The Day After Christmas rant

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas – if you’re like me, it was filled with good times with friends, family, and Cristiano Ronaldo jerseys under the tree.

*Speaking of Ronaldo, I received an extra present in the form of Comcast SportsNet broadcasting the December 23rd Manchester United-Everton match. Let me assure you that the stupid smile on face remained plastered to my face from 1:30-2:00pm as caught the final 20 or so minutes of the match. Much to my delight, it was Ronaldo himself that scored both ManU goals (one from the run of play, the other a penalty), which afforded me even greater Christmas joy.

*I feel like I should preface every sorry story of how I miss my football with “by the way, I don’t have digital cable, and thus, I must brave the winter without regular EPL, La Liga, and Bundesliga matches on Fox Soccer and GolTV.” But adding to the offseason blues is the fact that Cox Communications no longer broadcasts “The World Game” on channel 3 on Friday nights. Sure, the content was dated by three weeks, but the hour-long program allowed me to take a giant slurp of the global landscape, including lesser known Asian, African and Australian leagues. My Friday nights this winter are definitely duller without my weekly world football fix.

*I would have loved to have caught El Super Clasico on Sunday afternoon, but without GolTV, I consider myself lucky to have caught some highlights on ESPN while I jogged away on the treadmill at the gym. How about that goal-scoring sequence involving Ruud van Nistelrooy and Julio Baptista? The duo played the give-and-go, as Baptista fed it forward to van Nistelrooy, who played it right back to a gatecrashing Baptista inside the box, and volleyed the bouncing ball right into the back of the net. Sheer brilliance.

*Also wanted to give kudos to the guys at BlueBloodedJourno.com, a fantastic Revolution-related blog that has wonderfully morphed into a nice little newsite. I’ve updated the URL on “My Links” tab, so by all means, feel free to check it out. Tell them the Sunday Morning Striker sent you!

It’s the busiest time of the year

Devoted readers,

I apologize for not staying current with this little blog o’ mine, but with numerous work-related deadlines, Christmas shopping, birthdays, and numerous holiday surveys to fill out in my spare time, I’ve found myself straying. So, for your pleasure, I promise this entry, along with at least one more before Christmas.

*The more I apprise myself of international football, the more I pair it with the holidays. Just this past week, I was reminded of the upcoming El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Sunday. Oh, Santa, how I wish you’d bring me a flat screen hi-def TV so that I could watch it in crisp, vibrant colors. But in the meantime, I’ll settle for any kind soul with GolTV to graciously welcome me into his/her home for the match.

*On the topic of classic football rivalries, I was reading up on the Boca Juniors and River Plate rivalry down in Argentinia and came to the realization that before my soul departs this earth, I must see it for myself in person. From every account I’ve read thus far, it is the most passionate of rivalries, and a sight to behold for any soccer fan on the planet. My only question: are Argentinean chicks as hot as Brazilian chicks? If so, my flight will definitely be booked within the hour.

*Lastly, I would just like to comment on one of my favorite football announcers, Tommy Smyth. In his assessment of Fabio Capello’s hiring by England, he passionately stated that Cappello “is probably the most STUFFING coach in the world. He STUFFS the game down. He doesn’t let the players play.” Oh ho ho ho (wipes the tear), that was classic. I love Tommy Smyth, and I love him even more for that hilarious criticism of Capello.