TdF ‘09: A chance for Lance

I’m a big fan of the grand tours of bicycle racing. Currently ongoing is the greatest grand tour of them all, the Tour de France. The big American news of this tour is that seven time champion Lance Armstrong is back in the mix, except this time there is some confusion regarding his role. For the uninitiated, the TdF is largely a team event, though the glory generally goes to the individual riders. These two concepts are not at odds; both have their place in the sun. Bike racing at this level requires a team of so-called domestiques who help the rider on their team who has the strongest chance of winning the entire Tour. This rider must have all around abilities to be able to ride competitively in the flat stages as well as the mountains, day in day out, for the entirety of the three week tour.

The big drama for Team Astana, for which Armstrong rides, has been whether or not he would be in the role of domestique for Alberto Contador, an excellent bike racer in his own rite and easily more race-fit, considering that Armstrong is only months out of retirement. However, anything can happen in three weeks, but who would have guessed that today’s transitional stage 3 from Marseilles to La Grande Motte could make a big difference in Team Astana’s race strategy?

Contador missed a large break of the main field (called the peloton), while Armstrong stuck with the break to gain almost 40 seconds on his total time. This puts him in a position to collect the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) for the overall race leader in as soon as one day, with tomorrow’s team time trial, which Astana could well win.

What does this mean for Team Astana? Will Contador be satisfied in a new role as a domestique for Armstrong? Will there be an internal competition for the leader position, and what will this ultimately mean for the team? And finally, does Armstrong have what it takes to go on for an 8th TdF victory? While these questions are certainly not new and the subject of mass speculation in the weeks leading up to the Tour, only now do those discussions really have any legitimate meaning. It will be very interesting to see how everything unfolds over the next 2.5 weeks.

Confederations Cup 09: Spain v. South Africa Halftime Report

South Africa are the story here today, They have surprisingly excellent chances and some strong shots on goal, but they have failed to put the ball in the back of the net. They still have been suffering from poor shots and poor shot selection in some instances, but they have been holding their own throughout the half. Meanwhile, Spain are looking like a deadly snake couched in the grass, putting the ball in front of the net and looking to strike at any time. They have continually exploited holes in the South African defense, but their failure so far to finish has resulted in a 0-0 scoreline.

The second half will require a Spanish urgency to take this game seriously. If they attack wholeheartedly, they can certainly salvage the game in 45 minutes. South Africa cannot be unhappy at this point, but they have nothing to lose and will come out playing exactly like their last three halves of football.

FIFA Confederations Cup 09: USA v. Brasil Preview

Brasil have a funny way of playing just well enough to win before the final and then performing at a high level and appearing to have a lot of fun in the process. They have shown few signs of weakness in their four games so far in this tournament, the most being against a weak South African side in their semifinal game. Brasil’s passing was uncharacteristically sloppy, and that completely disrupted their usual jogo bonito. It’s unclear if any blame should go to the poor field conditions in these stadia, but something is affecting the Brasilian golden touch.

In contrast, the USA’s defense are playing at a very high level. They made few if no mistakes in their stellar win against Spain. Credit goes to their organization and the willingness of the entire team to play solid defense. However, the offense was looking as sloppy as usual, and if it weren’t for a Spanish mistake and a rather lucky bounce, perhaps the semifinal would have been settled in a tense overtime rather than in the original 90′.

The Brasilian defense has been known to have holes in the past. If this happens, and it just might, then the US have to take advantage and strike. Unfortunately, this is their greatest weakness as well, and the US will have to repeat their nearly perfect defensive performance in order to stave off the Brasilian attack. Kaka almost struck on several occasions against South Africa, which could have made the game a blowout. USA may not have the ability to shut him down, so it will take a combination of luck and perfection to make him a non-factor.

In one possible scenario, the USA will win on a brilliant Clint Dempsey strike from deep. Kaka will get his goal, but the USA defense will remain solid throughout and eventually prevail.

USA 2 :: 1 Brasil

FIFA Confederations Cup 09: Spain v. South Africa Preview

Despite facing a brick house United States defense in their semifinal game and being unlucky in their major missed opportunities, Spain still have plenty of pride and ability to spare on the third place matchup against South Africa. There is no indication that Spain will not take this game seriously, and South Africa will have to step up their mediocre performance against the underperforming Brasilian team if they wish to stave off embarrassment tomorrow morning. South Africa made one deadly mistake against Brasil that led to the late, deadly strike from Dani Alves, and I think that many similar mistakes in their game just showcase their relative immaturity at this stage of international football. Their offense was not well composed and fired off useless shots from long range that did not even test Brasilian Goalkeeper Julio Cesar. I think the strong Spanish side will find their rhythm once again and handily dismantle the young hosts.

Spain 3 :: 0 South Africa

Relativity, spacetime, and live sports

Being mildly obsessed^* with a sport that takes place half way around the world is tricky, because you cannot expect them to stage events at convenient times for our audience of three people. In the case of the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, that would mean staging games at some obscene hour of the morning in order that we see it in primetime here on the East Coast. And who would want to watch a bunch of over-caffeinated, droopy eyed players slogging around a football pitch at 3 am local time, anyhow? We are actually fortunate that the games are taking place at 2:30 pm EST, especially after the FIFA World Cup finals in 2002, which were staged in South Korea and Japan and made game times particularly difficult to schedule. My schedule during WC2002 was, get to work late at 9:30 or 10 am, work until around 6 or 7, grab some dinner, try to sleep around 8 or 8:30 pm, and wake up for the 1 am, 3 am, and 7 am games. Rinse, repeat.

Unfortunately for yesterday’s epic semifinal, I had a string of meetings that kept me from watching the game live, but in our world of digital media, watching the game on delay was a reasonable option. A couple of friends of mine decided to go on news blackout from game time until we could sit down and watch the replay at 11 pm at a bar in my neighborhood. It’s a dangerous thing, the news blackout, and it’s difficult to do. For the most part, it means no email. No internet. No phone calls. Avoid all of the Europeans in our math department. Avoid all televisions in public places and try and avoid conversations. The “televisions in public places” rule is a difficult one, since TVs blare in all manners of eateries out to the public streets constantly. The conversation avoidance is easier but more random, since while most people don’t even know the US is in a thing called the Confederations Cup is going on (is that as important as the World Cup, I’ve been asked this week), it is still the United States team, and pride abounds, even for “soccer.”

3 hours after kickoff: At 5:30 pm, I was sitting in my office when a professor wandered in with a huge grin on his face, “Did you guys hear about the game?”

“No!” we yelled, covering our ears immediately to avoid any hint of news, “And don’t say anything!”

He backed out slowly, probably thinking we were a little nuts. Another office mate of mine ran after him to find out the outcome of the game. We immediately left, knowing that we would be bombarded by other likeminded bearers of some brand of news about the game. My office mate caught us in the hall and said, “Ecuador scores a touchdown in the last seconds of the game,” taunting us with this unrelated nonsense that, of course, I coupled with the goofy grin of the professor to mean that the United States probably prevailed in a dramatic, late goal fashion. But I did not know and couldn’t wait to see the game.

5 hours after kickoff: While looking for a restaurant, we had to avoid any kind of bar and most restaurants with televisions. We ended up at a Jewish deli that could have been the perfect setting for indifference to the beautiful game.

7 hours after kickoff: Afterward, we wandered down to a bubble tea place that had a TV on silent and was showing the Sox game. On the way out, someone noticed that they were showing the highlights of the game. I backed out sideways, to avoid looking at the television. A close call.

8 hours after kickoff: However, one of us would fall. As a friend was getting out of a car, she overheard four popped collars (yeah, those guys) talking loudly about the game on the street, blurting out the results and talking bracketology. She had made it eight hours and knew the result but not the score. One down.

9 hours after kickoff: We arrived at the bar, a few minutes late so that we would not catch another TV blurting out the results. We found a small corner of the bar for the three of us to perch and watch the game uninterrupted. We had made it this far, on blackout. Several minutes into the match, the ESPN ticker showed the score to the game on replay! Ridiculous! How stupid can they possibly be? I was the only one who took a glimpse at it, and two of the three of us were down.

10 hours after kickoff: While watching the game unfold, we cheered and winced as if the game were live. We yelled at the refs and players like they could hear our jeers echoing through spacetime. For us, it was as if the game were live. Goals were celebrated loudly, and the second time the ball crossed the goal line and appeared to seal our place in the finals, some moron called out to us, “This game was played earlier, that’s the final score.” No kidding! Why do you think we’re in a corner of the bar avoiding all other televisions and watching the game intently? Three down.

Nevertheless, we finished out the game and despite all knowing the final score line, it’s part of the game to see how things unfold and how the story develops. Importantly, our midfielder was red carded and ejected late in the game and won’t be playing in the final. Despite the ESPN screw up with the score, they were right in calling the game an instant classic. It was one of the best United States performances, specifically in defense, and well worth the wait. I might even watch it again.

^* Ok, maybe that’s not a reasonable qualifier.

The potential of US Soccer

The United States today did more than defeat a strong Spanish squad — they outplayed and simply outclassed them. The game was dominated by the best United States soccer squad I’ve seen in years; they did more than avoid making major mistakes. Nearly perfect on defense, everyone (including their strikers) played their parts to ensure that the Spanish strikers had difficult or no clear chances. Having Carlos Bocanegra in the squad to anchor down the back four clearly led to increased organization that helped Keeper Tim Howard achieve a clean sheet against a potent Spanish side. Furthermore, Defender Oguchi Onyewu played a brilliant game, perhaps the best of his international career, and in my eyes deserves Man of the Match honors for his constant heroics in frustrating the Spanish attackers.

Our game in the midfield was strong, and while we were far from perfect in the attacking third of the pitch, missing some key connecting passes again a bit too slow on certain shots, we took the chances we got. Even though the second goal took a couple of friendly bounces before Clint Dempsey managed to tuck it away, we kept poking at it until it paid off. This was a scrappy US team that didn’t often give up on any reasonable chances.

This was not simply a case of Spain playing poorly; in fact, all credit in this game must go to a United States team that looked for the first time like it could be truly competitive on the world’s largest stage. I’ve never, ever felt comfortable saying that about the US until tonight.

Perhaps the only curiosity in this game was the Michael Bradley red card, which was shown because of a late challenge in the closing ten minutes of the game. Though the challenge was late, I don’t think his studs were dangerously up, and another ref could have well given an arguably more appropriate yellow card. The question is whether or not Bradley’s absence in the final, likely against Brasil, will make a game changing difference. Conventional wisdom says that Brasil are far too strong for it to matter. But if that were not true, it’s also important to note how much we need Bradley in our midfield. However, I think both of those things are now in question after tonight’s performance, in which we showed that our defensive organization and our uncharacteristically mature midfield composure can lead to chances and frustrate even the strongest of opponents.

Up front, the US attackers perhaps pose the largest concern against the winner of the Brasil/South Africa semifinal on Thursday. Perhaps our saving grace could be the cool head and amazing presence of Charlie Davies, whose performance today was groundbreaking, despite having no goals. His time is soon to come.

In this case of the Jekyll and Hyde of US Soccer, tonight’s team must show up to the final in order to be competitive. It could be a huge upset in this Confederations Cup. This team is good enough to beat anyone.

Soderling’s simple secret

Robin Soderling has a simple secret to success.

Wait, who? Robin Soderling, the giant killer of the French Open, who slayed a dragon this weekend in the form of consecutive four time French Open defending champion and No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal. Sod himself is seeded 23rd. Today he lopped off No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko in well under 2 hours and three straight sets. After watching him defeat Davydenko so easily, it became clear that his style of play is based on a quite simple yet immensely effective strategy. He has a powerful forehand, and he essentially stretches his opponents out across the entire baseline, by positioning shots on either side. Because of this effective use of the court as well as his power, opponents have to move quickly to the ball and hit it on the run. Especially on clay, stops and starts are difficult, and Soderling doesn’t allow them time to get back into position. Obviously this is what tennis players want to do, but Soderling appeared to have been particularly effective at it with Nadal and Davydenko.

So what’s it going to take to beat Robin Soderling? I think the best I’ve seen from his opponents is to mirror his game exactly. It turns out that Soderling’s major weakness is exactly what he exposes in his opponents. It will be interesting to see if someone in the bracket will be able to pick this up and take down this rising French Open star, who appears to be unstoppable right now.

The first Spanish treble

Today was a special day for FC Barcelona, my favorite football club in the Spanish La Liga, as we beat the defending UEFA Champions League champs, Manchester United. While United controlled the first ten minutes early on, Samuel Eto’o made a beautiful move on the right edge of the box and put one past Edwin Van der Sar, completely changing the tide of momentum to Barca’s favor. There would be no recovery for ManU, who looked downtrodden and out even by the end of the first half. Too often United’s long ball missed its mark, while Barca controlled the midfield. ManU turned the ball over often in its own half and looked disorganized throughout. The second goal in the 70th minute told the story of a dejected United, as the ball somehow found Leo Messi’s head and then looped over van der Sar. I don’t remember ever seeing Messi score off of a header, and it wasn’t pretty this time. But a goal is a goal, and it would end there, at 2-0. My player of the game was undoubtedly Barca captain Carlos Puyol, who played a drifting, almost midfield role that was enabled by the lack of offense from ManU. He was perfect all night, making plays and passes exactly where they were needed. While Iniesta had his flashes of brilliance as usual, it was certainly Puyol’s leadership that created so much space and shut down Manchester United so effectively this evening.

While it wasn’t the prettiest final in history, it completed a storybook season for Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona, as they found themselves at the top of the table in La Liga, winning the Copa del Rey, and finally winning the UEFA Champion’s League today. It’s the first time in history that a Spanish team has won the fabled treble, and what a phenomenal season it’s been.

Why Kobe is still the best in basketball

It’s true that LeBron James is the future of basketball. His time is coming but not quite here. To watch Kobe Bryant play tonight reminded me of what leadership on the court looks like. Kobe takes the inevitable double team and spreads the ball out to his teammates, trusting in them to make the shots or the right plays. With that kind of trust from their team leader, they are free to just play. This is in stark contrast to the Cavs right now, where LeBron appears to think that he can will his team to victory. While that might have worked in the regular season on occasion, the Magic aren’t falling that easily. Only when LeBron is able to lead like Kobe has learned will LeBron even be in the same league, in my estimation.

Do you believe in Magic?

I have been a Boston Celtics fan for far longer than seems appropriate. However, I’ve watched our team’s performance after this year’s All-Star break deteriorate rapidly, and we haven’t been playing championship ball since the first half of the season. To have made it as far into the playoffs as we did was surprising. When we played the Orlando Magic, it was clear to me that they were the better side, despite the series taking all seven games to decide. Additionally, it seemed clear that the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had steamrolled through the playoffs, would have crushed our already beat and battered C’s squad. Perhaps in four. So silently, a lot of Boston fans whispered, “Thanks be to the Magic.”

Now that Orlando are up 3-1 in this series, in several close games including last night’s OT thriller, I am finally starting to believe that they can close things out — perhaps even on Thursday. Their coach, Stan Van Gundy, must relay the urgency of their situation very plainly. Win on Thursday.

All of my Ohio friends ask the question, why do I want the Cavs to fail? It’s true, the Cavs are having a stellar season. It’s true, LeBron will be one of the best ever in the NBA. (Yes, ever.) But looking at the stats from the Cavs last two losses to the Magic, and my problem with the Cavs becomes clear. In Game 3, LeBron scored 41 points. Game 4, 44 points. In Game 3, the Cavs had only two other double digit scorers, at 15 and 12 points each. Combined, it takes the next 5 players to equal the scoring output of one LeBron James. So what? So, they lost Game 3. Contrast this with the winning Magic, who had four starters and one sub in doubles. Game 4 went into OT, of course, so others had a chance to get into double digits for the Cavs. Nevertheless, LeBron scored 44 points. And the Cavs lost. While he definitely had 7 assists and is undoubtedly a team player, it seems clear from the last two games that he needs to trust his team more. A great player cannot just change the game single handedly. A great player learns that to win one must give his team the confidence to step up and lead them into victory. That seems to be missing right now. The Cavs are not a bad group of players. But like the Fresh Prince, their entire game strategy simply cannot be, Pass it to LeBron.