Edmonton - Professional soccer is returning to Edmonton.
A men's team and women's team will start playing in the United Soccer League a year from now
At first I was vaguely puzzled by this, wondering exactly what the United Soccer League was when it was at home, but a little bit of research (I went to Google.com and typed 'united soccer league') revealed that it was actually the A-league and the W-league, for male and female teams respectively. So this is actually a fairly serious attempt to attach the electrodes once again to the inanimate body of pro soccer in this town. On the surface, this one looks like it might have a chance. The success of the U-19 Womens' tourney last summer in particular gives some cause for optimism, and the dollar figures on participation in the USL don't ring any alarm bells. On the flipside, the last umpteen attempts to get pro footie going in Edmonton have all looked pretty reasonable as well. However, there's nothing for it but to support this latest attempt, so I'll be at Commonwealth next spring, and we'll see if this time the soccer fans in this city can't make it work.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Just tripped over another blog written by a bookstore worker. Not only that, but it has the same template right now as mine. Creeeeepy.
Shrewsbury Town were relegated from the Football League on Tuesday less than four months after creating one of the great FA Cup shocks by beating Premier League club Everton.
Tuesday's 3-2 home defeat by Carlisle United means the third division's bottom club cannot avoid relegation from the lowest tier of English soccer's professional pyramid for the first time since they were elected to the league in 1950.
Sadness. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Shrewsbury, mainly because they did at one time have a club employee whose job it was to sit in a rowboat on matchdays and fish the ball out of the river whenever it got hoofed out of the Shrews' tiny stadium. Hopefully the club will be back in the League soon.
What, by the way, is with the photo accompanying this article? It's just a picture of somebody's knee.
Tuesday's 3-2 home defeat by Carlisle United means the third division's bottom club cannot avoid relegation from the lowest tier of English soccer's professional pyramid for the first time since they were elected to the league in 1950.
Sadness. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Shrewsbury, mainly because they did at one time have a club employee whose job it was to sit in a rowboat on matchdays and fish the ball out of the river whenever it got hoofed out of the Shrews' tiny stadium. Hopefully the club will be back in the League soon.
What, by the way, is with the photo accompanying this article? It's just a picture of somebody's knee.
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Snuffling around looking at upcoming CD releases right now, and I see that NOFX have a new album out in a week or so (actually in exactly a week). Now, there are bigger NOFX fans in the world than me (one of the reasons I didn't know until today that they have new record coming out), but I may have to pick up The War on Errorism. Based on nothing more than a quick glance at the track listing, it looks like it may be fun. I also got a look at a blurb about the new Dropkick Murphys record, and it seems that they are going to do a song with lyrics by Woody Guthrie, which is appropriate.
My computer mouse has developed a soul of its own, and has begun doing whatever the hell it wants to at random intervals (a few moments ago it opened the control panel). However, The Clash are in the CD player (probably not literally), there's a cup of coffee somewhere around here, and it's on with the afternoon.
FALLUJAH, IRAQ - U.S. soldiers opened fire on a crowd of Iraqi protesters late Monday. Iraqi sources say 13 Iraqis were killed and 75 injured.
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Col. Arnold Bray of the 82nd Airborne Division said soldiers fired on the crowd of 200 after some in the crowd shot at the schoolhouse where the soldiers are headquartered.
The Al-Jazeera TV network quoted people in Fallujah as saying the protestors were students between the ages of five and 20, and the U.S. troops opened fire when someone threw a rock at the school.
Bray said some of the protesters were armed.
"Ask them which kind of schoolboys carry AK-47s," he said.
I think I may be able to help the Colonel out with that one. It would be the kind of schoolboys who have spent the vast majority of their young lives being bombed, starved, beaten, and generally terrorized and now find one of the major architects of that state of affairs squatting in their village demanding their eternal gratitude for cleaning up a mess that this major architect had created in the first place. Just a hunch, Colonel.
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Col. Arnold Bray of the 82nd Airborne Division said soldiers fired on the crowd of 200 after some in the crowd shot at the schoolhouse where the soldiers are headquartered.
The Al-Jazeera TV network quoted people in Fallujah as saying the protestors were students between the ages of five and 20, and the U.S. troops opened fire when someone threw a rock at the school.
Bray said some of the protesters were armed.
"Ask them which kind of schoolboys carry AK-47s," he said.
I think I may be able to help the Colonel out with that one. It would be the kind of schoolboys who have spent the vast majority of their young lives being bombed, starved, beaten, and generally terrorized and now find one of the major architects of that state of affairs squatting in their village demanding their eternal gratitude for cleaning up a mess that this major architect had created in the first place. Just a hunch, Colonel.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Fabien Barthez looks like he's played his last match for Manchester United.
The French international goalkeeper was widely reported to have walked out on the club last week after manager Alex Ferguson criticized him following its Champions League quarter-final elimination by Real Madrid.
Barthez returned to the team before Sunday's 2-0 victory at Tottenham but was overlooked in favour of backup Roy Carroll and wasn't even on the bench.
There must be something in the water at Old Trafford. I'm thinking here of the number of quality goalkeepers since about 1990 who have not only failed at United, but have suffered damage to their careers as a result of their time there. Names like Leighton, Sealey, Bosnich, Taibi, and now, it appears, Barthez, although he's done better than anyone else on that list. It's sad - five years ago Barthez was the best 'keeper in the world, bar none, and a colourful character to boot, but he looks tired and uncertain on the pitch now. Here's hoping he's able to get in a few more quality years elsewhere.
Of course, the overarching exception to any kind of "goalkeeper curse" at Manchester United is Peter Schmeichel, who did brilliantly there, but he's pretty much the only exception in the last fifteen years or so. In light of that, the incoming United starting 'keeper would be well advised to practise screaming loudly and frequently at his defenders.
Ferguson is reported to have a list of a half-dozen replacements that includes Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson, West Ham starter's David James, Finland's Antti Niemi at Southampton, Turkish 'keeper Rustu Recber at Fenerbahce, Czech national keeper Petr Cech at Rennes and American Brad Friedel at Blackburn.
Out of that list Recber is the best, but I'm thinking that they're more likely to go after Niemi. Ferguson already tried to get him once, and he's played (brilliantly) in the premiership. The Friedel link is interesting, and Robinson will be looking for a new team if Leeds go down. David James should stay at West Ham even if they get relegated because, though still capable of great games, he's pretty much a First Division calibre 'keeper now. Cech I know nothing about.
The French international goalkeeper was widely reported to have walked out on the club last week after manager Alex Ferguson criticized him following its Champions League quarter-final elimination by Real Madrid.
Barthez returned to the team before Sunday's 2-0 victory at Tottenham but was overlooked in favour of backup Roy Carroll and wasn't even on the bench.
There must be something in the water at Old Trafford. I'm thinking here of the number of quality goalkeepers since about 1990 who have not only failed at United, but have suffered damage to their careers as a result of their time there. Names like Leighton, Sealey, Bosnich, Taibi, and now, it appears, Barthez, although he's done better than anyone else on that list. It's sad - five years ago Barthez was the best 'keeper in the world, bar none, and a colourful character to boot, but he looks tired and uncertain on the pitch now. Here's hoping he's able to get in a few more quality years elsewhere.
Of course, the overarching exception to any kind of "goalkeeper curse" at Manchester United is Peter Schmeichel, who did brilliantly there, but he's pretty much the only exception in the last fifteen years or so. In light of that, the incoming United starting 'keeper would be well advised to practise screaming loudly and frequently at his defenders.
Ferguson is reported to have a list of a half-dozen replacements that includes Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson, West Ham starter's David James, Finland's Antti Niemi at Southampton, Turkish 'keeper Rustu Recber at Fenerbahce, Czech national keeper Petr Cech at Rennes and American Brad Friedel at Blackburn.
Out of that list Recber is the best, but I'm thinking that they're more likely to go after Niemi. Ferguson already tried to get him once, and he's played (brilliantly) in the premiership. The Friedel link is interesting, and Robinson will be looking for a new team if Leeds go down. David James should stay at West Ham even if they get relegated because, though still capable of great games, he's pretty much a First Division calibre 'keeper now. Cech I know nothing about.
Monday, April 28, 2003
Dear Publishing Company Marketing Person,
This is just a quick note to let you know that if you think your company's valuable product will be made much more appealing through putting it on a cheap, nasty, cardboard display that falls over and strews books all over the place in a strong light and whose only concession to anything vaguely artistic is a blown-up photograph of the author looking smug, then you are mistaken. Furthermore, we regret to inform you that if you are labouring under the assumption that bookstore receiving staff enjoy putting these miserable pieces of crap together without the benefit of even a badly photocopied sheet of assembly instructions, then you are not only mistaken, you are going to Hell.
Yours oh-so-sincerely,
Bazz
This is just a quick note to let you know that if you think your company's valuable product will be made much more appealing through putting it on a cheap, nasty, cardboard display that falls over and strews books all over the place in a strong light and whose only concession to anything vaguely artistic is a blown-up photograph of the author looking smug, then you are mistaken. Furthermore, we regret to inform you that if you are labouring under the assumption that bookstore receiving staff enjoy putting these miserable pieces of crap together without the benefit of even a badly photocopied sheet of assembly instructions, then you are not only mistaken, you are going to Hell.
Yours oh-so-sincerely,
Bazz
Yawn. It's just after lunch, the word from the Sunlit Lands (did I mention that I work in a basement?) is that yesterday's snow is melting so fast the pavement is steaming, and what I'd like about now is a nap. No such luck, of course, so it's into the CD player with a Lunachicks CD and on with the day. Today is turning out to be a paperwork day, which is OK because it means I can put the ol' brain on autopilot for a bit. Hooray! Still no luck attempting to post pictures on this thing, but I'll try again later. For now, I see nothing but coffee and invoices in my immediate future.
Lame Moments in Sports #1
In the wake of the Mighty Ducks' second win in a row over Dallas, some idiot reporter asked Stars' goalie Marty Turco whether he thought the Ducks had the rally monkey on their side. Perhaps momentarily stunned by the fact that an adult human being had asked him that question, Turco refrained from administering a severe beating, and merely answered "No."
In the wake of the Mighty Ducks' second win in a row over Dallas, some idiot reporter asked Stars' goalie Marty Turco whether he thought the Ducks had the rally monkey on their side. Perhaps momentarily stunned by the fact that an adult human being had asked him that question, Turco refrained from administering a severe beating, and merely answered "No."
Saturday, April 26, 2003
TAMPERE, Finland (AP) - Denmark pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the world hockey championships on Saturday, stunning the United States 5-2 in the opening game.
Denmark, a small Scandinavian country with only about 4,000 hockey players, is making its return to hockey's elite after a 54-year absence.
In the 1949 tournament in Stockholm, Denmark lost one game to Canada 47-0, still a record in championship history.
Ok, I remembered about the 47-0 thing - that featured prominently as a hockey trivia question in my youth. However, I did not realize that that was the last time the Danes had been to the championship (I also did not realize, until I did some poking around, that that loss to Canada was the first game ever for the Danish national team). Anyway, a hearty 'well done' to the Danes today.
Denmark, a small Scandinavian country with only about 4,000 hockey players, is making its return to hockey's elite after a 54-year absence.
In the 1949 tournament in Stockholm, Denmark lost one game to Canada 47-0, still a record in championship history.
Ok, I remembered about the 47-0 thing - that featured prominently as a hockey trivia question in my youth. However, I did not realize that that was the last time the Danes had been to the championship (I also did not realize, until I did some poking around, that that loss to Canada was the first game ever for the Danish national team). Anyway, a hearty 'well done' to the Danes today.
TORONTO (CP) - A woman has launched a lawsuit against Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Kelvim Escobar, claiming she was drugged and then sexually assaulted by Escobar who videotaped the entire incident, the Toronto Star reported Saturday.
Lovely, just lovely. Now, as far as I'm concerned, the weirdest thing about this sordid yet depressingly familiar tale is the fact that the anonymous plaintiff is being represented by none other than Eddie Greenspan! Now what, exactly, is Canada's highest-profile criminal lawyer, who is generally to be found around cases that set vast legal precedents (Robert Latimer) or that have an impact on the highest echelons of Canadian politics (Karlheinz Schreiber) doing on a date-rape case involving a slightly above-average baseball player? I do not mean in any way to trivialize date-rape, the victims of which are more than deserving of the very best representation in court, but... Eddie Greenspan?!?!?!? There is more to this than meets the eye. That said, I woudn't read too much into the fact that the woman apparently waited 2 years before coming forward with her complaint. It can, and too often does, take at least that long for sexual assault victims to recover enough to simply be able to 'go public' with what happened to them, and that delay shouldn't have any bearing on the outcome of the case. And, on a less significant note, you've got to think that this is the beginning of the end for Escobar in Toronto. If he's guilty, he should be ridden out of town on a rail (if he doesn't actually end up facing criminal charges), and if the whole thing turns out to be a fairy tale I can't see him wanting to hang around.
Lovely, just lovely. Now, as far as I'm concerned, the weirdest thing about this sordid yet depressingly familiar tale is the fact that the anonymous plaintiff is being represented by none other than Eddie Greenspan! Now what, exactly, is Canada's highest-profile criminal lawyer, who is generally to be found around cases that set vast legal precedents (Robert Latimer) or that have an impact on the highest echelons of Canadian politics (Karlheinz Schreiber) doing on a date-rape case involving a slightly above-average baseball player? I do not mean in any way to trivialize date-rape, the victims of which are more than deserving of the very best representation in court, but... Eddie Greenspan?!?!?!? There is more to this than meets the eye. That said, I woudn't read too much into the fact that the woman apparently waited 2 years before coming forward with her complaint. It can, and too often does, take at least that long for sexual assault victims to recover enough to simply be able to 'go public' with what happened to them, and that delay shouldn't have any bearing on the outcome of the case. And, on a less significant note, you've got to think that this is the beginning of the end for Escobar in Toronto. If he's guilty, he should be ridden out of town on a rail (if he doesn't actually end up facing criminal charges), and if the whole thing turns out to be a fairy tale I can't see him wanting to hang around.
Well, it's Saturday morning, I'm at work, it's trying to snow, and Millwall drew at Forest today. Those last three have left me, respectively, annoyed, resigned (this is Edmonton in April, after all), and pleased. I'd be more pleased had the 'Wall actually won, but I'll take a point on the road against a promotion candidate any day.
About a year ago I picked up The Distillers' second album Sing Sing Death House, listened to it maybe twice, and set it aside with a feeling of vague disappointment. Well, I don't know, perhaps it did the fine-wine thing, because I brought the CD into work on a whim the other day, and was blown away. Pretty much from start to finish, the album is fast, snarly, and intense, and the title track is one of the best new punk songs I've heard in a long while. Other high points include The Young Crazed Peeling, a trippy little autobiographical number, and Bullet & the Bullseye, which is basically a 70-second scream of rage. However, the entire album is just plain strong, and has sent me back to my CD rack to see what else I haven't been listening to for the past few months.
About a year ago I picked up The Distillers' second album Sing Sing Death House, listened to it maybe twice, and set it aside with a feeling of vague disappointment. Well, I don't know, perhaps it did the fine-wine thing, because I brought the CD into work on a whim the other day, and was blown away. Pretty much from start to finish, the album is fast, snarly, and intense, and the title track is one of the best new punk songs I've heard in a long while. Other high points include The Young Crazed Peeling, a trippy little autobiographical number, and Bullet & the Bullseye, which is basically a 70-second scream of rage. However, the entire album is just plain strong, and has sent me back to my CD rack to see what else I haven't been listening to for the past few months.
Friday, April 25, 2003
There seems to be a new Raymond Feist book out. This is probably a good thing, although I'm still going to wait for the Mass Market paperback release.
Well, with that amusing little anecdote out of the way, we can get on with the serious stuff. I don't intend this to be an overt sports blog, or politics blog, or whatever. Basically, it's just going to be a spot for me to comment on whatever happens to be making my neurons fire at the time. In other words, this is going to be the blog equivalent of all those 10-year-old geocities websites with pictures of folks' now long-deceased cats. However, if, in the course of writing this thing I can enrage/titillate/amuse/frighten/puzzle/annoy/provoke some sort of minor reaction from any members of the web surfing public at large, then I will be able to sit back with the warm comforting feeling of a job well done (assuming they e-mail me about it of course - otherwise I'll have to toil on in blissful ignorance).
I may even throw in some interesting links. Here's one - Tilt Online
I may even throw in some interesting links. Here's one - Tilt Online
So I'm at an Edmonton Trappers doubleheader a couple of weeks ago with a friend. It's sort of an unexpected doubleheader, so the stadium is fairly empty. We're sitting there, enjoying the game, when a couple of guys sitting two rows behind us suddenly spot a friend they haven't seen for years. Said friend (whom I shall name 'Buddy') wanders over, and they all start comparing notes about what they've been up to for the last while.
"So what are you up to these days?" someone asks Buddy.
"I'm working in the aerospace industry," says Buddy in a tone that suggests that he is the head of NASA and has personally been to the moon several times.
"Oh yeah, what do you do in the aerospace industry," asks someone sort of dubiously.
And Buddy responds, proudly "I'm a manual fusion technician!"
The obvious question is posed by one of Buddy's friends: "What's that?"
Now, at this point, my friend (who's very smart) leans over to me and says sotto voce "He's a welder." She does this approximately 1 nanosecond before Buddy says "Well, I weld stuff together..." and is much mocked. Anyway, I guess the moral is: Don't go around calling yourself a manual fusion technician when you are actually a welder, or you will be much mocked. Yup, words to live by. For the record, the Trappers split the doubleheader.
"So what are you up to these days?" someone asks Buddy.
"I'm working in the aerospace industry," says Buddy in a tone that suggests that he is the head of NASA and has personally been to the moon several times.
"Oh yeah, what do you do in the aerospace industry," asks someone sort of dubiously.
And Buddy responds, proudly "I'm a manual fusion technician!"
The obvious question is posed by one of Buddy's friends: "What's that?"
Now, at this point, my friend (who's very smart) leans over to me and says sotto voce "He's a welder." She does this approximately 1 nanosecond before Buddy says "Well, I weld stuff together..." and is much mocked. Anyway, I guess the moral is: Don't go around calling yourself a manual fusion technician when you are actually a welder, or you will be much mocked. Yup, words to live by. For the record, the Trappers split the doubleheader.
[Taps mike] Is this thing on?
Right then. This is my blog. It's called The View From Over Here, mostly because I named it on my lunch-break on a Friday, when my cerebral cortex had completely fused. Also because it is, indeed, the view from over here. In this case, that means from in front of an IBM Personal Computer 300PL workstation thing which will hopefully soon by leaving my life forever and on which I am, at this moment, typing this blog. Mmmm... comma madness. Anyhoo, more later (well duh - 'More Later' is the entire point of having a blog, isn't it?).
Right then. This is my blog. It's called The View From Over Here, mostly because I named it on my lunch-break on a Friday, when my cerebral cortex had completely fused. Also because it is, indeed, the view from over here. In this case, that means from in front of an IBM Personal Computer 300PL workstation thing which will hopefully soon by leaving my life forever and on which I am, at this moment, typing this blog. Mmmm... comma madness. Anyhoo, more later (well duh - 'More Later' is the entire point of having a blog, isn't it?).
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