Disqus - Latest Comments for Dave's Football Blog

Re: Straight Cash Homey Dot Net

Dave's Football Blog — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:18:32 -0000

He got real fat on burgers and fries.
Now he sits on the bench and cries.
He's BAKER. VIN BAKER.

Re: Reading’s 3-0 Loss to Newcastle Exposes Weaknesses

Dave's Football Blog — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:26:32 -0000

Maybe they can pull Jimmy Bullard out of Fulham this summer? He's not quite Sidwell, but he would give them the attacking midfielder they need.

Re: Should the Premiership Have Playoffs?

Dave's Football Blog — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:17:34 -0000

As a lifelong fan of American sports, I have to say that I actually like the fact that the Premier League doesn't have end-of-season playoffs to determine the champion. Yes, it results in a lot of meaningless games at the end of the season, but guess what? There are plenty of meaningless games at the end of the NFL regular season, too. Creating playoffs won't necessarily change that.

However, I would propose my own playoff idea here: Put the 4th-place through 7th-place teams into a playoff to determine the who gets the final Champions League spot.

As of next season, the top three PL clubs go directly to the group stage, while the 4th-place club enters the qualifying rounds. I would suggest 4th-place isn't good enough to get an automatic bid, even to the qualifying rounds. Make that club earn the prize. This would be similar to the promotion playoffs in the lower leagues, and I think fans could accept this more readily than an American-style playoff system.

I suggest this because it's plainly obvious that the FA will never give a Champions League bid to the FA Cup winner, even if it would help that tournament seem much more important than it is now.

Re: Should the Premiership Have Playoffs?

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:03:49 -0000

Re: Comment 43 -- UEFA Cup qualifiers change more often than Champions League qualifiers. Yes, Everton and Tottenham get there often, but Bolton, Middlesbrough and Newcastle have been there recently as well. So I don't really buy the argument that you need more than 4 teams competing for the final Champions League spot. You want to reward success, not mediocrity.

Plus, you want to create something that both fans and clubs can accept. A 4-thru-7 playoff is much easier to swallow than a full-on playoff, because there are promotion playoffs just like that all throughout the lower English leagues. However, these playoffs don't decide the league champion, only the final promotion spot. Likewise, a 4-thru-7 playoff for the final Champions League spot wouldn't discredit regular-season success. The league champ is still the champ, and the top three still go directly to the CL group stage.

There's also the fact that an MLS Cup-style playoffs in the Premier League would add a month to an already long schedule. Maybe you could get away with that if you pulled the Premier League out of the Football League Cup and just let the fizzy drink divisions play for that, but it's still too big a jump for most fans to swallow.

Re: Tottenham’s rebuild to be without Berbatov?

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:34:45 -0000

Tottenham’s rebuild to be heavily financed by the sale of Berbatov?

Fixed.

Re: Max Bretos is my hero …

Dave's Football Blog — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:20:11 -0000

Ummmmm... you mean Steven Cohen, right? Or is that a joke I'm not getting?

Re: Everton Launches New Everton Away Shirt For 2008/2009 Season

Dave's Football Blog — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:09:01 -0000

I'm not sure I like the big green advertisement. That color makes this feel too much like a "Seattle Toffees" kit.

Other than that, though, it's not bad.

Re: Fox Soccer Channel Selling Its Soul For Advertising Dollars

Dave's Football Blog — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:04:17 -0000

If it means seeing less of those horrifically annoying new ads for O2 Maximum Performance -- "Wow! I feel a burst of energy!" -- then I'm all for it. Those commercials are bad for your brain.

Re: Soccer Fans: Boycott Sony Bravia HD TVs

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:40:30 -0000

That's not as bad as the FSC ad with the two dudes getting turned away from the frat party because they were wearing NFL jerseys instead of soccer jerseys. I like both. Am I suddenly not welcome to join the party?

Re: Closer Look At Arsenal’s Youngsters That Thrashed Sheff Utd

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:49:42 -0000

How many of those kids will actually end up playing for Arsenal in the long term? Most of them will probably be sold at top dollar over the next 2-4 years so that the club can finish paying off its Emirates Stadium financing.

Re: Football Clubs Must Be Laughing All The Way To The Bank

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:19:15 -0000

Las Vegas has the same appreciation for most of its best customers.

Re: Tottenham Coming To USA For Future Preseason Tour

Dave's Football Blog — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:50:39 -0000

Dude, America has leagues full of clubs with no strikers. Why would we need to see Spurs over here, too?

Re: What Is The Premier League Cup?

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:51:51 -0000

Y'know, if the Premier League pulled its teams out of the Carling Cup and the FA killed the League Trophy, this might actually be a compelling way to start the season.

Re: Soccer Surgeon To The Stars Suffers Injury Setback

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:29:02 -0000

Is James Andrews available?

Re: Vinnie Jones Interview: Questions Please

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:08:19 -0000

What was your reaction to Wimbledon moving to Milton Keynes, and do you follow AFC Wimbledon at all now?

Re: In This Year’s Relegation Battle, No One Is Safe

Dave's Football Blog — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:36:01 -0000

Whoops! Sorry about that. It's fixed now. Not sure how I missed that, considering I actually watched that game...

Re: IU hoops schedule released!

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:45:50 -0000

What Big A said. UK, GT and SIU are going to be bigger games than they may realize right now. If IU wins two of those three, though, that may be enough.

Re: Film Session: Defending the back door cut

Dave's Football Blog — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:00:14 -0000

Ummmmm... because it's an IU basketball blog and not an IU football blog?

Re: Is Tony Bennett a viable candidate for IU?

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:07:10 -0000

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times -- BRAD BROWNELL.

He turned two minnows -- UNC-Wilmington and Wright State -- into upset specials in the NCAA Tournament. Plus, he's an Indiana native who has plenty of respect for Bob Knight's legacy at IU. People were telling me two years ago that it was too soon for Brownell, but that's no longer the case. This guy is ready for a big program. Give him the keys and let him drive.

Re: Coldplay + ESPN + Soccer = GLOBAL DOMINATION

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:52:02 -0000

Of course, this deal would never, ever spark a wave of "You know how I know soccer's gay?" jokes.

Re: Human Existence Will Soon Cease: What Does This Mean for Sports?

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:21:33 -0000

According to English astrophysicist Martin Rees -- who, by the way, wrote a book called "Our Final Century: Will the Human Race Survive the Twenty-first Century?" -- the odds on this Large Hadron Collider creating a black hole that swallows the earth are about 50 million to one.

I would lay a fiver on that bet, but I'm not sure how much time I'd have to celebrate it if I won...

Re: Soccer News That May Or May Not Be Relevant To Your Life

Dave's Football Blog — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:43:43 -0000

US Soccer should bring back those kits. The current home kit looks like something any Georgetown douchebag would wear on a Saturday night bar crawl.

Re: People Are Stupid, Part 645: Cubs Fans Suing Each Other Over Playoff Tickets

Dave's Football Blog — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:03:47 -0000

We're only up to Part 645 of "People Are Stupid?" Seems we should be well past that by now.

Re: Oh Come On, Like You Haven’t Been There

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:46:25 -0000

You think that's bad? Try going all-in, getting called, figuring out you're an 80% favorite to win the hand... and losing on the river. Twice in a row. Both times getting knocked out of a tournament.

And I haven't stabbed one single person today. These kids have no self-control...

Re: MLS Expansion Cities: Who Ya Got?

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:57:35 -0000

If the Gateway Arch were a goal, Scotland's Chris Iwelumo might manage to hit the post.

Didn't Portland submit a bid? Or have they resigned themselves to stealing Chivas USA from Los Angeles, Clay Bennett-style?

Re: Kyle Orton Nees to Get Paid, Son

Dave's Football Blog — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:21:50 -0000

Meanwhile, the Sex Cannon(tm) is wrestling with 13 ballerinas in a vat of vanilla pudding.

Re: Athletics Owner Has Horrible Idea

Dave's Football Blog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:38:05 -0000

Wait, I get it! It only works if you blow on it! Ha ha! You should make a harmonica that looks like my ex-girlfriend!

Re: Harassing Shaquille O’Neal On Twitter Could Land You A Phone Call From The Big Aristotle

Dave's Football Blog — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:02:21 -0000

It's true. I got a phone call from Fab 5 Freddy back in '95, when we were all still trying to figure this internet thing out.

I thought it was cool, anyway.

Re: Frank Deford Just Blew My Mind

Dave's Football Blog — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:24:54 -0000

We've already tried that model. The L.A. Galaxy have missed the playoffs the last two years with it. It doesn't work, Frank. Sorry. But hey, I liked your cameo in the movie version of "Everybody's All-American."