Premier League: PRE GAME: 5 vs. 1. blue vs. red. chelsea vs manchester

Okay EPL fans, I will tend to you too. 

So, Ashley Cole shot an intern and got away with it. Awesome. I guess thats what happens in the English Premier League. Cole has apologized to the student(Tom Cowan) he shot(who is not seriously injured), and will be fined by the club. I don't really think Cowan minds, think about it, he can go the rest of his life saying "Look at my battle wounds, Chelsea's Ashley Cole shot me... by accident." 

NO BIG DEAL, he will be still be playing in tomorrow's game against Manchester United. Word of advice? Man-u players should come to Stamford bridge wearing bullet proof vests. Just sayin'.

Just incase you didn't know, Chelsea is currently 5th in the standings as United is 1st.

Imagine you're here and you didn't know that.

Unfortunately for Manchester United, Ferdinand, Hargreaves, Valencia, Ji-sung Park, Anderson, and Evans are all injured. Will that give Chelsea an easier win and a potential rise to the top? I guess we will wait and see. Chelsea's new-comer Fernando Torres is yet to prove he has adjusted to his new team - maybe tomorrows match can be a start. Since Torres has arrived, coach Ancelotti has yet to find the right formation and direction for his team. I've noticed that he has used a 4-4-2 diamond with Drogba, Anleka, and Torres all in there, but I doubt he'll play this formation tomorrow with United(all about their wingers). Interestingly enough, the Red Devils haven't won at Stamford Bridge in 9 seasons, so Chelsea could have a huge advantage here. However, United has been consistently on top for awhile now with their super star strikers such as  Rooney and Berbatov and midfielder Nani. Knighted by the Queen, Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't see Chelsea as a potential threat at all - the only team he sees as a rival is Arsenal who is currently 4 points under United as second. Quoted, "I think either Arsenal or ourselves will win it." 


Interesting....


"I said some time ago, the team that is most consistent would win the league. That is why I stress that we have to keep our momentum going and get that consistency." - Fergie Ferg. 

More on Formation, game play, stats, and good stuff TOMORROW March 1st, after the game. 

Amen. 

Milanpoly monopoly Napoli

Milan Versus Napoli 


Milan lineup:
Abbiati
Nesta
Jankulovski SUBBED @ 72 Emanuelson
Silva
Van Bommel
Gattuso
Flamini
ABate  SUBBED @ 81 Oddo
Robinho SUBBED @ 63 Boateng 
Ibrahimovic
Pato 
Goal scorers: Ibrahimovic, Boateng, Pato 

Napoli lineup:

De Sanctis

Dossena

Aronica

P. Cannavaro 

Campagnaro

Pazienza

Maggio SUBBED @ 78 Sosa

Gargano SUBBED @ 84 Yebda

Hamsik

Mascara SUBBED @ 64 Zuniga

Cavani 

WOW. What a game. 


Lets start by saying Napoli didn't bring their A-game to this match; they brought a whole box of nerves though. It was obvious Napoli's players were shaking as they walked into the Meazza stadium - and it wasn't because it was cold! Napoli had been sitting comfortably at 2nd in the standings until Internazionale's win yesterday. Just one point under the Blue Devil's, Napoli was anticipating a win against AC Milan this morning to rise back up. "Napoli, looking nothing like the revelation side they have been so far this term"(footbal-italia.net) played nervously as Mascara felt the pressure of filling in for the suspended Ezequiel Lavezzi. Keepers, Abbiati and De Sanctis felt pretty rested after the first half as nothing exciting or notable took place. Second half rolled around and it was like watching a whole other futbol match! Napoli's defender Aronica was 'accused' with a 'handball' which gave Milan a penalty - Ibrahimovic knew this was his moment to shine as he easily kicked the ball to De Sanctis' right... and GOAL(49 minutes). 1-nil Milan. A short 6 minutes later Pato attempted a curler which was stopped by the great De Sanctis; Robinho made a final attempt to score before getting replaced by Kevin Prince Boateng but was quickly denied by none other than De Sanctis.  Boateng who just recovered a recent injury, scored for Milan once again at 77 minutes and celebrated his goal by taking his jersey off -  apparently it wasn't as cold as Napoli thought it was. Its as if 2-0 was not enough for Pato, who was a brilliant star in this match as 80 minutes came about and Pato shot over De Sanctis and into the net. 3-0 Milan. 


As the game came to an end commentators referred to Alexandre Pato as "the man," "the alpha male of Milan," and "Man of the match."


Napoli's defender Paulo Cannavaro, to me, made a conscious effort defending his home town. It was as if watching his older brother Fabio Cannavaro in his stardom days. 


Allegri on the penalty: “It looked like a penalty from the sidelines, but there are a few doubts when you see it on the replays,” he noted.


Other big news for Milan:
Allegri on rumours that KAKA could return to AC Milan in the summer: “The market is closed for now. We just have to concentrate on our objectives which are the League and the Champions League,” he responded. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MATCH, CLICK HERE

Seria A madness

Wowa cowa bunga ... did I just make that up? Nice. Spread it. 

Sampdoria versus Internazionale

Looks like Internazionale decided to rise up a little higher where the air is clearer. I think they were choking on their own dust - I blame Leonardo, but hey, thats just me. On Sunday Feb 27th, Internazionale had a chance to redeem themselves by playing Sampdoria(currently 14th in the standings). It could have been just like any other game for Inter's attacker Giamopaolo Pazzini but I'm sure this one touched base with home as he walked onto the field to play against his former team Sampdoria. Inter had not won an away game in their last couple...no scratch that, few... okay 4, games against Sampdoria - so it was not an expected win. Finally, after 73 minutes and 20 meters out Sneijder decided it would be a great time to score a free kick giving the blue devils one up on Samp-digity-dog(another clever one by me...or not). The clock hit 90 minutes and when most of us were prepared for the 1-nil score, Eto'o put his chest into it and scored a beautiful final goal. In terms of 'top 3' the standings now read:

1.Milan

2.Internazionale

3. Napoli

Until todays (February 28th) Milan - Napoli showdown. 
I'm sure Leonardo is shaking in his boots(assuming its snowing in Milan) for a tie but I guess we'll see what happens. And me saying "we'll see what happens" is huge considering I'm writing this while wearing a black and red jersey sitting on black and red sheets in a black and red room.. imagine? But hey, I'm trying not to be biased - you do the math. 

We'll discuss the highlights of this game after it happens! Good luck to both teams - GO MILAN. oops. 

Post game showdown

B'ruined everything... 


Walking into the Canucks game tonight I wasn't surprised seeing so many Boston Bruins fans strutting around Rogers Arena in their black and yellow jerseys(black&yellow, black&yellow) - only because LUCIC was printed on the back of all of them. Understandable. I mean, HE IS from Vancouver. Canucks fans stood up with an uproar of excitement as Manny Malhotra scored in the first period at 16:58. The excitement was half because Malhotra scored and half because it was the first time Vancouver has ever scored on Tim Thomas - the Bruins' superstar goalie. Canucks fans then had to draw the line and take the backseat as the Bruins came back with a vengeance, scoring 3 times(Horton(2nd), Lucic(3rd), Bergeron(3rd)) leaving the final score at 3-1 Boston. 


If thats not enough, I sat a few rows behind the Canucks bench and watched the players skate back disappointed after each goal - well that was heartbreaking. 

pre-game mambo. Canucks vs Bruins.

Bastan Bruins, get in da caaa.


TWO TOP TEAMS IN THE NHL - Head to Head. 

East vs West. 

Todays game should be interesting. Its the Bruins' first visit to Vancouver this year and their coming with Tim Thomas in net who has 27 wins - just under Roberto Luongos 28 wins. Speaking of Luey, hes back in net tonight. Canucks beat the Bruins 3-2 last season in a shoot out so lets see if we get another win tonight!

Interesting fact: On February 26 in 1971, the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins who scored 3 goals in an NHL record 20 seconds (canucks.nhl.com).