the gaffe the week against Manchester United in the second half. Granted, had Noonan’s shot been on frame, the Rave Green would have shifted momentum and I doubt the Red Devils would have opened the flood gates in the second half. Still, it’s solely a friendly and the focus has to be on tomorrow night’s CONCACAF Champions League fixture.

2. LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Last Week: 2
Result: W 1-0 vs. CLB (D 1-1 [6-7 pen.] vs. MAN C in World Football Challenge)
Last Five: W-T-T-W-W

In the wake of a demoralizing loss to Real Madrid in the WFC, the Galaxy did what was necessary, and win the meaningful match of the stretch. Thankfully, with a bye to the Champions League group stages, the Galaxy can have some rest prior to a top-heavy schedule.

3. REAL SALT LAKE

Last Week: 3
Result: W 4-0 vs. SJ
Last Five: T-W-T-W-W

The diving verdict has dimmed on Charlie Davies and glared at Alvaro Saborio, causing an ejection, and a subsequent penalty, allow for the Royals to trounce the Earthquakes. RSL fans will likely have a hard time eating words about diving for the time being. Without the dive though, there still was a mighty good chance RSL could have walked away with the full three points. Focus now has to be on the Disciplinary Committee and see if Davies will not be held to a double standard.

4. FC DALLAS

Last Week: 5
Result: W 1-0 @ TOR, T 2-2 @ NY
Last Five: W-L-T-W-T

Marred by frustration shots that banged off the post, the Hoops are choosing the worst possible time to hit a rough patch in their red hot campaign. With Champions League on the horizon, the Hoops will have to forget these past two matches quick. But as we saw with Salt Lake in the U.S. Open Cup, the Hoops can rebound, and hopefully in their largest match in history, they can do so.

5. PHILADELPHIA UNION

Last Week: 4
Result: BYE (L 1-2 vs. RM in World Football Challenge)
Last Five: W-T-T-W-W

With no fixtures this week due to the WFC, the Union perhaps fared the strongest of all MLS sides in the friendly tournament, having a short stretch of poor defending, for the mishap to only be succumbed by a world class chip, courtesy of Michael Farfan.

6. COLUMBUS CREW

Last Week: 6
Result: L 0-1 @ LA, W 1-0 vs. POR
Last Five: T-W-T-L-W

Grinding out the needed points at home, the 2011 Crew looks poised to, unexpectedly, be a stronger side than the 2010 Crew. Only thing prohibiting me from putting up comparisons to the heydays of 2008–09 has to be their longshot odds of nabbing the Shield.

7. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Last Week: 8
Result: W 4-2 vs. TOR
Last Five: W-T-T-T-W

The blemish of the week, in the wake of their hard fought burning brawl against Toronto, was the sheer fact Sporting allowed the Reds to net twice in the match. Thankfully the likes of Kamara and Co. were there to negate it and send Toronto into further Dutch dissatisfaction. Win’s a win though, and Kansas City is in their best form since the 2000 MLS Cup and MLS Supporters Shield duel run.

8. CHIVAS USA

Last Week: 10
Result: W 3-0 vs. HOU
Last Five: T-W-T-T-W

In his second hat trick of the season, we might begin to hear the chants of “Braunodinho” sooner than we think. Fraser eyes the playoffs, and if they can post results like that, and continuing their unbeaten streak, Chivas might have their strongest showing in three years.

9. D.C. UNITED

Last Week: 7
Result: L 0-1 vs. NE
Last Five: T-T-W-T-L

Still with two matches on hand to a majority of their Eastern Conference counterparts, United showed some gleamer, especially Chris Pontius, in their friendly loss to Everton following a humbling home loss to New England. For now, I’m going with this loss against the Revs as the fluke of the week.

10. HOUSTON DYNAMO

Last Week: 9
Result: L 0-3 @ CHV
Last Five: T-T-W-T-L

Hall met his match: Braun.

11. COLORADO RAPIDS

Last Week: 14
Result: W 4-1 vs. NY, T 2-2 vs. NE
Last Five: T-W-L-W-T

The Rapids brought renewed faith to the Mile High City after completely dismantling the Red Bulls and exposing their lack of depth. But, with all highs, comes reality checks, and that was a offsetting home draw against the lowly Revs, who themselves were riding well off a surreal road win.

12. NEW YORK RED BULLS

Last Week: 11
Result: L 1-4 @ COL, T 2-2 vs. FCD
Last Five: W-L-T-L-T

This All-Star Game could simply not come at anymore of an awkward time. The Red Bulls, now losing league focus for the All-Star hosting, and the marquee skip across the pond? Well, it might be a good way to divert from an embarrassing loss to Colorado and a well fought, but subpar draw to Dallas. Standards are too high in the Big Apple to accept a draw at home to the Hoops as consolation.

13. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Last Week: 12
Result: T 2-2 vs. VAN, L 0-4 @ RSL
Last Five: T-T-T-T-L

San Jose fans have the justified right to complain and storm the message boards and blogs like no other. First, relinquishing a lead at home, to Vancouver. Next, having a player rejected at the cost of a dive, resulting in an undeserved thrashing? The ‘Quakes will have some outright courage if they can brush it along and rebound from the, merely flustering, chain of events.

14. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Last Week: 18
Result: W 1-0 @ DC, T 2-2 @ COL
Last Five: T-L-L-W-T

Does anyone remember the last time New England played two consecutive matches, and neither of them resulted in defeat? I sure has hell don’t, and speaking of which, I was definitely not expecting it to come at the hands of D.C. and Colorado, given D.C.’s solidified reconstruction and Colorado’s laughable regression. Much of the credit has to attribute to Matt Reis.

15. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Last Week: 13
Result: L 0-1 @ CLB
Last Five: L-L-L-W-L

Given everything into account, the Timbers could have done far worse in their form against a retooled Columbus. Unfortunately, it’s dimming the Timbers once decent odds of nabbing a postseason berth.

16. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Last Week: 17
Result: T 2-2 @ SJ
Last Five: W-L-L-L-T

While it was not as gorgeous as his wundervolley against the Sounders, Eric Hassli continues to come up huge and living up to his DP tag, as the ‘Caps earn easily their most impressive road draw since playing in the confines of the Link.

17. CHICAGO FIRE

Last Week: 15
Result: BYE (L 1-3 vs. MAN U in World Football Challenge)
Last Five: T-T-T-L-L

Faring the best against Manchester United, the Fire were only 25 minutes away from pulling a Sporting K.C. on the Red Devils. Guess it has to do with the Midwestern heat. Well, it was fun for the Fire, but it’s reality check and to reorganize in league play.

18. TORONTO FC

Last Week: 16
Result: L 0-1 vs. FCD, L 2-4 @ SKC
Last Five: L-L-W-L-L

Today, the Canadian press calls for the extinction of the 4-3-3 system. Tomorrow, the Red Patch Boys will call for Winter’s head. At the end of the season, the franchise will call for the back line to pack their bags and sign with some USL Pro sides, where they might get some rest on the bench.

OBX Vacation: Day 3 - Trip to Cape Hatteras

2011-07-19T17:03:00.001-04:00

On the third day, I went to Cape Hatteras. Here are some photos from the trip.

4:23 p.m. - Driving in a 1982 Jeep CJ8 "Scrambler". Sat in the back set, which was a converted storage area into seating. In this photo, we're southbound on NC Route 12 in Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

A look from behind on NC Route 12. New pavement on Pea Island.

Chicamacomico water tower.

Sol.

Driving along the beaches of Cape Hatteras. Tire tracks.

Scary moment: Rory driving stick.

Ahead is the literal cape of Cape Hatteras.

Jeep gears, gauges, and shifters. Oh, and the beautiful steering wheel.

Scenic downtown Buxton, NC.

Nino Street. Avon, NC.

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 18

2011-07-19T15:57:00.000-04:00

1. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Last Week: 2

Result: W 4-3 vs. COL

Last Five: W-W-T-W-W

With the gritty and glossy efforts of Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, MLS and Sounders fans avoid the dreaded debate about the club having to play abruptly on a grass pitch. The upcoming friendly vs. Manchester United will be electric, but there’s no doubt the Sounders are focused on the incoming CONCACAF Champions League preliminary fixtures.

2. LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Last Week: 1

Result: BYE (L 1-4 vs. RM in World Football Challenge)

Last Five: T-W-T-T-W

If Los Angeles Galaxy wants to be the third straight club to win back-to-back Supporters Shield’s, they will need to figure out juggling through depth. Sure playing against a side like Real Madrid and losing is nothing to take discredit from, especially in a meaningless friendly, but for confidence, that might be problematic. This Galaxy side will have a messy schedule incoming once they begin Champions League in August.

3. REAL SALT LAKE

Last Week: 3

Result: Match @ VAN ppd. due to rain

Last Five: T-T-W-T-W

Let’s face it. If Vancouver’s tentative grass field wasn’t “waterlogged” (likely resting for the ‘big game’ vs. Manchester City), I have little sense of doubt that they could have easily plucked apart the ‘Caps.

4. PHILADELPHIA UNION

Last Week: 6

Result: W 3-0 @ NE

Last Five: W-T-T-W-W

Unbeaten in their last five, the Zolos are continuing their defensive domination, not conceding a goal in their past two road matches, and their last goal being Najar’s firecracker in their tie against D.C. United. Perhaps beating New England is not necessarily the toughest thing in the World, but good teams have had their share of troubles defeating the Revs in Gillette Stadium. Philadelphia is an exception.

5. FC DALLAS

Last Week: 4

Result: T 0-0 vs. DC (W 2-0 vs. RSL in the U.S. Open Cup)

Last Five: W-W-W-L-T

Marred by frustration shots that banged off the post, the Hoops are choosing the worst possible time to hit a rough patch in their red hot campaign. With Champions League on the horizon, the Hoops will have to forget these past two matches quick. But as we saw with Salt Lake in the U.S. Open Cup, the Hoops can rebound, and hopefully in their largest match in history, they can do so.

6. COLUMBUS CREW

Last Week: 5

Result: T 0-0 vs. SJ

Last Five: W-W-L-W-T

Maybe it was an off evening for the Crew, but they seemed to fall flat offensively in front of (sadly) a good crowd against San Jose, primarily thanks to the honoring of Crew legend, Brian McBride. Still, their form should not be hindered by one forgetting match. This rebuilt side looks poised to improve upon 2010.

7. D.C. UNITED

Last Week: 8

Result: T 0-0 @ FCD

Last Five: T-T-T-W-T

Following an unexpected 2-4 home loss to San Jose, the Black-and-Red had one of the toughest stretches of the season. Marred by league heavyweights and playing in their home arenas (Salt Lake, New York, Dallas), United managed to not lose any matches and in fact, not allow New York nor Dallas to score on them. Entering an easier stretch, this club has raised expectations to grab a two or three wins in their next five.

8. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Last Week: 7

Result: T 1-1 @ HOU (L 0-2 vs. RIC in the U.S. Open Cup)

Last Five: W-W-T-T-T

Really, if I could have Sporting and D.C. share a spot, I would do so. Their form has been relishing, and their road draws in the Lone Star state were quite impressive. However, the lone exception is Kansas City’s late chock against USL Pro side Richmond Kickers in the Open Cup semis.

9. HOUSTON DYNAMO

Last Week: 9

Result: T 1-1 vs. KC

Last Five: L-T-T-W-T

Talley Hall is really showing the American soccer niche why he is an All-Star and the Orange Crush’s showing against Sporting further exposed the skill Hall exhibits. Now for him to show it on the national level the coming week in the All-Star Game.

10. CHIVAS USA

Last Week: 12

Result: T 1-1 vs. NY

Last Five: L-T-W-T-T

Not often I rise a team up the ladder if they draw at home, but given their hardworking effort, against New York’s non-illustrious fiasco, they nab a few spots up on the rankings. When Moreno arrives back with the Goats, expect this side to earn more than scoreless draws against marquee clubs.

11. NEW YORK RED BULLS

Last Week: 10

Result: T 0-0 @ CHV (L 0-4 @ CHI in the U.S. Open Cup)

Last Five: T-T-W-L-T

I’m with all of you. I still do not understand what MLSSoccer.com is doing having New York in the single digits of power ranking. If there was a chemistry ranking, it would be on Toronto FC par in skill power rankings. No offense, Red Patch Boys. Anyways, the morale of this note is that New York has no depth (not good for the Emirates Cup), and their basically putting the shell of an expensive car on a lemon. Hope you catch that metaphor.

12. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Last Week: 11

Result: T 0-0 @ CLB

Last Five: T-L-T-T-T

Two straight, listless scoreless draws. The quick spark has vanished entirely and there needs to be someone, anyone, to help this side bag some goals, and quick or else their postseason ambitions will fade like the hot spark they nabbed last month.

13. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Last Week: 16

Result: W 1-0 @ CHI

Last Five: T-L-L-L-W

I wonder if Captain Jack is going to be the long-term nickname for Jack Jewsbury. The recently name MLS All-Star has given the Timbers a glimmer of light in their dank stretch of returning to the top-flight of American soccer.

14. COLORADO RAPIDS

Last Week: 13

Result: L 3-4 vs. SEA

Last Five: L-T-T-W-L

Lets face it. The moment Montero made the diving header to give Seattle the well fought led, the Rapids simply collapsed. The season-ending ACL injury of Conor Casey is making what should have been a celebratory year of being the so-called “defending MLS champions” a nightmare. Is it too soon to say their out of the postseason chase?

15. CHICAGO FIRE

Last Week: 14

Result: L 0-1 vs. POR (W 4-0 vs. NY in the U.S. Open Cup)

Last Five: T-T-T-L-L

Tough to make of this. In the U.S. Open Cup, the Fire outright razed the Red Bulls’ “B” side, which frankly plays like a bunch of college kids with their eyes closed. Sure it was a top notch Fire squad, but this club exposed the true weaknesses of New York. Now, the loss to Portland is outright embarrassing, especially given the Timbers’ inability to win on the road. Well, so much for that.

16. TORONTO FC

Last Week: 17

Result: BYE

Last Five: L-L-W-L-L

The upgraded and face-lifted (yet again) Toronto side should be an improvement, but for the long term. I doubt it will be enough for a playoff push, but maybe it’s now time for the Canadian champions to work their way out of Group Stage in the CONCACAF Champions League.

17. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Last Week: 18

Result: Match vs. RSL ppd. (L 1-2 vs. MAN CTY in the World Football Challenge)

Last Five: T-W-L-L-L

Given the skepticism and anger following the postponed fixture against Salt Lake, many have a justified thought that the ‘Caps should have forfeited their match. But in terms of playing, they had a great outing against Manchester City. There was no sheer domination by City and the Caps generally dictated pace. Had a shot or two gone their way, could have been the Caps having a 3-0 advantage for City to climb out.

18. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Last Week: 15

Result: L 0-3 vs. PHI (L 1-4 vs. MAN U in the World Football Challenge)

Last Five: L-L-T-L-L

One thing to lose by three goals to Manchester United in the World Football Challenge, which is all honesty, the least meaningful competition for MLS sides. But it’s another thing when a team lose by the same margin of goals to Philadelphia Union in a competitive league match. Chemistry? Nonexistent. Communication? Outright poor in the drubbing by the Union. Welcome back to the bottom, New England.

QOTSA font for Nags Head

2011-07-19T09:18:00.001-04:00

Wandering around Cahoon's SeaMart, where I spoted this bit of joy in Blackmoor MT font. The same font used for Era Vulgaris!

My Summer '11 Vacation: Day 1

2011-07-16T21:51:00.003-04:00

In what I've been told as the quickest summer of my life, there is solely one entire week where I get break from the confines of Northern Virginia and I trek out the region, and for that matter, out of the state.

For the lone vacation of Summer 2011, I'm going to the very original Outer Banks of North Carolina. Indeed, I say that wryly, simply because I have gone here every summer of my life, tallying to now my nineteenth time traveling south of the VA-NC border. Frankly, as this trip has sternly reminded me, the OBX gets old, fast.

The duration of this trip has been dealing with the unwanted lashes and flaming that is dealt between the extended family. Generally, amongst the older relatives, there is none of that, as it is an opportunity to slow down and spend time with the ones we love. Understandable, and outright truthful. However, I have the fortune of being one of the younger ones in my family.

Perhaps the greatest struggle with my age is that the nearest relatives of my cousins and siblings is my older sister, who is three years older than me, and my brother, who is a year and a half younger than me. Ironically, the age gap has increasingly shown over the years, and the attitudes are polar. It's rather tough to break humor trying to be nonchalant about the entire situations.

Additionally, I've had the constant struggle of trying to tolerate such nonsense from them that plagued by immaturity and awkwardly phrased jokes. Evidently, the issue surrounding such unsettling conflicts is that this has been ongoing during the past OBX beach trips for as long as I can remember, and within the first day of simply arriving at the beach, I see very little to no indications of that pattern changing its mantra.

So far, I've drawn out all this disgust and disinterest with my close relatives within the first 10 hours of being here, where there is still...probably...about 130 or so hours to go of this hellish trip. Obviously, I need to shed off some pessimism and dismiss today as just a bad day, but sadly, any time I try to make light out of misfortunes, coincidentally, this day has added more grief, well grief's rather strong, but flustering.

Delving further into that topic is rather too personal to publicly state aloud, but it's simply a red flag that caught me off guard and requires me to assertively make drastic changes with relationships amongst people.

First Take: 'Up All Night' - blink-182

2011-07-14T23:06:00.002-04:00

Well, that enduring eight year wait has finally concluded. For people my age, though they despise admitting it, they were actually waiting about four or five years, because it was then they actually discovered the pop punkers of blink-182. And now, since I've said that, there will be that "special exception" who decries Tyler Talk. Sad times.

But the moral of this blog post is not to pick fights, but to do something people adore in our society: critique. As long as it is not constructive criticism inflicted upon yourself, then you love critiquing things. And today, I'm giving my first impressions of blink's new song "Up All Night".

As expected, the song sounds like a departure of old blink-182 and their cheeky jingles and catchy harmonies chanting their livelihoods of immaturity. The song takes a more solemn approach, as strange as sounds, and frankly has fired up angry YouTubers. The flustering life of an artist. Finding the balance of creating new sound without abandoning your tune.

And really, this song shows no abandoning, just maturing and preaching about how people worry about certain things that preoccupy them. Whether it's a nostalgic attack, wondering what I need to do to get someone to hang out with me, something stressing you, the vague message finds its way to slowly, yet obviously broadly, speak to you. The common connection point is being to preoccupied that you, well are 'up all night'.

LISTEN: "Up All Night" – blink 182

Perhaps the most relishing part of the song, in terms of the beats is the bridge to chorus. While the bridge is heavily reminiscent of older, more poppier blink-182 tunes, the chorus catches one off guard. It's more, modest, if you may. It etches the tone of the song which is confused, mild frustration with oneself, and wondering why the same process of thought repeats itself night upon night.

However, the lyrics can be awkwardly stated and iffy. It has a sense of pessimism, which has been a key component in previous tunes, but it sometimes feels as if the song is lacking flow.

Preliminary Rating: 4.3/10

Photo of the Day: July 12, 2011

2011-07-12T07:51:00.004-04:00

Jack Connors, aka Guy Incognito posted this Imgur photo on his Facebook. The rest is history.

Photo of the Day: July 11, 2011

2011-07-11T19:05:00.004-04:00

This is what happened when Garrett read Tyler Talk.

First Day with Google+

2011-07-11T17:08:00.003-04:00

Thanks to an invite from Mike Willis over at Mike's Mind, I am now able to use a "test version" of Google+, Google's incredibly recent project. In fact, the Google+ project is potentially Google's long-awaited answer to Facebook. Yes, we did speculate that it would be Buzz or +1, or any array of Google add on's, but the years the search engine giant has spent has all and all built up to this moment.

1. Layout is beautiful and redefines what we call "minimal"

The new Blogger layout features a sleek, monochrome design.

It's hard to tell whether or not Google+ was worth any wait, or worth receiving an invite, since obviously there has been a ton of hype across the Facebok and Twitter feeds about G+. Immediately upon using it, I found the layout to be incredibly slick and clean. I mean, yes these days, minimalism is the top style, and likely will remain stylish for a few more years, but G+ redefines what sleek and minimal truly is. To get any hint, you will need to see the new Blogger layout or for most of you, the new YouTube design. The focus is entirely monochrome. Blogger uses grey and orange. YouTube, as you could imagine uses charcoal grey with red.

That's exactly how to put Google+. Apart from blue links, selected text turns into a dark orange.

2. Circles are iffy

Google+ look at how 'Circles' are laid out and organized.

While most of G+ resembles the modern day Facebook scheme, the evident difference is Circles, which groups your contacts into whichever categories you desire. So for instance, if you have a group of friends from Boy Scouts, you make a circle with all your Scouting friends. What I'm mixed about is the fact that only you can see who is in each of your circles, whereas your G+ contacts cannot. Now, this may actually be beneficial, if you have some certain "friend" you truly dislike, you can simply add that contact into the "acquaintances" circle, and they will never know. Think of it as a Top Friends group no one else can see.

3. Google +1 is ahead of the Facebook Like button.

Focusing back on to the sleek aspect is the +1 feed that is included in your G+ profile. As some may know, this is Google's answer to the Facebook "Like/Recommend" button or Twitter's "Tweet" button. In fact, Google has archived all my articles I have +1 in the past on to its own individual feed. Thus reducing congestion sometimes seen in a Facebook feed when articles you "recommend/like" saturate your feed and your friend's newsfeed.

It's only been 12 hours though, and these are just a handful of some impressions I have had with Google+

Car Jam

2011-07-11T11:29:00.001-04:00

Almost this time a week ago, I dropped off the Jetta for a repair to the converter box. The reason for taking it in was not necessarily a problem with the electrical wiring nor the converter box itself, but a Volkswagen imposed recall that was issued back in April. Realizing the urgency to finish it before VCU Parking Passes go on sale, I took it into the Lindsey Volkswagen in Sterling for the repair.

Unfortunately, a light blew while repairing the car. This, apparently, is quite commonplace when fixing the faulty converter box, except one thing. It's too common. So common, that there was a seven to 10 day backorder on the part itself.

The timing could not have been worse. Our family has probably more cars than needed, and now we are on our final hinges coming to cars. These past six days alone, my sister's Volvo has had numerous tail light issues, prompting her to take it to the local Volvo dealers. My mom's Suburban, while having no problems, is in the shop to get the oil changed before our long-awaited journey to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That's not all!

To put the cherry on top of this car disaster, the Expedition had an issue with the alternator, and you guessed it. In the shop for repairs.

Thankfully, it comes during a time where it's a brief siesta for myself. Following a busy week last week, highlighted by VCU orientation, seeing Static Cinema in Washington, D.C., and late-night Wendy's run's, these next few days were well quaint. Probably not the best word, given the fact I'm using numerous electronics, but with limited options to leave my far away home...you get the idea.

Dwayne De Rosario's goal vs. Red Bull New York

2011-07-10T11:33:00.002-04:00

A thing a power, a thing of beauty. This made my evening.

Scenes from Static Cinema at the 9:30 Club

2011-07-09T18:24:00.002-04:00

Static Cinema performing "Low". Center is lead guitarist, and fellow buddy (whose mom was my English teacher) Stephen Goodrick. To his left is lead vocalist Jon Cresswell, and to his right is bassist Zack Ticer.

Yesterday evening, I ventured out to Washington, D.C. with some goons to see Static Cinema and other acts play at one of the premier music clubs in the region: the 9:30 Club. For Cinema, this is a huge step as they continuously move up tiers in the music world, given the notability of artists at 9:30 Club as well as the history of the venue itself.

Enough about the dumb wish wash commentary, here were some photos I took of it.

Photo of the Day: July 9, 2011

2011-07-09T11:17:00.000-04:00

ART. Michael Hickey style. Stephen Goodrick jamming it out at the 9:30 Club with his band, Static Cinema.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 16

2011-07-07T13:08:00.001-04:00

Ties, stalemates, draws, inconclusive matches, gridlock. Week 16 in MLS defined for you. Okay, fair enough their were a handful of wins, other than the ugly thrashing that New York inflicted on...who else?! Toronto. Also, Darlington Nagbe, Andy Najar? Some insane goals that will give Eric Hassli’s wunder volley against Seattle a run for its money for MLS Goal of the Year.

1. FC DALLAS

Last Week: 1
Result: W 2-0 vs. CLB
Last Five: W-L-W-W-W

FC Dallas has been invincible over the past few weeks, and Brek Shea has possibly propelled himself back into the USMNT spotlight come this winter. But, the best part about Dallas and their ascending of the standings? They're doing so without tying matches!

2. LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Last Week: 3
Result: T 0-0 vs. SEA
Last Five: T-T-W-T-T

Somewhere, a good 3,000 miles or so across the continental United States, Erik Soler is steaming with envy at the depth of the goalkeeping in LA.

3. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Last Week: 2
Result: T 0-0 @ LA
Last Five: T-T-W-W-T

In an otherwise evenly fought match, the Sounders were halted cold by the likes of...Brian who? Peck, that is! Following Peck’s penalty save against Montero it seemed to halt their momentum that had been raging the past few weeks.

4. REAL SALT LAKE

Last Week: 4
Result: T 3-3 vs. NE
Last Five: T-T-T-W-T

One may casually look at this result and think it's worthy enough to dock Salt Lake a couple Power Ranking positions. However, one has to take into account the...rather surreal aspects of the match. Salt Lake played 87 minutes of the match without defender Nat Borchers, on well...a poor decision. The ejection led to a quick 1-0 lead for New England shortly before the Revs made it 2-0. And what happens? Salt Lake down a man dominates New England. Had the match been about 5 minutes longer we could have seen Salt Lake running away with the full three points, and more than Kries' stink eye.

5. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Last Week: 7
Result: W 2-1 @ POR, T 1-1 vs. COL
Last Five: T-T-W-W-W

Perhaps the most impressive thing at Jeld-Wen, that was not Darlington Nagbe’s goal, had to come from the fact that the Wizards were able to tally three points on the road and steer ahead of United for a final wildcard spot. Strange as it sounds, a draw at home against Colorado might have loosened confidence.

6. COLUMBUS CREW

Last Week: 6
Result: L 0-2 @ FCD, W 1-0 @ VAN
Last Five: L-W-W-L-W

A solid Crew side should not be punished too severely for a loss against red-hot Dallas. Especially given the fact it was played in sold-out (shocking right?!) Pizza Hut Park. Their ability to rebound was tremendous as they handed the ‘Caps their second home loss of their maiden MLS campaign. With Philly drawing against D.C., leaves Columbus some more wiggle room for the top spot out East.

7. PHILADELPHIA UNION

Last Week: 5
Result: T 2-2 @ DC
Last Five: T-T-L-W-T

Conceding multiple goals in a match is unlike Philly, especially with the upgrade in the net. Even if they did enough to earn the road draw at D.C., they performed poor enough to deserve a loss. The virtue of an own goal, marred with poor defensive communication cost the Union a chance at the full three in D.C. and leaves questions with the back line.

8. NEW YORK RED BULLS

Last Week: 10
Result: T 2-2 @ SJ, W 5-0 vs. TOR
Last Five: T-L-T-T-W

Even if it was against Toronto, I doubt anyone was expecting the iffy-form New York side to tear this timid Toronto side apart, piece by piece. Thanks to the 5-0 routing, the sole thought of parity is stored into the back of minds until this weekend. And...thanks to the crossbar, Greg Sutton might just have some confidence against an upgraded D.C. United attack come Saturday.

9. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Last Week: 9
Result: T 2-2 vs. NY, L 0-2 @ CHV
Last Five: W-W-T-T-L

After relinquishing what would have been a strange victory against New York, the ‘Quakes are blanked by the Goats. Whatever the reason for their sudden southward direction in form is not a good sign headed into mid-season. Needless to say, if the Quakes want to keep in the wildcard race for the MLS Cup Playoffs, they’ll need to regain their old form, and quick.

10. D.C. UNITED

Last Week: 8
Result: T 2-2 vs. PHI
Last Five: T-L-T-T-T

Nagbe's goal against Sporting has negated Andy Najar's wundergoal from 30 yards out, but it emphasizes United's upgraded attack. The young defense has to figure out how to finish matches. Once they do that, I have zero doubt that the Black-and-Red will be one of the top clubs in MLS next year.

11. HOUSTON DYNAMO

Last Week: 12
Result: T 0-0 @ COL
Last Five: L-W-L-T-T

These days, it's difficult to determine how much of a meriting accomplishment it truly is to beat the Rapids in DSG Park. The Dyanmo created little opportunities in the dull, scoreless draw at Colorado.

12. CHIVAS USA

Last Week: 14
Result: T 1-1 vs CHI, W 2-0 vs SJ
Last Five: L-T-L-T-W

Chivas’ inconsistency has brought out the joyous wonders of parity. Not only that, but the agonizing irritation of placing them in the Power Rankings. While a draw at home against Chicago is hardly something to brag about (I mean, really, all the Fire do is tie), their win vs. San Jose was a sign of their capability. If they can show that form, they’ll make the playoffs.

13. CHICAGO FIRE

Last Week: 11
Result: T 1-1 @ CHV
Last Five: T-W-T-T-T

Another week, another draw for Chicago. I'm running out of ways to put it. This week though, I'm moving Chicago down a spot rather than up, simply because they had the lead, but relinquished it in 20 minutes. Yes, it has gotten to the point I have to analyze Chicago's drawing spree that deep.

14. COLORADO RAPIDS

Last Week: 13
Result: T 0-0 vs. HOU, T 1-1 @ SKC
Last Five: W-L-L-T-T

You know, had Colorado lost to Columbus in the quarterfinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs, no one would be criticizing their form. Rather, this is what would have been expected from the “defending champs”. Has anyone noticed that MLS no longer cites Colorado with that honor? I wouldn’t either.

15. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Last Week: 16
Result: T 3-3 @ RSL
Last Five: L-L-L-T-L

In any normal circumstance, the ability to draw against Real Salt Lake in general is quite an accomplishment. The ability to draw RSL at Rio Tinto is a feat only so few can boast about. However, when you're up 2-0, have a man advantage following a non-foul that the center official is oblivious towards, then yeah, conceding three goals and letting the team with the disadvantage manhandle you...is quite embarrassing. More so than losing at home to that team's reserve side, or 5-0 and 6-0 in year's past.

16. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Last Week: 18
Result: L 1-2 vs. SKC
Last Five: L-L-T-L-L

In lieu of highlighting how much of an expansion (or “promoted”) side the Timbers seem to exhibit, lets talk about the ups. Darlington Nagbe. Given the incredibly, incredibly poor performances of the Canadian clubs and the jokingly awful, yet hilarious, letdown by New England, Portland gets to go up a few spots.

17. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Last Week: 15
Result: L 1-2 @ TOR, L 0-1 vs. CLB
Last Five: L-T-W-L-L

Losing the Canadian Championship to Toronto was heartbreaking already, and to lose to a team has horrendous as Toronto in league play earlier in the week does not make the situation any more settling. Oh, and then losing at home for the first time in ages. The "expansion" tag is clearly showing.

18. TORONTO FC

Last Week: 17
Result: W 2-1 vs. VAN, L 0-5 @ NY
Last Five: T-L-L-W-L

My, oh my, Frings and Koevermans cannot come soon enough. Toronto at this point should self-relegate themselves to USL PRO. At least there, the Reds might just possibly perform satisfactory enough to finish mid-table.

King's Court: MLS fan culture spreading into baseball

2011-07-02T14:29:00.000-04:00

Photo by Chase N. Used through Creative Commons License.

I originally saw a link about it on Dave Clark's Sounder at Heart blog. The chain of clicking through links got me to this video about the "King's Court". The fan group, is a collection of hardcore Seattle Mariners fans that cheer for the Mariners' pitcher, Felix Hernandez, as well as the team.

From the embedded video below they go wild anytime the Mariners hit a home run or Hernandez strikes someone out. Glad to see MLS is spreading its influence in other sports, creating hubs of passionate fans. Something, that sometimes lacks outside of college sports, MLS and the NFL.

The Worst Time of the Day

2011-07-01T14:37:00.000-04:00

For me, I divide my day up into certain hours. Sleeping, should be sleeping, full alert (cycle 1), groggy, active, outgoing, full alert (cycle two), should be sleeping. Needless to say, these hours are in chronological order from midnight to midnight the next day.

The hours vary depending on my internal clock, but generally I've noticed for the past year and a half now, that during the hours of 8:30-11:30 a.m., I'm full alert. It's morning, fresh from sleep, looking forward to the day, and it's generally when I write blogs, and posts for website, primarily because I feel I can get the most done in the shortest amount of time.

And wouldn't you know, after a brief passing time from about 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., it slowly declines. And from 2-4 p.m., and I'm in this groggy state. Whether it's just being tired of doing the reptitive typing process or staring at a screen, it makes me lose the energy to type things out, but prompts me to go outside, do something active and do physical work.

It's odd, at least I think. I cannot muster energy to type things out, but I could go on a five mile run or a 10 mile bike ride. Perhaps it's the lack of applying energy to the parts of my body that are not fingers.

So, right now, it's 2:30 p.m. sharp, and I'm managing to type this post to you. It's really all part of some minor project I'm doing. In it, I'm attempting to compare my writing at this hour of the day to other hours of the day to see if there's a significant difference. Right now, I think there's only a motivational difference, and that might be a critical factor in variations in the strength of my writing. In other words, probably a boring non-reader friendly blog post, but a life documentation that I'd like to reference at some point in the future.

There might be more that is needed to be said, but nothing's coming to me now. I'm off to make a late lunch and try to make some plans since it's a Friday.

2011 USOC Recap: Third Round

2011-06-29T08:56:00.000-04:00

Last night, the third round proper, or round of 16, commenced in the 2011 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The round featured eight MLS teams who earned byes to this round. These MLS clubs either qualified for the third round proper by finishing in the top six overall in 2010 or qualifying for the final two entry spots through a chain of play-in propers.

Of the eight MLS sides to play last night, seven of them won their match, advancing to the quarterfinals. The odd one out was Columbus Crew, who fell 2-1 thanks to a late, 85th minute goal from the Richmond Kickers' Matthew Delicate. The Kickers will take on Sporting Kansas City on July 12.

The Chicago Fire organization had two of its clubs compete in the third round of the tournament. Their MLS franchise, and their PDL counterparts. While the MLS Fire earned a gritty 1-0 victory at Rochester Rhinos, the PDL Fire were routed 3-0 by rivals Sporting Kansas City. The match saw Sporting's Teal Bunbury score his first goal for the club since coming back from injury.

While talking about New York state, F.C. New York may seem like an obscure team, a cliche name, all complimented by a crest that looks to have been drawn in MSPaint, but New York Red Bulls players, coaches and supporters got a glimpse of their unknown threat as FCNY's Gary Baughton drilled a screamer from 30 yards out giving FCNY a stunning 1-0 lead. However, thanks to first round draft pick, Corey Hertzog and Rooney...John Rooney, the Red Bulls bagged two quick goals in the span of six minutes, winning the match 2-1.

Heading down southwest to Frisco, Texas; FC Dallas took on upstart USL expansion side, Orlando City in the third round. Orlando City, colloquially known as the Lions, got off to a roaring start (no pun intended), as City's Max Griffin gave the visitors a 1-0 lead inside 25 minutes. Their stunning lead was short-lived as Dallas' Jackson leveled things in the 34th minute. Dallas nabbed the lead in the 50th minute, thanks to a Ricardo Villar goal. Subsequently, the match, for awhile, looked destined for Dallas to earn a quarterfinal berth. However, as injury time begun, City tied things at 2-2 thanks to a strike from Yordany Alvarez. City's hopes and ambitions quickly vaporized as almost immediately thereafter, Dallas' Milton Rodriguez netted for the fifth time on the evening, giving the hosts the 3-2 victory and date against RSL in the quarterfinals.

Lastly, well head over to the West Coast where the Los Angeles Galaxy, the defending MLS Supporters' Shield winners, had a similar setup to the Red Bulls: a rather unknown opponent playing under the regional monicker. Otherwise known as the Los Angeles Blues. The Blues, a mid-table team playing in the third division, seemed to make a name for themselves when Blues' Cesar Rivera scored in the 62nd minute. It was shortly thereafter we discovered that the Galaxy's Mike Magee was not only good in the net, but fantastic in the penalty box, as Magee sealed a 2-1 victory for the Galaxy in the 81st minute. The goal, only came moments following Omar Gonzalez's 77th-minute equalizer.

An impressive crowd a hair shy of 8,000 ventured to Rio Tinto Stadium to see Real Salt Lake defeat Wilmington Hammerheads, 2-0. The Hammerheads, only traveling with 15 players were outmatched the duration of the match. Meanwhile, RSL made it to the quarterfinals for the first time in franchise history. Last year, they lost to D.C. United in the qualification finals.

Wrapping things up, we take things up to the Pacific Northwest, where the two-time defending champions, Seattle Sounders FC, looked to earn the Open Cup's first trifecta since 1967. In their way stood fourth division PDL side, Kitsap Pumas. The Pumas, coached by a member of the Sounders MLS organization share with local media the joking going on about coaching against his own employer and the surreal setting it cause. In the end, Sounders' Michael Fucito came up big score two goals in the 39th and 62nd minute giving the Sounders a 2-1 lead. Kitsap's Nick Besango would score a consolation goal in the 71st minute of play, but it would be too little, too late.

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 16

2011-06-27T11:17:00.001-04:00

Given the fact that there were so many expected results, there was not much change in the Power Rankings, other than the fact the Galaxy were removed as the Power Ranking leaders, thanks to Dallas overwhelmingly dominant performance over Portland. The week included Aron Winter, Toronto FC head coach, (yet again) claiming that his team came out timid. It saw D.C. United get a bitter taste of their medicine. All of which was complimented by Salt Lake regaining their confidence and their form, drama mounting in New York and Levesque carving his name in the Emerald City hearts.

1. FC DALLAS

Last Week: 2

Result: W 4-0 vs. POR

Last Five: T-W-L-W-W

And to think early on in the Power Rankings, I had the Hoops listed as poised to do what New York did in 2009. Right now, I just hope their form continues into the Champions League at the end of July. If they flex their muscle like they did in their thrashing of the Timbers, they might win their Champions League, given they qualify for Group Stage.

2. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Last Week: 3
Result: W 2-1 vs. NE; W 4-2 vs. NY
Last Five: W-T-T-W-W

After this weekend, highlighted by the marquee "scuba" celebration by fan-favorite Roger Levesque, the Emerald City Supporters will likely want a statue of the guy erected in front of CenturyLink Field when he retires. Rosales may soon follow.

3. LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Last Week: 1

Result: T 1-1 @ SJ

Last Five: W-T-T-W-T

Being a netminder may not be the top of Mike Magee's priorities, but he sure does a better job guarding between the two pipes than Greg Sutton.

4. REAL SALT LAKE

Last Week: 4
Result: W 3-1 vs. TOR
Last Five: L-T-T-T-W

Given the, well lack of strength, Toronto FC has, they were the ideal opponent RSL needed. We finally saw a Salt Lake team play the best they've played since the end of the CONCACAF Champions League, and invigorate themselves with something that's been long missing: confidence. Especially in Saborio.

5. PHILADELPHIA UNION

Last Week: 6
Result: W 3-2 vs. CHV
Last Five: W-T-T-L-W

Thus far this season, I've never seen so much of a team effort in winning a match. Three goals from the Union as they rallied to take a 2-1 lead, see that led relinquish, before nabbing the match winning goal. Each goal was scored and assisted by someone different. In MLS, the only way to be a powerhouse team is to be a team with no superstars, but a collective group of hardworking teammates that have a special chemistry. And well, the Union showed it off well and prevented things from going south. Thanks to it they have a clear lead in the East and possibly may be looking towards the Shield by summer's end.

6. COLUMBUS CREW

Last Week: 9

Result: W 4-1 vs. COL

Last Five: T-W-L-W-W

The Crew took the most of the opportunities following Conor Casey's deserved ejection Sunday evening. Riding a wave of confidence from last week, the Crew are quietly sliding themselves into a postseason position in the Eastern Conference, and giving doubters a reality check that this rebuilding Crew team is still a postseason contendor.

7. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Last Week: 11

Result: W 2-1 vs. VAN

Last Five: T-T-W-W-W

Unbeaten in their last five, and hot off a three match winning streak, Sporting K.C. finds themselves leveled with D.C. United for fifth in the Eastern Conference. Given the fact that Houston has two matches at hand over Sporting, both the Wizards and the Black and Red look destined to fight it off in a sludgy battle for the final wildcard berth in the playoffs.

8. D.C. UNITED

Last Week: 8
Result: T 2-2 vs. HOU
Last Five: W-T-L-T-T

To tentatively derail the speedy anti-Charlie Davies flop bandwagon, Davies scored his first goal in the run of play since United's 2-1 victory over Seattle. However, karma struck the Black-and-Red. United got a sour taste of their own medicine in their mouth as Brian Ching followed Davies flopping tactics and drew a penalty. Yep, it allowed for the draw, and made United fans feel robbed of two points. Only after they robbed two points in draws against Salt Lake and L.A. Galaxy.

9. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Last Week: 7

Result: T 1-1 vs. LA

Last Five: T-W-W-L-T

Fresh on a five-match unbeaten streak, the ‘Quakes were stopped cold in the confines of Liverstrong Sporting Park, thanks to an early first half header via C.J. Sapong. Curious to see how they rebound from this setback.

10. NEW YORK RED BULLS

Last Week: 5

Result: L 2-4 @ SEA; T 1-1 @ CHI

Last Five: T-W-T-L-T

My oh my, where do I begin? Should I rant about Greg Sutton's almost hilarious gaffe against Roger Levesque, or do I make jeers at Steven Keel and Carlos Mendes for their absent-minded work in the back line? The frustration in the Big Apple only further mounted once it was revealed that Rafa Marquez would be sidelined for two weeks following an injury in the Gold Cup final. To put it in the best sense, we'll quote what Joel Lindpere said: "It's not fun anymore".

11. CHICAGO FIRE

Last Week: 12

Result: T 1-1 vs. NY

Last Five: T-T-W-T-T

The arrival of Frank Klopas has resulted in the Fire being undefeated in all five matches he's served as the caretaker head coach. However, four matches have ended in ties. At this rate, the Fire looked poised to end 2011 with 20 or so draws. Alas, making Power Rankings entirely too irritating. I think I'll just reserve them a spot around 11 or 12 for the rest of the season should such a scenario prove to be the case.

12. HOUSTON DYNAMO

Last Week: 15

Result: T 2-2 @ DCU

Last Five: T-L-W-L-T

United fans are in rage about Ching's flop, and righteously deserve to be. However, it's a case of some bad karma thanks to Davies. It will be interesting to see how MLS will react: continue their notion of churning out fines, or have a few mustered reports claiming it is all part of the game.

13. COLORADO RAPIDS

Last Week: 10

Result: L 1-4 @ CLB

Last Five: T-T-W-L-L

Last night had to have been a huge emotional roller coaster for Conor Casey. First, nabbing a quick away goal that could have potentially sparked a turn around for the Rapids. Such a possibility dissolved as Casey's bottom part of his boot sunk into Columbus keeper, William Hesmer's, forehead. The whole MLS Cup fluke thing is an afterthought at this point. As Champions League nears, the Rapids are in for a nightmare of a schedule which may just doom them in both continental and league play.

14. CHIVAS USA

Last Week: 13
Result: L 2-3 @ PHI
Last Five: W-L-T-L-L

The Goats have sunken in form a bit after their Braun-led spark a few months back. Really, it's not a lack of confidence nor skill, but just some hapless incidents and just not having the defensive side of things situated. Which proved to be the primary case against the face lifted Union.

15. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Last Week: 14
Result: L 1-2 @ SKC
Last Five: T-L-T-W-L

While their loss sunk the 'Caps to bottom of the West and to the second worst overall record, their agony of defeat has been nothing to the caliber of their Canadian counterparts and fellow Pacific Northwest expansion side. Also, their form is not as bad as the Revs.

16. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Last Week: 17
Result: L 1-2 @ SEA
Last Five: L-L-L-T-L

In spite of losing four of their last five, the Revs did not lose as dreadfully as fellow franchises, Toronto and Portland. Their loss was highlighted by a quick start goal by Nyassi, only to conclude with an immediate rally of Rave Green. Plus, they only ended up losing by a goal against a strong Sounders side. Unlike Toronto who got curb-stomped (yet again) or Portland who were outright demolished.

17. TORONTO FC

Last Week: 18
Result: L 1-3 @ RSL
Last Five: L-T-T-L-L

Alright, so, how many times have you heard Aron Winter seem confused when he says his team came out "scared". Here's one story. Oh, and another. More? Here. Or here. Or here. And yes, here. All on different occasions, but one common theme. Toronto losing, and a timid lineup entering the pitch and a perplexed coach. No fret TFC supporters, it takes awhile to install Dutch system!

18. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Last Week: 16

Result: L 0-4 @ FCD

Last Five: L-L-L-T-L

Any postivies? None, according to Timbers head coach, John Spencer, following their outright abysmal loss to FC Dallas. Timbers cannot simply gain points solely at home and expect to make the playoffs.

Recap: 2011 Gold Cup Final. Mexico 4-2 USA

2011-06-26T08:54:00.000-04:00

Photo via Flickr user proforged. Photo used with the CC BY NC-ND 2.0 Creative Commons License.

As Freddy Adu orchestrated a slick pass to Landon Donovan, which led to a jarring 2-0 lead for the United States, I reacted in the same manner as the few fellow American soccer fans did, got up halfway and felt it was a sucker punch to the extreme heavyweights, Mexico.

However, note how I said half way. It hit me. The last time the United States national soccer team went up so unexpectedly, and so early was two years back. Yes, I'm talking about the 2009 Confederations Cup final, when the Yanks bagged two goals inside half an hour, stunning Brazil 2-0.

And what followed?

Yes. Brazil would rally and nab a 3-2 victory. The unsettling thought seemed practically inevitable. Before I could complete the entire thought and scenario, the United States' impressive, yet shocking lead, evaporating, as the score leveled of at 2-2.

Rather than being stunned, or unsettled about the Mexican comeback, I just rolled my eyes and subconsciously thought to myself how it was only to come. As the match progressed in the second half and El Tri rallied to score four unanswered goals, the classic problems marring the United States could not have been more evident.

There's a reason for a large coalition of Bornstein haters

Before the match even concluded, the Twitterverse was already hopping on the Jonathan Bornstein hate train. Such angry reactions claiming that Bornstein was the culprit for Pablo Berrera and Jose Guardado's two goals, allowing the Mexicans to draw level with the Americans. Granted, Bornstein's arrival in the match was incredibly abrupt and I'm sure Bornstein was not expecting to get much playing time. If not, none at all. Still, such excuses are not acceptable, and his lack of positioning allowed players such as Guardado, Berrera and especially dos Santos to burn down the right flank of the pitch, time and time again.

Now, that's not to say the rest of the U.S. back line is off the hook, nor does it mean that every goal Mexico scored was at the fault of Bornstein. As dos Santos clearly exhibited by back dribbling from Tim Howard and skipping around Carlos Bocanegra, all before chipping the ball above Eric Lichaj exposed the worst of the American defense. If anything it makes the word "horrendous" boldfaced and highlighted.

Soccer games last 90 minutes

Apart from their match against Jamaica, the United States did not play the top of their game for the whole hour-and-a-half. In fact, they rarely even played to their top half of their time. In case anyone needed an explanation, the United States was not up to par for nearly 60 minutes of the match. They were timid the opening five minutes, until they scored the opening goal. From there, they dictated the run of play until Mexico drew things level again. Alas, a total of about 25 to 30 minutes.

The trend continued well into the second half, and it wasn't until Mexico made it a 4-2 advantage that the United States went back to dictating the possession of the match and creating goalscoring opportunities. Problem being, there was only 15 minutes remaining, and they had their share of bad luck. That being said, it is relishing to know how scrappy and gritty of a team the United States is, and it represents that classic, blue collar hardworking team, but the question that looms: why can they only come out at their best for only partial minutes.

As we saw against Panama, the United States has to be on top of their game the whole time. They did so against a mighty Jamaican side, and cruised to a 2-0 victory, one that might of turned a few heads. The only times their partial play worked was against Guadeloupe and Canada, mainly due to the fact that these teams are far inferior in skill.

Neutralizing one player does not solve the problem

One of the most critical assignments Bob Bradley most likely gave to his defenders was to neutralize Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. That meant, closing in on him the moment he gained ball possession and stop the flow of passing to him. Well, Bradley somewhat got his wish. Hernandez did not score, and frankly, that surprised me. In spite of the fact the U.S. defense had an extra eye on Chicharito, I would have thought he would have somehow scored.

Still, the leaky back line conceded a total of four goals, the most the team conceded in the Gold Cup altogether, and twice the number of goals they conceded in every match prior to the final. The United States defense would have been better off playing a more of a zone defense than focusing on a specific person. I noticed later on that the back line did install more zone play, and it worked. Just like it did from the get go. If anything caused miscommunication to allow the defense to collapse, it had to have been the abrupt switch of removing Cherundolo for Bornstein. You could immediately tell something was not clicking. Consequently, all four of Mexico's goals were scored from their right flank of the field. El Tri realized that it was weaker side of the back line and capitalized on it, rarely bring the ball down the left flank.

In spite of the defense mishaps, the poor gaffes and lack of concentration that doomed the United States, when they had their bright spots, scattered mainly in the start and end of the match, they looked like a menacing team. Personally, I felt their start against Mexico was the best soccer the Yanks had played since the 2009 Confederations Cup.

Compact defense, counterattacking is venomous

One of the most notable things that has made the United States respectable and fearsome has been the ability for the side to counterattack. For the first five minutes of this match, Mexico looked destined to kick it into cruise control and repeat 2009's hellish nightmare. However, the compact defense, mixed with zone play allowed Mexico to rarely penetrate the box, and forced attacks such as dos Santos and Chicharito to stay on the wings. If the two were able to break a cross into the penalty area is was immediately cleared or saved.

With my notion on their counterattacking, its first piece of evidence was revealed on the first chance the United States had on goal: a corner kick following the first dangerous attack the Yanks had on El Tri. The sheer speed of Landon Donovan's corner to Michael Bradley quickly saw the ball hurdle into the side netting giving the Mexican defense, but primarily Alfredo Talavera, a sheer expression of shock. In fact, it wasn't until Mexico's head coach, José Manuel de la Torre, took out Carlos Salcido and replaced Salcido with Jorge Torres Nilo, that the Mexican defense was able to cool down and the attack was able to spring into action, negating the shortcomings the defense, but primarily Talavera had early on.

Scrappy and gritty effort and performance

I think with most international teams, as well as club teams, the moment you go down two goals with such little time remaining results in hitting the panic button or mentally shutting down. Not for the United States. If anything, Mexico had play on the top of their game to conclude the match. Seeing from the look on the faces of Freddy Adu, Clint Dempsey and so many others, if a few flaws worked to the Americans advantage, it would have likely resulted in either 4-3 win for Mexico, or we'd be talking about an unbelievable comeback to counteract Mexico's to begin with. That didn't happen, however, there was some luck with it, along with the midfield reacting quickly enough to clear the ball far out of harms way.

It's a matter of reflecting on key moments that could have been game changers. For instance, the incredibly aggravating shot Dempsey took that whacked the crossbar and resulted in Talavera catching a nasty case of the concrete shoes. Or Bradley's wicked half volley that only veered inches wide of an open net. They were the few flashes of some bad luck, but sheer determination from a U.S. side that just could not finish what they started.

This article was also featured in The Pursuit of Victory.

2011 Gold Cup Final: Preview

2011-06-24T23:02:00.000-04:00

Basic Information

For the third consecutive tournament, the United States and Mexico, arguably the two heavyweights of CONCACAF will clash against one another in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final. The match will be played in Pasadena, California at the Rose Bowl.

TV: FOX Soccer Channel, 8:30 p.m. EST

Background Information

Keys to the Game

United States

Neutralize Chicharito: It's hardly a secret anymore about Javier Hernandez's ability to put a ball in the back of the net. Seven goals in five matches, he's scored in every single Gold Cup match Mexico has played in, except their match against Costa Rica. And that was hardly a problem. The United States, notorious for a leaky defense has shut out all their opponents thus far in the knockout round. However, the Mexican offense, who has tallied 18 goals this tournament is a completely different animal, and every player will need to be on top of their defensive game.
Test Talavera: El Tri's back up net-minder has not been tested so much this tournament, and was likely expecting to see this match from the bench. That is, until a doping scandal blown way out of proportion took the American soccer niche by storm. The United States will need to storm out of the gates, in style they did early against Panama and against Jamaica, and hope that Alfredo Talavera is caught off guard. If so, the Stars and Stripes can pull a quick goal early on, and take advantage.
Make it a midfield match: With all due respect to my home nation and the national team I support, the Mexican national team significantly outpaces us in attacking, and somewhat in defending. However, the American's advantage is in the midfield, and they will need to get Michael Bradley out of their slump if they want to dominate ball possession, create numerous scoring opportunities and perhaps minimize Mexico's. Freddy Adu might get a nod to start the match after his solid final shift in the semifinal win vs. Panama. If so, Adu will need to have a repeat performance.
Pride and effort: It might be a cliche at this point, but there's a clear reason such a statement would be a cliche to begin with. Ever since their humbling, nearly embarrassing upset loss to Panama, the United States has had to prove (once again) the misleading statements American soccer haters exhibit. In the last Gold Cup final, they were humiliated 5-0 by Mexico. Yes, it was a different group of players, but all and all, it is the same team. Donovan will need to show Bob Bradley why he's the face of American soccer and the starter like no other. Adu will have to show that he's truly back and he didn't have a lucky hot streak. Dempsey, just has to carry his usual mantra. With it a core of rising prospects will have to show Bradley that they are worthy of being on the team for the 2014 World Cup qualifying, and with it, the 2014 squad.

Mexico

Long, cross field passes: One of the most eye catching pieces of Mexico's flashy attack is their ability to rapidly move the ball up the pitch. Not necessarily on the pitch, but through a chain of long balls and heavy chip passes. Passes from the defense, all the way up to the strikers. Plus, having a disadvantage in the midfield, it is the best way El Tri can counteract the American midfield.
Don't let off the accelerator: Some of the issues in the Gold Cup has been Mexico's ability to score quick and fast early on, but then not do much to attack following a rampant start. And against the United States, that's suicide. The United States is renowned as a comeback team that has rallied from incredible deficits before. Mexico top heavy attack will need to continuously tear apart the American back line throughout the entire match and never stop creating chances if they want to squander any hopes of a rally.

Is Chicharito worth more than the entire USMNT squad?

2011-06-23T12:53:00.001-04:00

Well, lets see. Earlier today I saw a comment on an MLSSoccer.com recap of the Mexico vs. Honduras match, where someone claimed that Javier Hernandez's value was around €40M, and to be worth more than the entire United States national soccer team roster.

And yes, that's far more than probably the most expensive player on the U.S. national team. Right now, before even doing any research, I would say either Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey or Tim Howard is the most expensive American right now, and I would put their value, in Euros roughly around €12-16M.

But to say the entire roster? Now, I think any fan with common sense can collectively agree, that's a far stretch. So, lets crunch some numbers and make a wild guess to see if this commenter is making a decent statement or is just trolling the Internet boards.

Below is a list of the United States Gold Cup roster, along with that player's respective club.

Player	Club
Tim Howard	Everton (England)
Nick Rimando	Real Salt Lake (United States)
Marcus Hahnemann	Free agent
Jonathan Spector	Free agent
Carlos Bocanegra	St. Etienee (France)
Oguchi Onyewu	Milan (Italy)
Steve Cherundolo	Hannover 96 (Germany)
Jonathan Bornstein	UANL (Mexico)
Eric Lichaj	Aston Villa (England)
Tim Ream	Red Bull New York (United States)
Clarence Goodson	Brøndby (Denmark)
Michael Bradley	Aston Villa (England)
Maurice Edu	Rangers (Scotland)
Clint Dempsey	Fulham (England)
Landon Donovan	L.A. Galaxy (United States)
Jermaine Jones	Schalke 04 (Germany)
Sacha Kljestan	Anderlecht (Belgium)
Robbie Rogers	Columbus Crew (United States)
Freddy Adu	Benefica (Portugal)
Alejandro Bedoya	Örebro (Sweden)
Juan Agudelo	Red Bull New York (United States)
Chris Wondolowski	San Jose Earthquakes (United States)
Jozy Altidore	Villarreal (Spain)

Now, for the tricky part, to determine each person's value. Please note this will be incredibly rough, and likely an inaccurate mean of determining player value. Then again, there's never a proper way until the fee is disclosed in world soccer transfers.

TIM HOWARD

Everton paid Manchester United roughly £3.0M for Howard. And that was in 2007.
Given the fact he has installed himself as the regular keeper for Everton is critical, and not to mention that Everton is a fairly decent EPL club. They are not necessarily a top power, but they are a respectable side
Seeing how his value has increased by 0.7 each successive season according to this website, lets just say it continued that trend through today and has doubled in value each season with Everton.
For statistical purpose, we will use a +/- error of 5%
That means his value at the end of 2007-08 was around £3.7M +/- 5%. Then at the end of 2008-09, it would have been £5.1M.
Should this trend continue, at the end of the 2010-11 season, his value should be roughly around £13.5M
Now, using this Yahoo! Currency converter these are the numbers it spits out:

Value in Euros: €15.24M
Value in U.S. Dollars: $21.57M

NICK RIMANDO

While Nick Rimando has been prolific in MLS, he has had seen little national team playing time, and has never played abroad. Knowing how difficult it is to attain MLS fees, we'll have to use Salary Figures to determine this, as well as a number of outside factors.
According to the MLS Players Union salary chart, Rimando's salary is $150K, with $158K guarenteed compensation. That's a somewhat higher salary than the average MLS player, but still far below that top paid MLS players.
To figure out his transfer value, we'll account his age, national team playing time and value and success of club.

Age: In his low 30s, Rimando is likely at the prime of his goalkeeping
National team playing: As we mentioned, it's low
Club success: Rimando is top choice netminder for Salt Lake and he was a key cog in the team's run to the CONCACAF Champions League finals.

Given is lack of national team playing and primarily MLS experience, he is a gem of a player to acquire domestically, but probably not so much internationally. Depending on how many years of his contract, I'll just take a wild presumption and say the transfer fee would be his 2011 base salary tripled. Doing the math, that rounds out to nearly $553K, making his fee an incredibly inexpensive transfer value.
Converting again on the Yahoo! Currency converter, we get this number:

Value in Euros: €0.39M
Value in British Pounds: £0.35M

TIM REAM

Tim Ream might be one of the most valuable prospects playing in MLS at this moment. A young defender, embedded with much potential. However his inexperience has shown on the national stage, and has created a contingency of haters.
Never the less, MLS – for whatever reason – was gung ho on reporting PSV Eindhoven showing immense interest in Ream. Evidently, there were no price tags attached.
Regardless of what anyone thinks is transfer fee should be, Ream is incredibly underpayed as an athlete, making a meager $55K a year. However, it's at $62.5K with guaranteed compensation. So in other words, Red Bull New York has to meat up his paycheck or he'll cater to European sides offering him far greater pay.
I've added the average fees of young MLS players hopping the pond, and came up with an estimated transfer fee of £3M. For the sake of things, lets just pretend that that's his value, should he be the average player making the hop over from MLS to Europe.

Value in Euros: 3.38M
Value in U.S. Dollars: $4.79M

CLEARANCE GOODSON

Hopped on the USMNT scene thanks to a jump over to Norway's IK Start from FC Dallas. He's risen through the ranks in Scandanavia and has now become a regular on the Danish SuperLiga side, Brondby.

MICHAEL BRADLEY

All we know is that Aston Villa bought Bradley from 'Gladbach for "a lot more than" 'Gladbach bought Bradley from Hereneeven. Could not find anything. But given his age and success all around, I'll say that it was probably in the ballpark of £7M. Again, just randomly guessing is not the best way, but news sources do it all the time when it comes to transfer rumors. So presuming it's anywhere close to that, here's what it converts to.

Value in Euros: €7.90M
Value in U.S. Dollars: $11.19M

MAURICE EDU

Presuming this is remotely correct, it was a fee of £2.6M that Rangers paid to MLS to get him to come over from Toronto FC. That was in 2008. And attributing his success with Rangers, but some mild success with the national team, I'd say his value has only increased to around £5M. Then again, I don't know if any clubs are keen on Edu. Probably none willing to put forth a bid. Just using this ballistic number, here we go:

Value in Euros: €5.64M
Value in U.S. Dollars: $7.89M

CLINT DEMPSEY

Given his pivotal success at Fulham and the mounting rumors about interest from Italian sides and Liverpool, Dempsey might just be the most expensive American soccer player there is at this time
First things, first. He was transfered from New England Revolution to Fulham for a 1.5M fee that the club had to pay MLS.
Given the "apparent" facts that Dempsey had rumors nearing £15-16M for Italian clubs to buy Deuce, we're going to say his value tripled each easy since he joined the Cottages in 2007. Thus meaning that Dempsey's value went up to 4.5M by 2008 and 7.5 by 2009, only to now be around £13.5M by 2011. Averaging the two out, we're going to say his value in British pounds is around £14.5M. Thus it translates into.

Value in Euros: €16.37M
Value in U.S. Dollars: $23.17M

LANDON DONOVAN

It would seem to make the most sense that the "face of American soccer" would have the largest value of any player. Sure, playing MLS ball primarily does hinder some value, but his incredible and vital success on the international stage, coped with his successful loan spell at Everton a year back are all pieces that boost his value.
For the sake of time and such, we're simply going to use the rumor that Manchester City wanted to buy Landon Donovan from the Los Angeles Galaxy at around 12-16 million. Which seems fare. He's in his prime, but he will only be in his prime for so long.
He current captains a very solid MLS side, one that made the 2009 MLS Cup final and one that won the 2010 MLS Supporters' Shield.
That being said these are the numbers we use, using the average of $14M.

Value in Euros: €9.89M
Value in British Pounds: £8.76M

JUAN AGUDELO

Ever since Agudelo netted a goal in the U.S.A. vs. South Africa international friendly the USMNT supporters have had a fever for this young, venomous prospect. He has returned the favor in MLS scoring some incredible goals for New York and having a flashy presence with the national team.
Since it's New York, young prospect, goal-scoring, national team, and so on, we'll relate it his value to what Villarreal related Altidore's value. I mean, really, Atletico Madrid...Villarreal, the Spanish La Liga? It works! But given Agudelo's extremely young age, and still incredible inexperience, I cannot envision him having the same value Villarreal saw in Altidore...which was $10M. Instead, I'm going with $7M.
Let's crunch numbers.

Value in Euros: €4.95M
Value in British Pounds: £4.38M

That's simply an example of my calculations I used. It's probably not the best method, but it's what I used for the remainder of the team, below is their values I calculated.

Values Table

Player	Value (€)	Total Team Value (€)
Tim Howard	€15.24M	€15.24M
Nick Rimando	€0.39M	€15.63M
Marcus Hahnemann	€1.22M	€16.85M
Jonathan Spector	€1.75M	€18.60M
Carlos Bocanegra	€6.40M	€25.00M
Oguchi Onyewu	€9.55M	€34.55M
Steve Cherundolo	€5.27M	€39.82M
Jonathan Bornstein	€0.80M	€40.62M
Eric Lichaj	€3.75M	€44.37M
Tim Ream	€3.38M	€47.75M
Clarence Goodson	€3.25M	€51.00M
Michael Bradley	€7.90M	€58.90M
Maurice Edu	€5.64M	€64.54M
Clint Dempsey	€16.37M	€80.91M
Landon Donovan	€9.89M	€90.80M
Jermaine Jones	€7.41M	€98.21M
Sacha Kljestan	€1.68M	€99.89M
Robbie Rogers	€1.22M	€101.11M
Freddy Adu	€2.10M	€103.21M
Alejandro Bedoya	€2.45M	€105.66M
Juan Agudelo	€4.95M	€110.61M
Chris Wondolowski	€0.36M	€110.97M
Jozy Altidore	€6.26M	€117.23M

Remember to take in fact that players such as Stuart Holden, Brad Guzan and Benny Feilhaber were not included in this roster. Players that might have increased the team's total "value".

If by some longshot chance these numbers are close to being correct, then the total USMNT value is nearly quadruple the value of Chicharito's so-called lone value. Should that belief is correct though, his value is double the value of the most expensive American, Clint Dempsey.

Senior Year Playlist

2011-06-22T21:56:00.000-04:00

This speaks for itself, but to delve into this fascinating topic, it's a playlist. Made by Grooveshark. It involves songs from senior year of high school. For me at least. Enjoy it.

USMNT vs. Panama Preview

2011-06-22T14:44:00.000-04:00

Photo via Flickr user donr. Used with the Creative Commons Non-Commercial License.

Background Information:

US national soccer team vs. Panama in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals.

The USA comes off an impressive 2-0 victory against a talented Jamaica side that had went 3-0-0 in their Group and did not concede a single goal
Panama ended their match with a controversial penalty kick to tie 1-1 vs. El Salvador and force extra time and an eventual p.k. Shootout, in which the Panamanians were successful in, mounting their most successful Gold Cup since their 2005 run to the finals
The two sides met in Group Stage of this year's Gold Cup, where Panama pulled off a shock 2-1 upset over the Americans. Tejada scored a penalty kick for Panama while the USMNT's Clearance Goodson scored twice: once for Panama and then one to pull back a goal on the US.
Panama and the US have an extensive Gold Cup history, especially in recent times. The two met in the 2005 Gold Cup finals, where the U.S. emerged victorious on penalties. The two rematched each other in both the quarterfinals of the 2007 and 2009 editions of the Gold Cup. The US won each meeting by a 2-1 scoreline

Keys to the Game:

Photo via Flickr user Dan Dickinson. Used with the CC-BY NC 2.0 License.

USA

Don't play too casual: It was that style of play that cost the USMNT the chance to have a perfect, and expected, 3-0-0 record in group play.
Control the match immediately: What caused the US to stumble early on in the game was their lack of putting the match into their own hands. By continous failed opportunities the US allowed opponets such as Panama early on and Guadeloupe to stay in the match and ignite them with confidence.
Score first and score early: This is the USMNT. Our defense is leaky and our prospects lack inexperience. The US is going to need to bag numerous goals early on and in feverish manner.
Play on the wings: if you look back on the USA's group match vs. Panama, they allowed the Panamanians to deeply penetrate the ball down the central alley of the pitch. It was deep central field penetration that allowed Panama to earn the opening goal and allowed them to draw a penalty. However, every scoring opportunity that the USA blew against Panama was the result of dishing balls out to the wings and having either Cherundolo or Lichaj make hard runs to recross the ball in the box. Have Jones and Bradley plug up the midfield liekt they have and make sure 'Dolo and Lichaj make those runs.
Recovery runs: While its incredibly evident that the USMNT is not a team renowned for speed, they are known for good passing and playing in unison. Which means players will need to cover posistions to players making long runs or players who get ousted by an opponent. It will frustrate their opponents like no other.

Panama

Speed, speed, speed: It worked during Group Stage and it has played to their advantage in every match thus far, the Panamanians need to capitalize on their speed and ability to create something out of nothing.
Shut down Agudelo: Adolfo Machado and Luis Henriquez will need to shut down the young, crafty speedster. Any miscommunication and Agudelo will be off to the races, and the back line can only cross their fingers that Penendo can save whatever shot Agudelo rips on him.
Adjust the formation: That's only if needed. The U.S. has experimented with different formations in the tournament, so to combat, the Panamanians will have to reflect it in their formation, frustrating the United States.

A version of this post appeared in the Pursuit of Victory blog.

Capri Sun Challenge

2011-06-21T22:26:00.000-04:00

Drink up.

Alright time to do a non-soccer related post. The Pursuit of Victory people want me to write some preview of the U.S.A. vs. Panama soccer game tomorrow, but I feel I'm far too uninformed to write a through piece. Really. I mean, if I don't it's not the end of the World since I volunteer my mediocre scribing for their young soccer blog/news site.

See what I mean by mediocre? I'm already in the second paragraph of the blog, and I've yet to present/introduce the primarily topic and delve into the the background analysis of how the topic came to be in my life, or the impact it is having on this very moment. Then again, blogging is the art of writing how you would speak, and I'm notorious for saying so much without saying anything at all. Being concise is something I have to work on.

To veer back to the point of this stupid blog post, I'm going to talk to you all about the "Capri Sun Challenge". I learned about it from Laura at Prom...which was, God, it was about a week and a half ago. Feels like months ago. We were driving to Michael's for prom dinner, pics, and all that exciting preliminary shit when she randomly brought it up to me. Some dive competition and time was needed to be wasted. That's her story. I guess you can say this is mine.

The challenge is drinking as many Capri Sun's as possible in the span of 15 minutes without vomiting it back up like a volcano. Okay, that's nasty; but appropriate given the circumstances or something related. Over the past few days, I found the whole thing intriguing and tempting. I know, myself, doing shenanigans like that is out of bounds. Especially due to my apparent straight edge attitude that everyone but myself collectively agrees upon.

To prove naysayers wrong, I clearly need to do a Capri Sun Challenge to ~~shot~~ show (Freudian slip, obviously) I'm not so uptight dude. And clearly this is the way to be accepted by society. Chugging a ton of juice pouches at work in my mini golf shack where no one can see me. Really, on weekdays no one mini golfs. Or goes mini golfing. Whichever is more appropriate.

I don't get why Laura has encouraged me to do it. Maybe it's some evil internal laughter or some shit related to this juice binge extravaganza.

I'll let you know how my stomach goes when I do it. You're all thirsty for the news. EH?!

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 14

2011-06-21T18:32:00.001-04:00

Photo courtesy of Flickr user prentz. Used with the CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License.

Hate to use such a cliche introduction, but it was, in fact a wild week in MLS. First, the whole diabolical involving Thierry Henry, causing him to be ejected and suspended for New York's marquee match vs. Seattle Sounders. Next, there was the evident flop of D.C. United's Charlie Davies when being "tackled" by Real Salt Lake's Chris Wingert. And to sum things up, the Midnight Riders, the agglomeration of New England Revolution supporters have a bitter, perhaps nasty rivalry with no other than the Revolution Front Office. Teams flew up and down the Power Rankings this week, where only United remained in the same position as last week.

1. LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Last Week: 3
Result: W 3-1 @ COL
Last Five: W-W-T-T-W

The Galaxy have had some bewildering inconsistency. They have not been losing, but they have drawn matches they should have easily won; yet, they are winning matches that looked to have “draw” written all over them. Still, such form could help the Galaxy once their summer schedule gets messy with the addition of CONCACAF Champions League and the U.S. Open Cup.

2. FC DALLAS

Last Week: 5
Result: W 2-1 @ CHV
Last Five: W-T-W-L-W

Well, the MLSSoccer.com editors were right. It looks as if the face plant 1-4 loss at home to Sporting Kansas City was a fluke. Especially following an impressive road win at a recent revitalized Chivas USA.

3. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Last Week: 6
Result: W 1-0 @ TOR
Last Five: L-W-T-T-W

In the battle of the flagship franchises (in terms of attendance), the Sounders came up with a shorthanded goal that emphasized the weakness of the Toronto FC defense. The firecracker shot resulted in Frei having a mild case of the concrete shoes.

4. REAL SALT LAKE

Last Week: 2
Result: T 1-1 vs. DC
Last Five: L-W-L-T-T

RSL fans, and especially Chris Wingert have every right to complain about Davies’ sheer flop in the penalty box. However, there’s no excuses for allowing the evidently weaker United side from dominating ball possession. Also, looking back through the highlight reel, had Pontius had a bit of better luck, we’d be pressing the panic button in Salt Lake City.

5. NEW YORK RED BULLS

Last Week: 7
Result: T 3-3 @ POR
Last Five: T-T-T-W-T

When Thierry Henry is called up as an MLS All-Star, there will not be any subjectivity to the decision. His goal really ignited the late rally in the vibrant Jeld-Wen, and earned...another point. Still, with Henry what's taken away is the red card for "patting" Portland's Adam Moffatt on the head. Not good for the ratings game when the Red Bulls entertain the Sounders and their 35,000 strong. Additionally, I’ll be curious to see if Austin de Luz continues to earn starts once Dane Richards returns.

6. PHILADELPHIA UNION

Last Week: 4
Result: L 0-1 @ VAN
Last Five: W-W-T-T-L

The Union miss out on a pivotal opportunity to secure first place in the Eastern Conference over New York, as well as a chance to climb into the top three of the overall table. Against a victory-starved Vancouver, it might have been to their disadvantage. Still, it’s too early to determine if it’s the sign of a mid-season swoon for the Zolos.

7. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Last Week: 1
Result: L 0-1 @ SKC
Last Five: W-T-W-W-L

Fresh on a five-match unbeaten streak, the ‘Quakes were stopped cold in the confines of Liverstrong Sporting Park, thanks to an early first half header via C.J. Sapong. Curious to see how they rebound from this setback.

8. D.C. UNITED

Last Week: 8
Result: T 1-1 @ RSL
Last Five: T-W-T-L-T

United supporters have to be disheartened following Charlie Davies’ sheer flop, which led to the United earning a crucial road point, in a hostile Rio Tinto. Still, it was no like United was out-hustled nor outclassed by Salt Lake. In fact, during this ugly, aggressive match, United seemed to create more chances, and for Chris Pontius, just had some misfortunes thanks to the crossbar.

9. COLUMBUS CREW

Last Week: 14
Result: W 2-0 @ HOU
Last Five: L-L-T-L-W

As Mendoza lit up the scoreboard, the Warzycha-led Crew seem to be having the best “rebuilding season”, as their impressive 2-0 road win make them four point clear of United for third place in the East, who have played one fewer match than the Crew themselves. Additionally, the Crew move on the doorstep of the Union and Red Bulls, and might actually dethrone one of the two Eastern heavyweights.

10. COLORADO RAPIDS

Last Week: 9
Result: L 1-3 vs. LA
Last Five: L-T-T-W-L

Even though the MLS Cup tells who’s the Major League Soccer champion, the MLS Supporters’ Shield tells who is the best Major League Soccer team. The Galaxy’s dismantling the Rapids in DSG Park really highlights this belief. Even if Folan remained in the match, which he should of, I doubt it would have salvaged any type of point for the Rapids.

11. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Last Week: 13
Result: W 1-0 vs. SJ
Last Five: L-T-T-W-W

With a large home stand awaiting Sporting Kansas City, the Wizards might just propel themselves back into the race for the Eastern Conference semifinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Sapong’s goal emphasizes how this team is a threat of scoring from any player on the pitch. First they’ll need to climb out of the gunk that’s Toronto, Chicago and New England.

12. CHICAGO FIRE

Last Week: 12
Result: T 1-1 @ NE
Last Five: L-T-T-W-T

For the negative attention I give the Fire, there form has not been so bad. Unbeaten in their last four, it includes a road victory in Columbus and a draw in New England. However, with only two wins and nine ties, I can only give them so much credit in the Power Rankings.

13. CHIVAS USA

Last Week: 10
Result: L 1-2 vs. FCD
Last Five: T-W-L-T-L

At the tail end of the match the Goats had some bad luck literally bounce their way.

14. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Last Week: 16
Result: W 1-0 vs. PHI
Last Five: L-T-L-T-W

It had been 13 matches, but the long wait is over. The Whitecaps finally have their second win of the season. And against the Union, an opponent with a strong record and form, can only ignite the MLS newcomers with more confidence.

15. HOUSTON DYNAMO

Last Week: 11
Result: L 0-2 vs. CLB
Last Five: L-T-L-W-L

The steamy weather conditions play to no advantage for the Dynamo, as they were outright punctured by the Crew. Doubt this will be a huge setback, but it wrecked a solid opportunity to move within breathing room of the Union and Red Bulls.

16. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Last Week: 15
Result: T 3-3 vs. NY
Last Five: W-L-L-L-T

Next thing for the Timbers’ MLS maiden year agenda: Finish games.

17. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Last Week: 18
Result: T 1-1 vs. CHI
Last Five: L-L-L-L-T

In a showdown of two of the weakest Eastern Conference clubs, that were once the class of the East, the Revs only managed to muster a point. It’s looking like they will consecutively miss the postseason for the first time in club history.

18. TORONTO FC

Last Week: 17
Result: L 0-1 vs. SEA
Last Five: T-L-T-T-L

A Forgotten Reconnection with Mason

2011-06-18T15:59:00.000-04:00

My sleep schedule is finally starting to get back on track, and with it, I have begun the enduring process of finishing up thank you notes to family and friends who have given me any type of gift for graduation. Still way behind, and yet having some to do, I decided to mail off two more thank you notes I finished and sealed off for elsewhere. As I pressed stamps on the envelopes my mom came inside with an envelope in her hand.

Initially, I was at a bit of a confusion, primarily because she was going to run errands and pick up my loving brother, Rory, from a friend’s house. She handed it to me, and explained how she saw a letter from the Mason’s admissions office.

The fact that Mason finally sent me something threw me off like no other. For instance, ever since I got a wait list letter from Mason last April, I knew it could be as long as three months before I heard anything. It was not quite three months, but it was a prolonged wait coming to an end. Unfortunately, it was nothing in terms of we have extra space, nor a plea asking to join them. So with that, I’m for sure locked to going to VCU this fall, which really is nothing in the way of upsetting. Whether I trained myself to think that way or it was a lack of interest that waned each successive day is the real wonder.

Thus, the nearly nine-month saga of trying to make Mason finally capped off. It had a roller-coaster journey that reached its apex with a high mid-year GPA that put me in actual consideration under the Mason scope, but a nadir when I received a third quarter grade of a “D” in Physics that led to a rat race of scrambling to propel my grade back up to a “B”. In the end, it was not wasted effort, but a chain of bipolar memories.

Some of the good memories of this Mason process came from a short application video I made with my friends on a crisp November day. During a Teacher Workday, me and about ten of my friends went on the main campus of Mason and filmed a series of quirky snippits sharing why I’m the ideal candidate that Mason should cry for.

It also sparked a short-lived, but thrilling chain of playing quidditch. On a warm October morning, while touring Mason, our tour guide spoke about the Mason quidditch team. The idea of bringing that magic, if you will, to Robinson magnified once my friend Sean created a constitution to create the school quidditch club. Though rejected, we created our own league, and played a handful of games. Some bystanders looked at us in bewildered fashion, but the rush while playing it was unlike anything I’ve ever played before.

Perhaps the most disheartening memory had to come from the Application Addendum, which I submitted to Mason at the start of May. There, I learned that Mason may possibly, maybe even likely, will not revert to its wait list due to the likelihood that enough accepted students will enroll causing the school not to revert to the wait list. Well, there calculations were not flawed one bit.

Following the deceiving news from the Admissions office, I felt a great influx of pessimism about Mason. With it, my interest in Mason slowly, but gradually wanned, and I decided to go forth with VCU. Evidently, it was not official until I posted it on my Facebook, as are all things these days. The reality is, that’s hardly a joke, but a fact of modern day communication. So, that being said, as June began, I really developed a VCU mantra, especially when fellow seniors and myself began pondering the life of college when the ever prolonging days of Robinson finally looked numbered.

Then it came. The final week of Robinson Secondary School. Massive memories and nostalgia poured into my head, while a storm of thrill complimented a chain of last’s. Most notably, the final joys of high school involved the paper throw, prom, prom after parties (infamously) which all culuminated with the formal graduation and the subsequent All Night Grad Party. Stories that I have never blogged about, partially due to a lack of time, and also because I did not feel an urge to blog about such topics.

In fact, it’s been awhile since I last blogged. I mean, yes, I have blogged numerous videos in the realm of soccer as well as churned out a handful of MLS Power Rankings for The Pursuit of Victory blog, but nothing that associated with my life, which is crucial for the sometimes dull personal blogging. But during those events, whether it’d be talking or dancing with friends at prom, texting on the prom bus, or losing to friends at billiards during the All Night Grad Party, college was the commonplace topic, the ice breaker of conversation, the common collective thought that every high school senior at my school had to have been thinking at point during those three events.

I faintly spoke about the possibility of Mason maybe saying yes, and at point, I even considered choosing VCU over Mason if they decided to say yes to me. Thankfully, that option never arose, or else I’d be worrying about far more different things. The reconnection derailed me a bit, so much this blog is even in existence.

The supposition of all this. It may seem as if an incredible dosage of my time was wasted over these past nine months, but then again, a lot of monumental senior year memories are actually possible because of Mason, in perhaps the most indirect way. I actually had an enjoyable winter that did not involve track, and I have a corny as hell video I can look back and laugh at. And I’m not talking about the weak jokes. I think by now you can infer what it will be.

So, the Mason journey is over. There’s VCU to look forward to in nearly two months, and a summer to enjoy….ugh cliches… exuberayting… times with friends before the so-called best four years of your life arrive.

HEY! Check out the SAME POST on TUMBLR!

Photo of the Day: June 11, 2011

2011-06-11T03:33:00.000-04:00

And how he got into Tech and JMU amazes me if this is how he roughly spent a majority of his high school life!

A Year Back on the World Cup

2011-06-10T13:29:00.001-04:00

And to think, this was a year ago.

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 12

2011-06-06T13:18:00.001-04:00

1. FC DALLAS
Last Week: 2
Result: W 1-0 vs. NE
Last Five: W-T-W-T-W

I remember about a month or so ago, the American soccer blogosphere, and myself, were speculating whether or not the Hoops would hit an upswing after a rather rocky start. Well, our speculation was not wasted. Dallas looked just as menacing as they were in 2010. Having no call-ups for the Gold Cup will play to their advantage – and raise expectations.

2. LOS ANGELES GALAXY
Last Week: 1
Result: T 0-0 vs. DC
Last Five: W-W-W-W-T

Missing their two Donovan’s, Donovan Ricketts and Landon Donovan, due to Gold Cup call-ups, Galaxy manager Bruce Arena had little hesitation to denounce the Galaxy’s performance. And righteously so. In ways, the Galaxy were a tad bit lucky to finish the match drawn with the revived United side.

3. PHILADELPHIA UNION
Last Week: 3
Result: T 1-1 @ TOR
Last Five: T-L-W-W-T

First, you completely dismantle Toronto FC in their home stadium, before tying the defending MLS Cup champions? Piotr Nowak has to be happy with the Union’s performance in their sophomore campaign as the Zolos steer two points clear of New York and five up against D.C.

4. REAL SALT LAKE
Last Week: 5
Result: W 2-0 vs. VAN
Last Five: W-T-T-L-W

It was a dream performance for Haitien Jean Alexandre, and it looks as if RSL is finally regaining their expected form. Perhaps the absence of Saborio is a factor?

5. D.C. UNITED
Last Week: 6
Result: T 0-0 @ LA
Last Five: W-T-T-W-T

An impressive shut out from the young back line, has allowed Black-and-Red supporters to tentatively sigh in relief about United’s defense. However, fans can only ponder what would happen if Josh Wolff had a bit of luck on his side.

6. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
Last Week: 4
Result: T 0-0 @ CHI
Last Five: T-W-L-W-T

Sounders FC fans will praise the fact that Keller clocked a solid 90 minutes, and kept a clean sheet away from the confines of Qwest Field. Keep in mind though, they were in fact playing Chicago. Not exactly the stiffest team in the world.

7. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
Last Week: 12
Result: W 2-0 vs. HOU
Last Five: T-W-W-T-W

The Houston victory was convincing, and has disproved my original intentions of the team’s capabilities. It would be a horrendous ripoff if this team does not make playoffs by the virtue of playing in the Western Conference.

8. CHIVAS USA
Last Week: 8
Result: W 1-0 vs. POR
Last Five: W-L-T-T-W

In the blink of the eye thoughts went from “Fraser out in 2012” to “the Goats better hold on to Fraser”. Chivas is looking their best since they heydays four years back.

9. NEW YORK RED BULLS
Last Week: 7
Result: T 1-1 vs. CLB
Last Five: L-T-T-T-T

This is so bad that I needed to go back to the Red Bulls’ 2011 schedule to see the last time they won a match. Ready? It was a 1-0 win...against Kansas City, on April 30. To make matters worse, about 95% of American preteen and 20-something soccer fans in the Twitterverse have abruptly, and vehemently, declared that after one year of Tim Ream being a solid prospect that he “sucks balls”.

10. COLUMBUS CREW
Last Week: 10
Result: T 1-1 @ NY
Last Five: W-T-L-L-T

Given the fact that this is supposedly a "rebuilding year"for the Crew, Waryzcha and company have done a good job keeping the Flying Canaries in playoff contention. Mendoza thankfully has been given the Crew an undefeated run at Crew Stadium in the campaign.

11. PORTLAND TIMBERS
Last Week: 9
Result: L 0-1 @ CHV
Last Five: W-T-W-L-L

Only in MLS can a team have a 5-1-0 record at home but an 0-4-2 record on the road. Still wondering if the Timbers can actually play on the r

12. COLORADO RAPIDS
Last Week: 11
Result: T 1-1 vs. PHI
Last Five: T-L-L-T-T

So, it takes a penalty kick for the Rapids to salvage a point at home against the Union? I get it. It’s 2011, and the Union are a fairly upgraded side, but the defending MLS Cup champions should expect more out of themselves. If this trend or swoon continues, we’re looking at the 2011 Rapids becoming the 2006 Galaxy. Can you hear the word “fluke” roaming out of Salt Lake City? I can.

13. CHICAGO FIRE
Last Week: 14
Result: T 0-0 vs. SEA
Last Five: T-T-L-T-T

At this point, I guess you could say that for the Fire to draw at home against the Sounders is a token of merit? Okay, they go up one spot in the Power Rankings for not losing, and going on a trite two match tying streak.

14. HOUSTON DYNAMO
Last Week: 13
Result: L 0-2 @ SJ
Last Five: T-T-L-T-L

No one seemed to take notice how I completely forgot to include the Orange Crush in last week’s Power Rankings. Sorry about the Dynamo fans, but you could infer that’s where I would put them (13th).

15. SPORTING KANSAS CITY
Last Week: 15
Result: T 1-1 @ TOR
Last Five: L-L-L-T-T

The long, flustering ten-match away spell is has finally concluded. It will only take a few days to find out how misleading the Wizards’ posistion really is in the Eastern Conference. Vermes has to be impressed with the two recent wins, which include a shutout vs. a Toronto side yearning for redemption in front of their electric home crowd.

16. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Last Week: 17
Result: L 0-1 @ FCD
Last Five: T-W-L-L-L

It’s only a matter of time before Revs fans reminisce over the “what could have been days” of 2005 and 2006, and U.S. Open Cup glory in 2007.

17. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Last Week: 16
Result: L 0-2 @ RSL
Last Five: T-T-L-T-L

The way a restricted Real Salt Lake side plucked through the Whitecaps back line was almost as unsettling as Fernando Torres scoring a goal against the United States. Personally, I believe the best way to solve the ‘Caps’ leaky defense is to sign four traffic cones and immediately put them into the starting XI. Soehn has a lot of work ahead of him.

18. TORONTO FC
Last Week: 18
Result: T 0-0 vs. SKC
Last Five: L-T-T-L-T

In the midst of the sackings of Thordarson and de los Cobos as well as the recent surge of chants demanding the dismissing of both Bob Bradley and Sunil Gulati, I am contemplating when the chants to fire Aron Winter will roll around. In the form he has them in, it cannot be too far from now. This will obviously be followed by a letter from MLSE asking TFC fans and supporters to “give us time”.

2011 Gold Cup Highlights: Costa Rica 5-0 Cuba

2011-06-05T21:05:00.000-04:00

Was not fun having to navigate online through piles of spam to find actual highlights, but these will likely be up for another hour before they get taken down.