May20

Late Season Charge was Pleasant, but Arsenal Must Improve in Coming Transfer Window

by The Spiller on May 20th, 2013 at 11:12 am
Posted In: Soccer

Arsenal has again showed a fine bit of spirit and resolve in order to qualify for next season’s Champions League with a late season surge.  They have actually been the best team in England since the start of February, but any hopes for winning the English Premier League were dashed early in the season with two major transfer sales and a resulting poor start to the year that derailed such high hopes.

Such departures and a general hesitancy to make a big-name signing in the summer transfer window have left the Gunners in a constant struggle of mediocrity.  Just when fans begin to get excited about a strong finish and the prospects of next season, a top player decides to move on and the cycle repeats itself.  Will Arsene Wenger finally be able to buck the trend this season? ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

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Apr28

Packers Draft for Need, But Who is Complaining?

by The Spiller on April 28th, 2013 at 10:18 am
Posted In: Green Bay Packers Blog

In recent years, Ted Thompson has often been praised for ignoring the needs of the Green Bay Packers, instead opting to draft the best players available, regardless of their position.  This has led the team to an abundance of wide receiving options and cornerbacks but has also left the team short in running backs.  All that changed last year when the Packers selected a full host of defensive players to overcome our weak defense, and it continued this year as the team spent the majority of its draft picks on areas of team needs.

Personally, I’m not complaining.  The picks were justified in their value according to draft “experts”, and in the cases of running backs Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin, the Packers have been acclaimed for drafting them in positions far later than had been expected in the multitude of mock drafts floating around media sites in past weeks.  Thus, although the Packers clearly drafted for need, they did appear to take the best players that were available at the time. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

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Apr10

Messi is just too good

by The Spiller on April 10th, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Posted In: Soccer

What more can be said about Lionel Messi?  Currently embarking on an absolutely sensational year for Barcelona, Lionel Messi just showed the world why he is simply the best.  With his team struggling and behind against PSG (and nursing a sore hamstring nonethelesss!), Messi came on as a substitute and made the impact for his team to reach the Champions League semifinals.  It displayed why Messi is so important to Barcelona, and why Argentina should be favored in next year’s World Cup.

The Nou Camp fortress was sounding eerily bleak after fellow Argentinean Javier Pastore put the visitors in front in the 50th minute.  Completely out of rhythm, Barcelona was often losing the ball in the midfield (crazy, right!!?) and giving up chance after chance.  Ten minutes later Messi was on.  And ten minutes later Messi had helped score the equalizer that put Barcelona through on the away goals rule. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

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Mar15

Flacco Deal Resulting in Utter Dismantling of Baltimore Ravens

by The Spiller on March 15th, 2013 at 10:03 am
Posted In: Green Bay Packers Blog

I sure hope that Baltimore Ravens’ fans enjoyed their Super Bowl victory, because all the signs of early free agency point to this being a one-and-done type of situation.  Like after a stone is tossed into a flock of birds, the Ravens have flown out around the NFL, and following the efforts of their star quarterback, they have all sought out the highest paying contracts available to them.

We all know who priority #1 is for Flacco now!

I suppose none of this should really come as a surprise for the Ravens as quarterback Joe Flacco demanded to be the highest paid player in football with a 6 year, $120 million contract.  With teams always pushed to the brink of salary cap expenditures, such a contract could only result in the other players on the team having to seek out high paying contracts elsewhere.  And that is what has happened to the once Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

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Mar06

The Injustices!

by The Spiller on March 6th, 2013 at 11:14 pm
Posted In: Soccer

Anyone who witnessed the Manchester United – Real Madrid game will feel slightly dirty. A true spectacle of the game that was coined to “make the world stop to watch” ended in great controversy. With Manchester United cruising to a 2nd leg victory and the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals, Nani was sent off under quite dubious circumstances. Real Madrid was able to score 2 quick goals, take the game, and progress. Further adding to the agony of Manchester United fans was that the winning goal was scored by ex-player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was apparently too distraught to face the media, and made his deputy answer questions including as to where he was and how the team felt. Even Madrid manager Jose Mourinho stated that “the best team lost” in the game, refusing to answer questions regarding the Nani sending off. Here’s a video of Manchester United assistant Mike Phelan’s statement:

↓ Read the rest of this entry…

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