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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Guess we wont see the Packers in the Super Bowl. Both of last night’s matches were upsets, the away teams going through. The Bengals had good run defense against the Titans main threat running back Derrick Henry, and the 49ers got lucky with a blocked kick returned for a touchdown on special teams against the Packers.
@Jeroen said:
Guess we wont see the Packers in the Super Bowl. Both of last night’s matches were upsets, the away teams going through. The Bengals had good run defense against the Titans main threat running back Derrick Henry, and the 49ers got lucky with a blocked kick returned for a touchdown on special teams against the Packers.
Oh! That’s a surprise.
The Toon won their second game of the season yesterday. Much celebration on Tyneside
I don't usually watch NFL football, but the Rams quarterback, Stafford, is former player of my local team (Lions) and the Bucs quarterback, Brady, is former player at my favorite college team (Wolverines). Could be a fun way to spend the afternoon?
@Jeffrey said:
I don't usually watch NFL football, but the Rams quarterback, Stafford, is former player of my local team (Lions) and the Bucs quarterback, Brady, is former player at my favorite college team (Wolverines). Could be a fun way to spend the afternoon?
Enjoy! Always makes games more interesting when you have a local connection.
What sports do you usually follow Jeffrey?
Hi Bunks! I watch college level Egg Shaped Handball ("American Football"). I also watch NBA basketball and sometimes tennis and was a fan of Roger Federer most recently but also other players.
@Jeffrey said:
Hi Bunks! I watch college level Egg Shaped Handball ("American Football"). I also watch NBA basketball and sometimes tennis and was a fan of Roger Federer most recently but also other players.
Nice mate! Love that description of American football. I've seen some of those crowds at College football. They are nuts!
Remind me of Indian cricket crowds! In Australia we are quite conservative with cricket. Clap when someone does something good and maybe cheer on the odd occasion we hit a four or six or get a wicket. The Indian crowds scream the house down every time one of their players scratches his nose!
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Best part of American Football - Tailgate parties and beer.
Worst part of American Football - Tailgate parties and beer.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Jeffrey said:
The ending of the Bills and Chiefs was incredible.
Yeah i agree, i just saw the highlights. I thought the Bills had done enough to win the game with like 13 seconds on the clock…
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Jeroen said:
Sun 30/1: Bengals v Chiefs 27-24
Sun 30/1: 49ers v Rams 17-20
It has been a largely unpredictable play-offs, but a thoroughly enjoyable one. The favourites seem to be upset every single round. First it was the Buccaneers, then the Packers, then the Chiefs… now we are heading towards a Bengals v Rams super bowl. The safe bet would be for the Rams to win it, especially because the defensive line of the Rams is very strong, and the offensive line of the Bengals is somewhat weak… but the safe bet hasn’t done well this year.
@Jeroen said:
Sun 30/1: Bengals v Chiefs 27-24
Sun 30/1: 49ers v Rams 17-20
It has been a largely unpredictable play-offs, but a thoroughly enjoyable one. The favourites seem to be upset every single round. First it was the Buccaneers, then the Packers, then the Chiefs… now we are heading towards a Bengals v Rams super bowl. The safe bet would be for the Rams to win it, especially because the defensive line of the Rams is very strong, and the offensive line of the Bengals is somewhat weak… but the safe bet hasn’t done well this year.
Where is the Super Bowl being played this year? From memory they change venue each year right?
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Super Bowl 56 will take place on Sunday, February 13, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles – the home of the Chargers and Rams. So the Rams will be playing in their home stadium.
As soon as the F1 season starts...the atmosphere gets tense!
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited February 2022
The LA Rams won a closely contested super bowl. In the first half the offensive line of the Bengals held up ok, but in the second half they got pulverised, the Bengals QB Joe Burrow was sacked eight times. The Bengals failed to score in the fourth quarter and that was all the Rams needed.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Jeroen said:
Champions League round of 16 fixtures:
Paris v Real Madrid 1-0
Sporting CP v Man. City 0-5
Inter v Liverpool 0-2
Salzburg v Bayern 1-1 Villarreal v Juventus Chelsea v LOSC
Benfica v Ajax
Atlético v Man. United
The Champions League has started again after the winter break, some matches were played last week for which i have given the results above, and in bold the matches being played tonight. Ajax play tomorrow.
@Jeroen said:
Champions League round of 16 fixtures:
Paris v Real Madrid 1-0
Sporting CP v Man. City 0-5
Inter v Liverpool 0-2
Salzburg v Bayern 1-1 Villarreal v Juventus Chelsea v LOSC
Benfica v Ajax
Atlético v Man. United
The Champions League has started again after the winter break, some matches were played last week for which i have given the results above, and in bold the matches being played tonight. Ajax play tomorrow.
They are all home and away game sets.
Who do you think wins it @Jeroen? The English pundits proclaim the Premier League as the best in Europe at the moment. I think Man City will be hard to beat although Spurs got 3 goals past them on the weekend.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Bunks said:
Who do you think wins it @Jeroen? The English pundits proclaim the Premier League as the best in Europe at the moment. I think Man City will be hard to beat although Spurs got 3 goals past them on the weekend.
It’s really hard to tell, the Champions League has such a high standard that all the remaining teams are good. I think PSG, Manchester City, and Liverpool are the favourites right now, with Chelsea, Ajax, Real Madrid and Bayern as having an outside chance.
The Premier League is really good, the top Spanish teams have become less the last few seasons even if the players still have better technique. But I think the English teams are physically a bit stronger.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited February 2022
@Jeroen said:
Champions League round of 16 fixtures:
Paris v Real Madrid 1-0
Sporting CP v Man. City 0-5
Inter v Liverpool 0-2
Salzburg v Bayern 1-1
Villarreal v Juventus 1-1
Chelsea v LOSC 2-0
Benfica v Ajax 2-2
Atlético v Man. United 1-1
Thats the complete series from yesterday. At home teams like Villareal and Benfica hold up quite well, but we will have to see how they do away from home.
He didn’t exactly become old, did he. But I remember him well from various Ashes tours, at one time he was the finest spin bowler in the world.
He’s the greatest player I have ever seen.
I am a cricket tragic.
Today is a sad day
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited March 2022
I saw a lovely short eulogy by Stephen Fry for him on Twitter…
“Heartbroken to wake to news of the death of @ShaneWarne - heart was what he was all about; a huge heart and, of course, matchlessly dazzling skill with a cricket ball. He single-handedly (wristedly) put the art of spin back where it belonged - at the top of cricket. A true great”
— Stephen Fry
2
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Jeroen said:
Champions League round of 16 fixtures:
Real Madrid v Paris 3-1 (3-2 agg)
Man City v Sporting CP 0-0 (5-0 agg)
Liverpool v Inter 0-1 (2-1 agg)
Bayern v Salzburg 7-1(8-2 agg)
These were played this week. Real Madrid were the surprise, overturning a 1-0 deficit to win at home thanks to a Karim Benzema hattrick where PSG had appeared the stronger side. Liverpool lost at home but still went through. Bayern absolutely squashed Salzburg with three goals from Lewandowski and two from Muller.
Juventus v Villarreal (1-1)
LOSC v Chelsea (0-2)
Ajax v Benfica (2-2)
Man United v Atlético (1-1)
The return legs of these ties are played next week.
@Jeroen said:
Champions League round of 16 fixtures:
Real Madrid v Paris 3-1 (3-2 agg)
Man City v Sporting CP 0-0 (5-0 agg)
Liverpool v Inter 0-1 (2-1 agg)
Bayern v Salzburg 7-1(8-2 agg)
These were played this week. Real Madrid were the surprise, overturning a 1-0 deficit to win at home thanks to a Karim Benzema hattrick where PSG had appeared the stronger side. Liverpool lost at home but still went through. Bayern absolutely squashed Salzburg with three goals from Lewandowski and two from Muller.
Juventus v Villarreal (1-1)
LOSC v Chelsea (0-2)
Ajax v Benfica (2-2)
Man United v Atlético (1-1)
The return legs of these ties are played next week.
I watched the PSG v Real Madrid game this morning before taking son to school. PSG appeared to be cruising at 1-0 up in the game and 2-0 up in the tie.
I was shocked when I checked later and saw that Real Madrid had won 3-1! PSG had looked the better team for sure.
Newcastle have a 6.30am kick off here tomorrow morning so should be over just in time for the school run 😃
Toon! Toon! Black and White Army.
Unbeaten in 8 and one of only two premier league teams (with Liverpool) to be unbeaten in 2022.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited March 2022
Yeah Newcastle are doing well. I was also quite impressed by the Real Madrid midfielder who came on to replace Tony Kroos, Camavinga was his name I think. Quick and very solid.
I'm one of those weird freaky dudes who "doesn't get" sports. For sports fans, when you watch sports, what is the main appeal, in your opinions? Why do you enjoy it? What is the "main appeal?"
I have thought about what I like and it's a couple of things and I'll mention two. One I like to see amazing feats of physical (with a mental component too) skill. Plays where I am just amazed at what I have witnessed. This happens for even sports that I've never followed. Like watching odd sports in the Olympic Games.
A second part of enjoyment does not happen for a sport or team I have never witnessed but it comes with time following a team or a sport. With time you get to know the different players on a team. You see the chemistry between players and different players have different personalities in a way. It's not a personality of talking to them but a personality of their dominant and even minor traits as a player. What makes them good and what is their weakness. With more time following a team you learn more and more and you might even learn about the teams in the league that your favorite team plays in.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Vimalajāti said:
I'm one of those weird freaky dudes who "doesn't get" sports. For sports fans, when you watch sports, what is the main appeal, in your opinions? Why do you enjoy it? What is the "main appeal?"
I think @Jeffrey has pretty much got it. For me football is about the exercise of skill, which is why I enjoy the Spanish and Italian Leagues, and also the occasional completely unexpected result.
I sometimes follow PSV, it was the team I used to go see with my father when I was small and I was looking at their match in the UEFA Conference League against FC Copenhagen. At halftime they were 1-3 behind, but the match finished 4-4. It was a crazy game.
@Vimalajāti said:
I'm one of those weird freaky dudes who "doesn't get" sports. For sports fans, when you watch sports, what is the main appeal, in your opinions? Why do you enjoy it? What is the "main appeal?"
Firstly, your not a wired freaky dude! I know plenty of guys who don’t like sport. Nothing wrong with that!
For me, I love the highs and lows of following a team. The emotional roller coaster of it. Win, lose or draw.
And when you play a sport you realise how good the top players are. I grew up playing cricket so can appreciate how skilled people like the late, great Shane Warne were.
I love the community too. I feel a special bond with someone if they follow the same team as me.
The AFL (Australian Football League) competition starts tonight with a rematch between last years grand finalists - the Melbourne Demons vs the Western Bulldogs.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Yeah I saw… I was watching the game live on tv, and Ajax had all this possession and pressure. I thought they were probably through so I went to bed. But sometimes in a game like that its the other team that snatches it with a late counter, and i think thats what happened. Too bad.
I thought Benfica didn’t really deserve the win, truth be told. They didn’t make the effort to play high up the pitch, except for a couple of little spells.
Yeah I saw… I was watching the game live on tv, and Ajax had all this possession and pressure. I thought they were probably through so I went to bed. But sometimes in a game like that its the other team that snatches it with a late counter, and i think thats what happened. Too bad.
I thought Benfica didn’t really deserve the win, truth be told. They didn’t make the effort to play high up the pitch, except for a couple of little spells.
Yeah, I got that impression too from the review after the game
I was enjoying seeing Man Utd get the boot though
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited March 2022
Yeah teams playing purely on defense rarely get far, I remember the Arsenal of the early 90’s, with the Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Lee Dixon marshalled defense. They played like that, only typically snatching one goal late on the counter through Ian Wright. It is not a pretty style of football.
But the margins are small in these Champions League ties, and one goal can decide it. Just goes to show that against the really top handful of sides, even the likes of Ajax and Benfica will struggle.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
No, I was wrong, that famous Arsenal defense was Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn. I had to go look that up.
@Jeroen said:
Yeah teams playing purely on defense rarely get far, I remember the Arsenal of the early 90’s, with the Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Lee Dixon marshalled defense. They played like that, only typically snatching one goal late on the counter through Ian Wright. It is not a pretty style of football.
But the margins are small in these Champions League ties, and one goal can decide it. Just goes to show that against the really top handful of sides, even the likes of Ajax and Benfica will struggle.
Ah yes! “Boring Arsenal”
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited March 2022
@Jeroen said:
Champions League round of 16 fixtures:
Real Madrid v Paris 3-1 (3-2 agg)
Man City v Sporting CP 0-0 (5-0 agg)
Liverpool v Inter 0-1 (2-1 agg)
Bayern v Salzburg 7-1(8-2 agg)
Ajax v Benfica 0-1 (2-3 agg)
Man United v Atlético 0-1 (1-2 agg)
Juventus v Villarreal 0-3 (1-4 agg)
LOSC v Chelsea 1-2 (1-4 agg)
So this is how the round finished up. There were four away victories this week, giving surprising losses to Ajax, Man United and Juventus, all of whom had looked favourite in their ties after draws in the first leg. Looking at those results you’d have to say Man City, Bayern or Chelsea might take it. The draw for the quarter finals is on Friday.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I’ve been following the UEFA Conference League a little as well, its mostly a european competition for teams a little further down in the national rankings, which means you still get some crazy results like PSV’s 0-4 away win to Kopenhagen. After a 4-4 home draw. Outrageous.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited March 2022
The draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League:
Chelsea v Real Madrid
Liverpool v Benfica
Man City v Atlético
Bayern v Villarreal
Chelsea against Real Madrid should be an interesting tie, a tough one to call. The rest of the big clubs seem to have avoided each other. Liverpool one thinks should go through against Benfica, but Man City against Atlético could be close, this year the Spanish side are a lot stronger up front. The first leg will be played 5 and 6 April, the returns a week later.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I enjoyed watching the Netherlands v Germany friendly game, at one point i thought the Germans were going to run away to a 2-0 or 3-0 win, but Netherlands came back well in the second half and it finished 1-1. These games always have a bit of niggle, it goes back to the second world war when the germans occupied the netherlands for 5 years.
@Jeroen said:
I enjoyed watching the Netherlands v Germany friendly game, at one point i thought the Germans were going to run away to a 2-0 or 3-0 win, but Netherlands came back well in the second half and it finished 1-1. These games always have a bit of niggle, it goes back to the second world war when the germans occupied the netherlands for 5 years.
Yes I could imagine that would cause something of a rivalry.
Aussies and Kiwis have a similar rivalry born from an argument about who invented the pavlova
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Jeroen said:
Benfica v Liverpool 1-3
Man City v Atlético 1-0
Villarreal v Bayern 1-0
Chelsea v Real Madrid 1-3
The first leg of the quarterfinals has been played. Villareal’s home win versus Bayern was unexpected, I thought Bayern would be too strong for them, but the Spanish sides are technically very good. Man City was always going to have a tough game against Atletico, who always defend well, but the 1-0 home win puts them in a good position for the away leg. Liverpool are doing well as expected away at Benfica. But the real surprise of the round was Real Madrid’s 3-1 away win at Chelsea, can Karim Benzema keep scoring hattricks?
@Jeroen said:
Benfica v Liverpool 1-3
Man City v Atlético 1-0
Villarreal v Bayern 1-0
Chelsea v Real Madrid 1-3
The first leg of the quarterfinals has been played. Villareal’s home win versus Bayern was unexpected, I thought Bayern would be too strong for them, but the Spanish sides are technically very good. Man City was always going to have a tough game against Atletico, who always defend well, but the 1-0 home win puts them in a good position for the away leg. Liverpool are doing well as expected away at Benfica. But the real surprise of the round was Real Madrid’s 3-1 away win at Chelsea, can Karim Benzema keep scoring hattricks?
Second leg of the quarter finals is next week.
Yes I watched the Chelsea game. That result was surprising at Stamford Bridge.
Comments
Guess we wont see the Packers in the Super Bowl. Both of last night’s matches were upsets, the away teams going through. The Bengals had good run defense against the Titans main threat running back Derrick Henry, and the 49ers got lucky with a blocked kick returned for a touchdown on special teams against the Packers.
Oh! That’s a surprise.
The Toon won their second game of the season yesterday. Much celebration on Tyneside
I don't usually watch NFL football, but the Rams quarterback, Stafford, is former player of my local team (Lions) and the Bucs quarterback, Brady, is former player at my favorite college team (Wolverines). Could be a fun way to spend the afternoon?
Enjoy! Always makes games more interesting when you have a local connection.
What sports do you usually follow Jeffrey?
Hi Bunks! I watch college level Egg Shaped Handball ("American Football"). I also watch NBA basketball and sometimes tennis and was a fan of Roger Federer most recently but also other players.
Nice mate! Love that description of American football. I've seen some of those crowds at College football. They are nuts!
Remind me of Indian cricket crowds! In Australia we are quite conservative with cricket. Clap when someone does something good and maybe cheer on the odd occasion we hit a four or six or get a wicket. The Indian crowds scream the house down every time one of their players scratches his nose!
So quite a few upsets. I’m a bit miffed that the Bucs didn’t go through, but there you are. The championship games look like this:
Sun 30/1: Bengals v Chiefs
Sun 30/1: 49ers v Rams
So who wins?
The best guess is a Rams v Chiefs super bowl, with the Chiefs as likely winners. But we will have to see, anyone can still win it.
The ending of the Bills and Chiefs was incredible.
Best part of American Football - Tailgate parties and beer.
Worst part of American Football - Tailgate parties and beer.
Yeah i agree, i just saw the highlights. I thought the Bills had done enough to win the game with like 13 seconds on the clock…
It has been a largely unpredictable play-offs, but a thoroughly enjoyable one. The favourites seem to be upset every single round. First it was the Buccaneers, then the Packers, then the Chiefs… now we are heading towards a Bengals v Rams super bowl. The safe bet would be for the Rams to win it, especially because the defensive line of the Rams is very strong, and the offensive line of the Bengals is somewhat weak… but the safe bet hasn’t done well this year.
The last day of the January transfer window is upon us in English football.
Newcastle have made three good signings so far. Hoping for a couple more by days end…..
Where is the Super Bowl being played this year? From memory they change venue each year right?
Super Bowl 56 will take place on Sunday, February 13, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles – the home of the Chargers and Rams. So the Rams will be playing in their home stadium.
Newcastle are four points clear of relegation! Won three in a row….not getting too confident but things are looking up.
As soon as the F1 season starts...the atmosphere gets tense!
The LA Rams won a closely contested super bowl. In the first half the offensive line of the Bengals held up ok, but in the second half they got pulverised, the Bengals QB Joe Burrow was sacked eight times. The Bengals failed to score in the fourth quarter and that was all the Rams needed.
The Champions League has started again after the winter break, some matches were played last week for which i have given the results above, and in bold the matches being played tonight. Ajax play tomorrow.
They are all home and away game sets.
Who do you think wins it @Jeroen? The English pundits proclaim the Premier League as the best in Europe at the moment. I think Man City will be hard to beat although Spurs got 3 goals past them on the weekend.
It’s really hard to tell, the Champions League has such a high standard that all the remaining teams are good. I think PSG, Manchester City, and Liverpool are the favourites right now, with Chelsea, Ajax, Real Madrid and Bayern as having an outside chance.
The Premier League is really good, the top Spanish teams have become less the last few seasons even if the players still have better technique. But I think the English teams are physically a bit stronger.
Thats the complete series from yesterday. At home teams like Villareal and Benfica hold up quite well, but we will have to see how they do away from home.
The King is Dead, long live the King! 😞😢
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-05/shane-warne-dies-of-suspected-heart-attack/100884710
He didn’t exactly become old, did he. But I remember him well from various Ashes tours, at one time he was the finest spin bowler in the world.
He’s the greatest player I have ever seen.
I am a cricket tragic.
Today is a sad day
I saw a lovely short eulogy by Stephen Fry for him on Twitter…
“Heartbroken to wake to news of the death of @ShaneWarne - heart was what he was all about; a huge heart and, of course, matchlessly dazzling skill with a cricket ball. He single-handedly (wristedly) put the art of spin back where it belonged - at the top of cricket. A true great”
— Stephen Fry
These were played this week. Real Madrid were the surprise, overturning a 1-0 deficit to win at home thanks to a Karim Benzema hattrick where PSG had appeared the stronger side. Liverpool lost at home but still went through. Bayern absolutely squashed Salzburg with three goals from Lewandowski and two from Muller.
The return legs of these ties are played next week.
I watched the PSG v Real Madrid game this morning before taking son to school. PSG appeared to be cruising at 1-0 up in the game and 2-0 up in the tie.
I was shocked when I checked later and saw that Real Madrid had won 3-1! PSG had looked the better team for sure.
Newcastle have a 6.30am kick off here tomorrow morning so should be over just in time for the school run 😃
Toon! Toon! Black and White Army.
Unbeaten in 8 and one of only two premier league teams (with Liverpool) to be unbeaten in 2022.
Yeah Newcastle are doing well. I was also quite impressed by the Real Madrid midfielder who came on to replace Tony Kroos, Camavinga was his name I think. Quick and very solid.
I'm one of those weird freaky dudes who "doesn't get" sports. For sports fans, when you watch sports, what is the main appeal, in your opinions? Why do you enjoy it? What is the "main appeal?"
Vimalajati,
I have thought about what I like and it's a couple of things and I'll mention two. One I like to see amazing feats of physical (with a mental component too) skill. Plays where I am just amazed at what I have witnessed. This happens for even sports that I've never followed. Like watching odd sports in the Olympic Games.
A second part of enjoyment does not happen for a sport or team I have never witnessed but it comes with time following a team or a sport. With time you get to know the different players on a team. You see the chemistry between players and different players have different personalities in a way. It's not a personality of talking to them but a personality of their dominant and even minor traits as a player. What makes them good and what is their weakness. With more time following a team you learn more and more and you might even learn about the teams in the league that your favorite team plays in.
I think @Jeffrey has pretty much got it. For me football is about the exercise of skill, which is why I enjoy the Spanish and Italian Leagues, and also the occasional completely unexpected result.
I sometimes follow PSV, it was the team I used to go see with my father when I was small and I was looking at their match in the UEFA Conference League against FC Copenhagen. At halftime they were 1-3 behind, but the match finished 4-4. It was a crazy game.
Firstly, your not a wired freaky dude! I know plenty of guys who don’t like sport. Nothing wrong with that!
For me, I love the highs and lows of following a team. The emotional roller coaster of it. Win, lose or draw.
And when you play a sport you realise how good the top players are. I grew up playing cricket so can appreciate how skilled people like the late, great Shane Warne were.
I love the community too. I feel a special bond with someone if they follow the same team as me.
Ajax out @Jeroen !
Wow Ajax brings back memories...I remember Johan Cruyff one of the great Dutch footballers of the 1970s who also smoked like a trooper
The AFL (Australian Football League) competition starts tonight with a rematch between last years grand finalists - the Melbourne Demons vs the Western Bulldogs.
Yeah I saw… I was watching the game live on tv, and Ajax had all this possession and pressure. I thought they were probably through so I went to bed. But sometimes in a game like that its the other team that snatches it with a late counter, and i think thats what happened. Too bad.
I thought Benfica didn’t really deserve the win, truth be told. They didn’t make the effort to play high up the pitch, except for a couple of little spells.
Yeah, I got that impression too from the review after the game
I was enjoying seeing Man Utd get the boot though
Yeah teams playing purely on defense rarely get far, I remember the Arsenal of the early 90’s, with the Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Lee Dixon marshalled defense. They played like that, only typically snatching one goal late on the counter through Ian Wright. It is not a pretty style of football.
But the margins are small in these Champions League ties, and one goal can decide it. Just goes to show that against the really top handful of sides, even the likes of Ajax and Benfica will struggle.
No, I was wrong, that famous Arsenal defense was Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn. I had to go look that up.
Ah yes! “Boring Arsenal”
So this is how the round finished up. There were four away victories this week, giving surprising losses to Ajax, Man United and Juventus, all of whom had looked favourite in their ties after draws in the first leg. Looking at those results you’d have to say Man City, Bayern or Chelsea might take it. The draw for the quarter finals is on Friday.
I’ve been following the UEFA Conference League a little as well, its mostly a european competition for teams a little further down in the national rankings, which means you still get some crazy results like PSV’s 0-4 away win to Kopenhagen. After a 4-4 home draw. Outrageous.
The draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League:
Chelsea v Real Madrid
Liverpool v Benfica
Man City v Atlético
Bayern v Villarreal
Chelsea against Real Madrid should be an interesting tie, a tough one to call. The rest of the big clubs seem to have avoided each other. Liverpool one thinks should go through against Benfica, but Man City against Atlético could be close, this year the Spanish side are a lot stronger up front. The first leg will be played 5 and 6 April, the returns a week later.
I enjoyed watching the Netherlands v Germany friendly game, at one point i thought the Germans were going to run away to a 2-0 or 3-0 win, but Netherlands came back well in the second half and it finished 1-1. These games always have a bit of niggle, it goes back to the second world war when the germans occupied the netherlands for 5 years.
Yes I could imagine that would cause something of a rivalry.
Aussies and Kiwis have a similar rivalry born from an argument about who invented the pavlova
The first leg of the quarterfinals has been played. Villareal’s home win versus Bayern was unexpected, I thought Bayern would be too strong for them, but the Spanish sides are technically very good. Man City was always going to have a tough game against Atletico, who always defend well, but the 1-0 home win puts them in a good position for the away leg. Liverpool are doing well as expected away at Benfica. But the real surprise of the round was Real Madrid’s 3-1 away win at Chelsea, can Karim Benzema keep scoring hattricks?
Second leg of the quarter finals is next week.
Yes I watched the Chelsea game. That result was surprising at Stamford Bridge.
The MLB kicks off today @Jeroen .
How do you think the Red Sox will go this season?
I'm not holding out much hope for the Rockies. If we can go above .500 it will be a good year I think.