Sep07

Belgium Triumphantly Kick off 2014 World Cup Qualifying Campaign

by The Spiller on September 7th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Posted In: Soccer

With two goals off of set pieces, Belgium defeated Wales 2-0 to earn a quick three points at the start of 2014 World Cup qualification.  This is a great beginning for the young, talented side and sees them on top of Group A for the meantime.  Belgium has tended to kick off recent qualification campaigns in less than impressive fashion, with their most recent EURO 2012 qualifiers kicking off with a 1-0 loss to Germany.  Although beating Wales doesn’t carry the same weight as someone like the Germans, this group is full of marginal teams and earning victories will be key to topping the group and winning a trip to Brazil.

The one thing I hadn’t noticed about this Belgian team was how good they are at set pieces.  The commentators brought up the suggestion mentioning Marouane Fallaini and Thomas Vermaelen as good headers of the ball, and then Vincent Kompany scored a headed goal off of a corner at the end of the first half.  So by my count, Belgium has three elite corner kick threats in the air.  Such an abundance of talent will provide the greatest frustrations for opponents defending corner kicks, especially those with smaller teams like Spain and Argentina. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

 Comment 
Sep03

2012 NFL Season Preview: The Year of the Rookie

by The Spiller on September 3rd, 2012 at 8:43 am
Posted In: Green Bay Packers Blog

Praise the Lord; the NFL is back!  As the preseason dwindles to an uninspiring close, and countless players nobody’s heard of are cut from final rosters, the real games are finally on their way.  2012 should be an interesting year, as five rookie quarterbacks will be starting from day one, a rare occurrence.  Every team has a fair chance of rising to the top and winning a Super Bowl, and as such, every NFL fan should be equally excited for this moment before their team comes crashing back to Earth after several early season defeats.  So how will the season pan out?

AFC East – This is the Patriots’ division.  They were in the Super Bowl last year, and are a good bet to win every season as long as Tom Brady remains the quarterback and Bill Belichick is still the head coach.  I predict a strong 12-4 season for them. Elsewhere the Miami Dolphins will be wretched, the Buffalo Bills will be pretty poor, and the New York Jets will earn a wildcard berth as I expect Tim Tebow to take over the QB duties halfway through the season and lead a few inspiring comebacks with a solid defense, eerily similar to the events that transpired in Denver last year.  Speaking of Denver, ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

 Comment 
Sep01

Tim Tebow Will Return Home to Play Jacksonville Jaguars

by The Spiller on September 1st, 2012 at 8:18 am
Posted In: Uncategorized

Tim Tebow has become one of the most interesting players of recent times in the NFL.  After setting college football alight with two National Championships at Florida and a spectacular devotion to Christ, Tebow took his exploits to the Denver Broncos and earned a series of miraculous comeback victories to lead the Broncos to a playoff berth.  Now Tim Tebow is a backup for the New York Jets, but how long will they be able to keep the sensational winner on the sideline?

By December 9th, I have a full belief that Tim Tebow will be the Jets starting quarterback.  Why at this date?  Well, this is the day that the Jets will be playing in Tebow’s home state of Florida against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  His homecoming will be an uproarious occasion and will surely be a wonderful match to watch.  There will likely be more Tebow fans than Jaguar fans in the stadium for this game. For anyone looking to catch a glimpse of such an impressive player, this key match should be a fantastic experience and is sure to have serious playoff implications so late in the season. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

 Comment 
Aug28

Real Madrid Struggles Continue

by The Spiller on August 28th, 2012 at 7:21 am
Posted In: Soccer

For the team that finally reconquered the Spanish La Liga from Barcelona last season, you would think that Real Madrid would kick the new year off with some zest, but Jose Mourinho’s superstar team has stumbled to a miserable start, drawing their first match and losing their second.  This, combined with the first leg loss in the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona 3-2, means that Real Madrid is flirting with an ultimate disaster.

Because Barcelona and Real Madrid are typically so dominant in the league, any slip-up is catastrophic as they both aim for perfection.  Over the 76 matches played by both teams last season, they shared only 5 total losses.  Two of those defeats were inflicted by each other, as Barcelona defeated Madrid 3-1 in December, before Los Blancos got revenge in April 2-1.  So counting these games out, the two teams only experienced three total losses on the season to other teams in La Liga. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

 Comment 
Aug12

Arsenal Season Preview: They Will Win a Trophy

by The Spiller on August 12th, 2012 at 10:18 am
Posted In: Soccer

The EPL season is about to get underway, and Arsenal will once again begin their quest for Premier League glory.  Although much of the summer has been focused on how they will compete if they have to sell Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, and maybe even Alex Song, these players are currently still with the club, and there is much to be excited about for this season.

Manager Arsene Wenger has shrewdly brought three new faces to the team in Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud, and Santi Cazorla.  These are all offensive players and will help ease the blow if any of those mentioned earlier do decide to depart.  Podolski proved his worth in the final preseason game as he blasted away penalty and a thunderous strike to earn two goals in the 4-0 victory against his former club. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

 Comment