The U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team has broken its goalless streak by defeating Japan 1-0 in their opening game. The Houston Dynamo’s Stuart Holden latched onto a pass from Marvell Wynne (after being deflected by a Japanese defender), and sent a low shot that Japanese goalkeeper, Shusaku Nishikawa, couldn’t handle. The ever-experienced Brian McBride got the start, with wonder kid Jozy Altidore surprisingly relegated to the bench. McBride couldn’t produce a goal, but Altidore couldn’t have chosen a better mentor than McBride to learn from. The time for scoreless games is over. The US men’s team plays the heavily favored Dutch next, followed by Nigeria.
The Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution once again renewed their storied rivalry when they met in the SuperLiga Final in Foxboro, Mass. The Revolution exacted a little revenge on the Dynamo, winning 6-5 on penalty kicks after the score couldn’t be settled in regulation or overtime. As all MLS fans can remember, the Revolution lost the last two MLS Cup titles to the Dynamo. As heartbreaking as it was, their fans can now breathe a sigh of relief, as the team has finally overcome the inability to win silverware. With the Dynamo standing in second place in the Western Division and Revolution leading the Eastern Division, we could have a replay of the last two MLS Cup Finals on our hands.
HBO's Hard Knocks series did something last year that I thought would never happen, it made me interested in the Kansas City Chiefs. While that feeling didn't last long, this year's installment follows media darlings the Dallas Cowboys as they prepare for their 2008-09 campaign and should entertain their fans and detractors equally. The first episode aired Wednesday night at 9pm (its standard time slot) and is being rebroadcast during the week leading up to episode two. Hard Knocks lives up to the high standard viewers expect from HBO and should be added to any NFL fan's TV schedule posthaste.
Encore, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Accept Brett Favre Is a Jet
I got back from the Hold Steady concert at the Parish on Sixth with my ears ringing and my back aching in pain. I’m not young anymore. I was confident I could make it through the band's regular set, show some whippersnappers how we used to dance back in the day, and probably pop out early for a slice of pizza. But I pushed myself through two encores, jumping to the riff-heavy classic rock, and killing my lower back. I should have left after encore No. 1.
When I got home from the show at exactly 1:31am, I flopped on the living room rug, and attempted some yoga to save my body. On the ground I asked my fiancée to hit the web and check Brett Favre’s status. “Jet Setter” is the headline. "He’s going to New York [our old home], isn’t that Eli’s team?” she said. I couldn’t believe it. Hours before the show a Favre trade to Tampa Bay was all but a done deal. Now, Brett Favre will do his encore as a New York Jet.
In a season of ups and downs, the Austin Wranglers entertained the fans and gave the public something to cheer about during the down season for most other mainstream sports (certainly football). The Wranglers started the season with three straight losses, then went on an amazing run to reach first place in the division. Their season ended just how it began, with three losses in a row. The Wranglers lost their first-round af2 playoff game to Spokane Shock 42-14 last weekend.
There were several key players in the Wranglers run to first. Leading receiver John Roberson had a memorable season, scoring 35 touchdowns along the way. Roberson torched defensive backs all season, garnering extra attention wherever he went.
Quarterback Andy Hall was a revelation for Austin, coming in during game four and never relinquishing the starting role. Hall threw for 68 touchdowns despite not playing in the first three games of the season.
Running back Kamau Jackson had a wonderful season as well. Jackson singlehandedly won a game earlier in the year, and contributed more than was expected from him. I am sure he’ll have a great year next year.
So, as the season ends, so does our coverage. It’s been a pleasure and a fun ride. Before the season, I didn’t know much about Arena Football, but now I can safely say I’m a fan through and through. Let’s hope for an even more successful campaign in '09.
Maybe it was our new at-bat theme songs. Maybe it was my new red cleats. Maybe it was our new teammate, Simon. Or maybe the Tofte clan cheering section (ma and pa, that is) served as a good-luck charm. Whatever it was, it was the best the Chronicle has played all season. The result: a second league victory for the (2-3) Chronicle team.
On Tuesday, July 29, we played our second league game vs. Emo's. The Chronicle was pumped, bringing four players home in the top of the first – Shannon, Shawn, Mike B., and Travis – to Emo's zero. However, the Emo’s offense brought it back during the second and third innings, scoring a total of seven runs with the Chronicle failing to respond. There was some great lefty-on-lefty action in the third – Bobby on the pitcher’s mound for the Chron and Brian from Emo's at bat. Brian appeared to not have a problem with match-up, sending the ball flying, picking up two RBIs with this home run.
Olympic Soccer Starts, Laredo Plays for PDL Championship, and More
The Olympics opened Wednesday morning (well, Wednesday night in Beijing), with the U.S. women giving up two goals in the first four minutes to lose their first game of the year, 2-0 to Norway. The men open up Thursday against Japan; all games, women and men, will be live online (3am & 5:45am), at www.nbcolympics.com.
The Laredo Heat, who knocked the Austin Aztex out of the Premier Development League playoffs, have advanced to a record third straight PDL national title game. They host the Thunder Bay Chill this Saturday, Aug. 9, 7:45pm, live on Fox Soccer Channel.
Stoke City's top U18 Academy team is in Austin starting this week, as part of the team's affiliation with the Aztex. They'll play three exhibition games at the Town & Country Sports Complex (9100 Meadowheath Dr., near Research and 620): Thursday, Aug. 14, 6:30pm vs Lonestars 91 Red; Saturday, Aug. 16 vs Rayados of Monterey, Mexico; and Sunday, Aug. 17 vs Lonestars 92 Red. See www.austinaztex.com for details.
Jamie Watson, the Aztex' top scorer this season, was signed last week by FC Dallas.
The New England Revolution beat the Houston Dynamo in the SuperLiga final Tuesday night, 6-5 on PKs, following a 2-2 draw through regulation and overtime. The two MLS teams had bounced Mexican heavyweights Atlante and Pachuca in the semifinals last week.
The UT women's soccer team' season opener is just around the corner: on the road in California, Aug. 16.
For four seasons, they stood by as another team lifted the Golden Rollerskate. For four seasons, the Hotrod Honeys had to make do with second place. But 2008 was their year, the year all the pieces fitted together and they finally became the Texas Rollergirls League Champions at Playland Skate Center last night.
Going in, last year's champs the Hell Marys must have known the smart money was on the Honeys. A straight 3-0 season; three of the best jammers in the league in Lucille Brawl, Vicious Van GoGo and Rice Rocket; and a season-opening win over the Marys gave them a paper head start. But the Marys haven't exactly been slouches this season, and when they pushed the first jam to a pointless draw with no lead jammer, it looked like their powerful pack might make for a substantial challenge.
… the Hotrod Honeys. Yes, after four years of silver, the ladies in pink and black scored a massive and resounding 79-23 victory over last year's title holders the Hell Marys. Check back later in the day for a full report of this bout and the hard-fought struggle for third place between the Hustlers and the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers, including photos. In the mean time, here's some post-bout victory footage.
What goes around, comes around. The Texas Rollergirls opened their 2008 season with the Hotrod Honeys taking on last season's champs the Hell Marys, and the Hustlers facing off against the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers. Tonight's championship bout at Playland Skate Center (doors 6.30pm, bout starts at 7pm sharp, tickets still available) has the same matches, but with more on the line: The Honeys and the Marys battle for the title, while the Hustlers and the Heartbreakers duke it out for third place.
The Honeys are looking to top off a perfect season with the one accolade that has eluded them: The championship. For the last four seasons, they've made it to the main event, but never sealed the deal (losing last year by nine points to over-all victors the Marys, and by a gut-wrenching two points to the Heartbreakers in 2005 and three points in 2006.) When the two teams faced off in March, they squeaked a two-point win over the reigning champs, but can they repeat that beating?
In the night's other bout, the Hustlers will be desperate to break 2008's 0-3 losing streak by proving they've come a long way since their 32-100 season-opening destruction at the hands of the Heartbreakers.
I enjoy tennis. I enjoy playing tennis. I enjoy watching tennis on TV. I even enjoy play tennis video games (VituaTennis anyone?). That said, 2K Sports' TopSpin 3 is a whole 'nother story.
With a ridiculous learning curve and unexceptional graphics and presentation, it was impossible to stay interested in this game long enough to actually get good at/master it. I did manage to get the knack of it (I could at least win a couple of points versus the computer) after a day or so of playing but this game lacks the addictive pull I feel with my favorite sports video games (MLB The Show, Madden). Those games are borderline relationship-killers with the amount of time that I spend playing them but I could hardly motivate myself to play this game at all with all of the entertainment options that I have at my fingertips.
Considering the number of stellar titles available for video-game lovers, I can see no reason to recommend this game which features clunky/awkward gameplay, graphics that are neither that great nor incredibly awful, and a learning curve so steep that even tennis nuts will get frustrated and bored and revert back to mastering the vocal nuances of the Police's "Roxanne" on video-game sensation Rock Band.
The Wranglers face the Spokane Shock in the first round of the AF2 playoffs this Saturday, 9pm, in Spokane
Austin Wranglers fans, you can let out a big sigh of relief because your team is playoff bound!
It’s only the second time in team history, but they didn’t do it the easy way. Two weeks ago, the Wranglers were 8-6, and had a clear view of first place. After playing their worst game of the season, losing to the Rio Grande Valley Dorados, Austin needed the win this weekend against the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings to be sure of a playoff birth.
So what happened? Well, they fell flat on their face in the first half and found themselves down by three touchdowns in the second quarter. After such a miraculous turnaround this season, it was disappointing to see players dropping passes and missing tackles, reverting back to their sloppy early season form. Coach Ben Bennett knows things need to be turned around and quickly. After talking with him a month ago, and seeing that “proud papa” look on his face when his team finally had a record over .500, he has to be feeling disappointed in the lackluster finish.
And so we bid farewell to the inaugural edition of the U-23 Austin Aztex – done in, in the Premier Development League Southern Conference final, by the defending national champion Laredo Heat, and more specifically by a couple of untimely ejections. The Aztex beat the Bradenton Academics, 2-1, in Friday night's semifinal in Orlando, Fla., but two yellow cards to key central defender Beto Papandrea had them finishing the game with 10 men, and ruled him out of the next night's conference final. They could surely have used him against Laredo, because by halftime, the Aztex were up 1-0, due to a Jamie Watson penalty kick, but were again down a man, due to A.J. Godbolt's two yellow cards in a five-minute span of a very rough, ill-tempered game. The Heat got two goals in the first six minutes after halftime, and an insurance marker in the 68th, and that was pretty much it: 3-1. Disappointing, but still a great first season, both on and off the field. When next we see them, the Aztex will be fielding a full professional team in the 2009 United Soccer Leagues First Division, in addition to the U-23 squad in the PDL: 23 home games in all, compared to this season's eight. I can hardly wait.
The idea is very simple: On September 7, the Texecutioners will be playing host to the Detroit Derby Girls. This means that the rest of the Texas Rollergirls will watch from the sidelines. So instead of just joining the cheering section, they're all available to be drafted for a special 30-minute exhibition match. For a $5 fee, fans can suggest team lineups, team themes, team names, team colors, and make their case for being made, for one night only, team captain. Download the form here but hurry, since the competition closes at midnight Thursday. Also, you have to be at Sunday's championship bout between the Hell Marys and the Hotrod Honeys to hear if you've won.
Mixed news for the Texas Rollergirls: In the latest Women’s Flat Track Derby Association rankings, released on July 21, travel team the Texecutioners dropped from No. 4 to No. 5. It's not that surprising after their 125-65 blowout at the hands of New York's Gotham Girls Rollerderby on June 21 during the East Coast Extravaganza. Neither a 135-48 victory the next day over the Cincinnati All Stars or a 165-30 evisceration of No. 24 Houston HaRD Knocks on July 13 could take the edge off, and so Gotham flies from No. 5 up into the No. 2 slot.
But before there's too much doom and gloom at the rink that built flat track, some good news. On July 19 (probably a little too late to have any real effect on the rankings), Texas traveled to Kansas City to push No. 1 ranked national champions the KC Roller Warriors to a narrow 101-102 win for the home team. While it's still a defeat, taking Kansas to the mat in their own house has got to be a warning to every other team that no one should count the Texecutioners out before the Western Regionals in October.
Actually, it was A.J. Godbolt with the first score, Carlos Vicens with the second. And then Bradenton grabbed one back, plus a man advantage on Beto Papandrea's second yellow card of the game …
And that's how it ends: 2-1 Aztex, followed a little later by a 2-1 Laredo win over the Central Florida Kraze – setting up an Aztex-Heat final, tomorrow, 6pm Austin time.
Lively crowd down at Mother Egan's tonight, I hear (couldn't make it myself), and they vow to be there again tomorrow.
