Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Back to the Grind, Blackburn vs. Liverpool, MLS in the UK

The Velodrome in Marseille is back.

Hey there! Wow, that was a nice little Break 'O Spring, if we may say so ourselves. The entire SSN Staff scattered from Headquarters and enjoyed a little time away. It was good. But, it is time to hop back in the saddle. Odd to restart on Hump Day, but it's time to get rolling.

We'll begin with yesterday's Aston Villa/QPR match and Christian Benteke. Remember that guy? Used to score a lot, got hurt, stopped scoring? Well, he's scoring again. It was a thriller at Villa Park that finished 3 - 3. Peter Lansley was at Villa Park and filed this report. Talking Points? Here are Five. So, your Premier League table looks like this. Villa move three clear of the relegation zone and QPR remain in trouble. Here's more on the struggle to avoid the dreaded drop. Back toward the top, Manchester City suddenly find themselves in trouble of not qualifying for the Champions League. Phil McNulty looks at what's gone wrong at the Etihad.

Check this out. Major League Soccer has inked a deal with Sky and will be shown in the UK. At least two regular-season games a week, the All-Star game, and every play-off fixture and the MLS Cup final. Hmmm. We're wondering what sort of attention it will garner. Speaking of MLS, the Montreal Impact have advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League Final. Well done, Impact! Way to represent Canada, eh? Or Quebec. North America? Whatever. More MLS? How about Grant Wahl on Orlando City? And finally...POWER RANKINGS!!

Enough MLS. We've got an FA Cup Semi-Final Replay on our hands this afternoon (2:45 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1). Blackburn host Liverpool at Ewood Park after the previous match at Anfield failed to yield any goals. The winner will go to Wembley to face Aston Villa in a semi-final. Here's a preview.

There are also matches in La Liga today. It's tight at the top between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Guillem Balague wants to have a look at their respective run-ins. It shall be allowed. Today, the Catalans host Almeria while Ronny's Army go to across town to face Rayo Vallecano.

There was some discussion around SSN Headquarters prior to Spring Break about who should be Player of the Year in the Premier League. Tactical guru Michael Cox says it's got to be Eden Hazard. That was pretty much the consensus here, as well.


And finally...former Liverpool player Andrea Dossena was arrested at Harrods on suspicion of shoplifting.

Onward!!

-SSN

No comments: