Missing The Game

So I've been gone for a while. I had a fabulous opportunity to get to China for a month and I jumped at it. The wife was over there working for three months and we travelled for her final three weeks. Sadly, because of a scheduling SNAFU, we were uable to attend a match in Beijing or in Shanghai. I was pretty bummed but you have to look at the brightside when these things happen. We had great days doing other things -- they just didn't involve seeing any Chinese football. I was able to catch Milan's distruction of ManU on the TV in our Shanghai hotel room, however. Now that was impressive, and terribly enjoyable. It was a great hotel (we splurged) and I was kicked back on our bed in a terrycloth robe with a cold beer for the match. Our room even had a famous toilet (above). Anyway, I couldn't see the final since I was flying at the time, but after watching Milan in action I didn't give Liverpool a chance.

I also managed to catch some of the relegation matches in the EPL but the minutes I saw involving Charlton and Wigan were quite dour. Ditto as expected the Chelsea/ManU anti-climatic league match that I saw most of at my Uncle's place in Thailand.

I was in Xi'an for the FA Cup final and managed to stay awake until extra time but beyond that I had no patience. I'm pleased that I decided to hit the sack at after midnight instead of staying up for another 25 minutes simply to see Drogba score. In the end, ManU get the title and Chelsea get the FA and League Cups. Jose and Roman must be pretty damn upset. And that makes me quite pleased. I watched at a pleasant guesthouse called 7 Sages, but I seemed to be the only person interested in the proceedings. Perhaps the real punters were at other bars. I've got a photo somewhere -- once things are sorted I'll post.

Over in Spain, it would seem that Barcelona are falling apart and Real Madrid are now in the catbird seat. How this is possible I have no idea, but I suppose they've been the best of the worst. The UEFA Cup runs of the other upper-tier Spanish teams have taken their toll, I suppose.

And it was nice to see Stuttgart claim the Bundesliga, although I feel for the Shalke fans. They do have to live in Gelsinkirchen, after all.

Oh, and I watched Goal! on the flight home. What a dreadful film! I would say, however, that Shearer, Zidane and Raul should join Becks in Hollywood because their acting is sensational.

A special thanks to Alec and Bobbie for keeping things up and running in my absence. Hopefully over the summer we can streamline things a bit and increase commentary to go with the links. Now we can look forward to a summer of transfer rumors, MLS, regional competitions for the US National Team, and other various fun topics of discussion.

Onward!

-Sanford