by J Hutcherson | May 10th, 2006
When your club isn’t going to come back from three goals down to make the promotion final, you really want the second leg to include a fight. Even better when the slightly confused Radio Five announcers try the horrified route only to switch to ‘hey look, was that actual punches thrown… not bad.’
Then Palace manager Iain Dowie had to go and ruin it with this:
It was handbags really. A little melee but nothing malicious.
Yet another note to our dear friends in England. The “handbags” analogy makes you seem silly. Sort of like this:
No, that’s not what happened yesterday. Thanks for a fabulous season Palace. See you in Annapolis in a few weeks. Come on Leeds.
What I’m Watching
That would be the UEFA Cup final live on Fox Soccer Channel and Espanol at 2:30pm. Middlesbourgh - Sevilla and you know how much I like my relatively anonymous Spanish clubs, much less those from Ingerlund. Middlesbrough has had the better run, but that usually requires a massive second-leg fight back. The final is a one-off. Sevilla it is.
Mexican League semifinal time, with Toluca vs. San Luis live on Galavision at 4pm. The day is never complete without more Libertadores, and that’s precisely what’s in store courtesy of Fox Sports en Espanol: LDU de Quito - Internacional-RS live at 6:30pm and Estudiantes de La Plata - Sao Paulo live at 8:30pm. All Times Eastern
Quote Of The Day
“UEFA issued a directive that had to be implemented by 2003, whereby all domestic Associations had to have their senior league’s Coaches/Managers brought up to UEFA Pro Licence standard, or they could not manage in that senior league. All Premiership clubs signed up to this agreement, a very clear rule, easily understood and supported by the (League Managers Association).” from an official statement.
The Wonderful World of Soccer Media: Europe
Tottenham fight for the right to replay — from The Telegraph’s David Bond. Registration Required
Italian football under the microscope: Last days for Italy’s Godfather of football — from The Independent’s Frank Dunne.
Davids quits Spurs — from The Mirror’s Darren Lewis.
The Wonderful World of Soccer Media: USA
Team USA is a cohesive bunch — from USA Today’s Andy Gardiner.
Games must go on for MLS — from The Salt Lake Tribune’s Michael C. Lewis.
Crew rookie keeps cool when things get hot — from The Columbus Dispatch’s Rob Oller.
Big Picture
Owner can see Bonds leaving — from The San Jose Mercury News’ Ann Killion. Registration Required
Griffey wants to be ‘comfortable’ — from The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kevin Kelly.
Schilling praises, rips NY fans — from The Boston Herald’s Steve Buckley.
The Big Empty — from The New York Post’s Joel Sherman.
Shinn backtracks on N.O. comments — from The New Orleans Times-Picayune’s John Reid.
NHL success follows GMs who changed with times — from The Toronto Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek.
The cold truth: Most don’t care about hockey — from The Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi.
Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves. Please, tell me all about it.