Conclusive proof that I'm a lazy soccer player

I've only had my last pair of indoor soccer shoes for about 8 months, but I already busted a seam on the side of the left boot.  It's still playable (and I've been playing with it like that for a few weeks), but it's an excuse to buy some new ones.  This time, I went with the adidas Freefootball x-pro, pictured below.

And since these are miCoach compatible, I went ahead and bought an adidas miCoach Speed Cell.  This is a little chip that fits in a slot under the insole of the left boot, and tracks your movement.  I played my first game with these shoes (and chip) tonight, and the results are in - see screenshot below, or go to this link.

I apparently spend half the game either on the bench or not doing very much.  And I'm only running or sprinting a quarter of the time.  I covered about 1.6 miles over the course of the two 20-minute halves, with a max speed of 17.69 mph (which could probably get me under 5 seconds in a 40 yard dash).  I was playing with some aftereffects of a thigh bruise suffered 3 nights ago, so I hope to improve on that max speed in the future.

Fly kicks.

I should probably have taken this picture as soon as I received these, instead of after playing a few games in them, but...

These are my new-ish indoor soccer shoes.  And because they weren't quite flashy enough to begin with, I customized them with my name and number.

Really, Charlie Davies??

I like Charlie Davies as a footballer.  I wouldn't call him great by any means, but his speed gave the US Men's National Team a bit of a spark when he played.  And of course I was saddened when I heard about the car accident a couple of years ago that ultimately cost him a chance at playing in the World Cup.  But he's recovered fairly well, and had a pretty solid season in the MLS this year.  And I wish him the best in his soccer career going forward.

With that being said, however, I think that his current lawsuit against the Shadow Room, the nightclub where he partied the night of the crash, and Red Bull is completely frivolous and without merit.  The lawsuit apparently claims that the Shadow Room and Red Bull are responsible for the car accident (in which one person was killed, in addition to the others that were injured) because they served excessive alcohol to the woman that later drove the car.

Really??

I have a couple of questions for you, Charlie...

1. Did the nightclub in any way force the woman to acquire or consume those alcoholic beverages?
2. Did the nightclub force her to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while intoxicated?
3. Did the nightclub wreck the car?

I strongly suspect that the answer to all those questions is clearly "No".  So drop the stupid lawsuit.

The whole idea is so dumb that it's not even worth my time writing this post.  Except for the minor point that it allows me to make about free will.  My opinion is obviously that we are each responsible for our freely chosen actions.  An excuse such as "I was drunk" does not relieve you of that responsibility (assuming here that you were not forcefully or surreptitiously drugged, or anything like that).

Since I am also a determinist, some might argue that I must provide an account of how free will is compatible with determinism in order to be able to claim that we are indeed responsible for our actions.  But that's a discussion for another time...

Who else loves Tim Lincecum's hair?

So it was announced today that Tim Lincecum barely beat out the two Cardinals aces for the NL Cy Young award in what was one of the closest votes in history.  I'm not that big a baseball fan anymore, but those three pitchers (Lincecum, Adam Wainwright, and Chris Carpenter) have to be three of my favorites in the game.  Two of them are obviously so, because they play for my hometown team...and they're really good.

Lincecum, though, has other interesting characteristics.  By complete coincidence, I happened to catch his first career MLB start on May 6, 2007.  I'm not even sure why I watched that ESPN Sunday Night Game between the Giants and Phillies, because by that time I had already lost most of my interest in baseball, which had peaked during the golden days of fantasy baseball in college and a little after.  In any case, I remember being impressed by the Giants starter, who had a shaky first inning debut but ended up striking out 3.  He was a young guy of relatively slight build (for a pitcher anyway), and he had some lights-out stuff.  In my mind, he immediately drew comparisons to Roy Oswalt.

Anyway, it's about two-and-a-half years later, and that kid has two Cy Young awards to his name.  Since that day, I've seen Lincecum pitch in person - I was lucky enough to draw his starting position in the rotation when I went to a Giants-A's game in San Francisco earlier this summer (June 12).  He didn't absolutely dominate that day, but he tossed a complete game without giving up any runs.

So when it came time to decide who to root for in the Cy Young race, I had a tough time choosing.  I figured that one of the Cardinals would get it, since the Giants didn't do very well this year and Lincecum had a low win total.  But between the two Cards pitchers, I couldn't pick either - Wainwright tossed more innings and had more wins, but Carpenter had mostly better statistics otherwise.  I was pretty surprised to learn that Lincecum took the award, but in a way I way was glad.  It would have been nice for a Cardinal to win it, but I couldn't choose one over the other.  And my favorite pitcher over the last couple of years did win after all.

Oh, and did I mention how awesome his hair is?  I mean, look at that thing:

This is a screenshot of the video of his reaction after winning the award today, which you can check out here.  Maybe his hair is the reason he won it.  You don't see mops like that on many major league players.

Hilarious headline

Nigeria 2-1 U.S.: Obinna winner dooms U.S.

The best part: another goal was set up by Chinedu.

Rose Bowl!

The 9-3 Fighting Illini football team are the fortunate beneficiaries of the BCS turmoil this season, and will be headed to the Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day. There, they will face those pesky Trojans of USC (boo...hiss...).

My major complaint about the BCS selections this year is the absence of Mizzou (it's a friendly rivarly...for me at least). The Tigers beat two teams who will be playing in BCS bowl games (Illinois and Kansas) and their only two losses were to another BCS-bound team (Oklahoma). They should be playing in the Orange Bowl instead of Kansas.

28 seconds too slow.

This past Saturday, I fell short of my goal to run the Spirit of St. Louis 5K in under 25 minutes. However, I did post a time that was good enough for 60th place overall. Check out the full results here.

Illinois athletes are emulating the Cincinnati Bengals.

This is probably not a good thing. Two football players have joined their basketball counterparts in a competition to determine who can get in the most trouble with the law. Read the story here.

Fitness update.

I've long espoused the belief that the age of 25 years is when an athlete, or a man in general, is at his prime. As that is my current age, I feel that it's time for me to get in the best shape of my life...or at least since high school wrestling.

To that end, I began training for the Spirit of St. Louis 5K run in April last week. I guess a few months of playing soccer once or twice a week has gotten me on the right path, as it seems to be going fairly well so far. I ran a 7:05 mile a couple of days ago, which is faster than I can ever remember running a timed mile (but still over a minute above one of my life goals). The race is still over 10 weeks away, so I'm thinking about upgrading my target from sub-29:00 to sub-25:00. This would take some work, as it would shatter my personal best by over 4 minutes, but I still have plenty of time to prepare. Hopefully I don't burn out.

I've also seemed to have lost some weight, as I weighed in under 160 pounds earlier tonight. To be fair, this was after a soccer game followed by a 1.5 mile run, and before I ate dinner. However, it would still seem that I'm somewhere around 165, which is a weight I haven't seen in a while. This isn't too surprising considering I haven't lifted weights (I gain the most weight while I'm lifting) in almost 1.5 years. Too bad this also means that my once-threatening guns are fairly puny these days.

Let me preface this by saying that I like Rex Grossman...

...but this picture is HILLARIOUS!



Thanks to Tommy Musick for forwarding that to me.

We're goin' to the 'ship!

Cardinals!

Zizou international.

Here are a few interpretations of how the headbutt by Zinedine Zidane was seen in different countries around the world:

In Germany:











In France:











In Italy:











In the U.S.A.:











In Hong Kong:











Thanks to Robert for the e-mail.

Alan Schwarz picks the Cards to win it all...

...which is a little more surprising than my friend Alan Schwartz picking them to win the Series.

Anyway, read Alan's and the rest of the ESPN experts pics here. While you're at it, note Rob Neyer's pick for NL MVP.

ESPNsoccernet - Nigerian referees given permission to take bribes

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=363449&cc=5901

Wow. The motherland is struggling a little bit these days...

Wanted: soccer chicks.

My indoor soccer team is in need of more female players. We play on Tuesday nights sometime between 18:00 and 23:00. If you are interested or know someone who may be, please holler.

While we're on the topic of race...

People need to quit being so sensitive and "politically correct." According to this article, the Air Force Academy reprimanded their head football coach for rationalizing a loss to TCU by saying that they "had a lot more African-American players than [AFA] did and they ran a lot faster than [AFA] did." He further commented that "It just seems to [him] to be that way. African-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to [him] that they run extremely well."

What's wrong with that? Is anybody really going to argue that his comments were without merit? Don't mistake me as a member of the Fisher DeBerry fan club...this is the same guy who hung a banner which read "I am a Christian first and last ... I am a member of Team Jesus Christ" in the locker room last year, and we all know how Obi feels about religious intolerance. However, I don't think he should be reprimanded for stating something which is pretty much common sense.

Swingers Softball Recap (8/8/05)

The Swingers returned to the win column on Monday night, posting a 19 - 10 drubbing of Master Batters in a late night contest. The story of the evening was the breakout performance by Erik "K" Gutierrez, who blasted a two run homer to the deepest part of the park and tacked on 3 more RBI's after having gone 0 for his first 7 at bats of the season. Gutierrez, noticeably larger since his last appearance, refused to answer questions about steroids in the post game news conference. However, manager Christine Aylward did have this to say, "We hired a team of chemists, and it paid off big time tonight." Gutierrez was not tested after the game.

The Red Devils struggled to find their stroke through the first two innings, plating just one run on 5 hits. Fortunately for the visiting team starting pitcher Eric "ER" Ridenhour posted zeroes in both innings to keep the Swingers in the game. Then in the third inning, the bats woke up. Second Basewoman Melanie Ureta - Granger led the inning off by reaching on an error and advancing to second base. Jamaal Granger followed with a single to push Ureta to third, and Katie Stemmler notched her second RBI of the season with a ground out to the right side of the infield which forced out Granger at second. Gutierrez then followed with his first hit of the season, breaking out of his slump in a big way. "K's" blast traveled an estimated 487 feet to straight away center field, and the Swingers were ahead 4-0. They would score 8 more times in the frame, with RBI base hits by Christine Aylward, "ER" Ridenhour, and Jamaal Granger leading to another big hit by Gutierrez. "K" crushed a first pitch fastball to the gap in left centerfield that reached the wall, driving in two more runs. Unfortunately for the Swingers, Gutierrez was thrown out trying to score on the play. "He ran through my stop sign," said third base coach "ER" Ridenhour, "I don't know what he was thinking." When asked for comment, Gutierrez had this to say: "Apparently the juice doesn't make you any faster." After going down in order in both the 4th and 5th innings, the Swingers erupted again in their half of the 6th. The big hits of the inning were 2 RBI singles notched by Adam "Chuckie" Tsacoumangos and short shortstop Dan Higa. Ron Sturm and Christine Aylward both posted excellent games at the plate, with Sturm going 2-2 including a double, and Aylward going 2-4, scoring a run and driving in 2.

Eric "ER" Ridenhour posted a solid starting performance after a shaky outting last week to earn his 4th win of the season, and push his record over .500 at 4-3. He struck out two batters while walking just one and surrendering 5 runs. Coming on in relief Jason Brunick also performed well, also allowing 5 runs while striking out one and walking 3 in his 3 innings of work. Defensively it was a Jekyl and Hide night for the swingers, who made several sparkling plays, but also managed to look clueless on certain occasions. The big play of the evening was "ER" Ridenhour's catch of a scorching line drive up the middle in the second inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Ridenhour managed to stab the blistering liner, which would otherwise have ended up in centerfield and scoring at least two runs. "That was a game saving play early in the game," Commented J-Rod Ross, "If "ER" doesn't make that play, we're down early, it changes the whole complection of the game." Ridenhour was asked for comment after the game and said only, "It hurt like hell!" On the other end of the spectrum short shortstop Dan Higa commited his second error in as many games on would should have been a routine ground ball that skipped past him in the 4th inning. Also at fault was third basewoman Lynsey Winkler, who for the second consecutive game forgot what to do with the ball after she caught it. In the bottom of the sixth inning with the Swingers an out away from victory, Winkler fielded a sharp ground ball, but instead of throwing to first to end the game, she threw an errant ball home. "I get confused," said Winkler afterwards. "She has a talent for understatement," added catcher Bobbi "The General" Closser. Winkler redeemed herself on the next play however, when she snagged another grounder and threw to second to record the force out and seal the win.

After the game the Swingers announced that Winkler would be leaving the team on Thursday to join A.C. Milan of the Italian Serie A soccer league. Winkler's departure to European soccer had been rumored for weeks, and became a reality when Milan made it's final offer of $75 million for 4 years. "I'm pleased that they decided to pay me what I'm worth," said Winkler in a seperate news conference, "My time with the Swingers will be remembered fondly, but it's time for me to move up to better things." Manager Christine Aylward had this to say, "Lynsey helped us quite a bit down the home stretch. We'd like to keep her on, but our offer of $5, a Target gift card, and a six pack of root beer couldn't compare with what Milan could afford to spend."

The Swingers will rap up the season with two makeup games, the first of which is scheduled for 8:30pm next Monday night against Office Average. Good seats still remain, call the Swinger's ticket office today!

- Dan Higa

Swingers season statistics.

Another cool picture.

Two F-15s flying over the current and future Busch Stadiums.

Swingers Softball Recap (8/1/05)

The Swingers could not continue their hot streak on Monday night, dropping a heart breaker to office average by the score of 22-2. The loss snapped a two game win streak, and dropped the Red Devil record to 3-6. Nothing went right for the visiting team on a night that featured a 2 hour delay due to a rabies scare. A large grey dog attacked a vendor just before first pitch, and play was held during a search for the animal. Witnesses claim the dog was foaming at the mouth, and one woman asserted that Bobbi "the General" Closser was later seen stuffing the pooch into her locker in an attempt to hide it. Closser had no comment, and the rabid animal was not found.

The swingers added very little in the way of excitement on the field managing just 2 runs on 4 hits. Short Shortstop Dan Higa led the game off with a linedrive single to left field, took 3rd on a throwing error, and scored on a one out RBI single by Adam "Chuckie" Tsacoumangos. Despite playing in only 3 games, "Chuckie" is among the team leaders with 8 RBI for the season, and appears to have solidified a spot with the big club after his mid season call up from the AAA Poo Flingers of Monkey's Eyebrow, NM. Reporters had several questions for the rookie, but chief among them was how "Tsacoumangos" could be pronounced "Chuhkuhmayngus." Manager Christine Aylward had this to say. "Jarrod can't spell Jared, and Adam has 20 letters in his name. Our team is alphabetically challenged I guess." "We can't hit either," commented Erik "K" Gutierrez. Gutierrez was apparently speaking for himself after posting yet another 0-fer. The former all star has yet to record a hit in 6 at bats, although he has reached base once on an error. "We're working with the team doctors to find a way to get Erik back on steriods without the league finding out," commented Aylward.

The Swingers only other run came in the second inning. Katie Stemmler reached base on an error by the pitcher, who's dentures fell out while he attempted to field the ball. Ron Sturm then blasted a double to deep right center field that bounced up against the base of the wall, sending Stemmler to third. After Amber Moodie-Dyer's ground out failed to advance the runners, Eric "C" Ridenhour drove Stemmler home with a grounder to second base. It has been a frustrating year for Moodie-Dyer, who like "K" Gutierrez is sporting a collar for a batting average. The pair are joined by Kim Brunick and Glenna Anderson as the only members of the Swinger lineup that have yet to record a hit. "Landers" Anderson has apparently fled the country after learning of a demotion to AAA. "We tried to send her down to the minors to sort out her swing, but the next day she dissappeared." It is unclear if the Swingers will continue to pay the remaining $3 on Anderson's contract. Of the three players still on the roster, Brunick has been the most successfull, notching a .400 On-Base Percentage and scoring 2 runs.

Jason Brunick took the mound for the Swingers and quickly regretted it, allowing 12 runs, all earned, on 18 hits and 2 walks. He lasted just 2 innings of work. The outting ballooned Brunick's ERA to 11.12, up from a team leading 7.00. Eric "C" Ridenhour faired no better, pitching 2 innings of relief and also surrendering 12 runs. Defensively, the Red Devils played inconsistant defense, as evidenced by rookie Lynsey Winkler's performance at third base. With one out and a man on second in the second inning, Winkler fielded a sharp ground ball at the hot corner. She proceded to chase after the runner standing on second while short shortstop Higa yelled for a play at first base. Winkler pivoted and threw wildly, allowing a run to score. "I think she'd have done better if she had kicked it like a soccer ball," commented first baseman Ron Sturm, who despite his 6'0 frame could not handle the throw. One inning later, Winkler again made a play on hard hit grounder with the bases loaded. This time however, she threw a seed to Kristen Babb who stepped on home plate to record an out. It remains unclear if Winkler will remain with the Swingers, as AC Milan of Italy's Serie A soccer league has increased their offer to $53 million, according to reports. Winkler had no comment. Manager Christine Aylward and Short Shortstop Dan Higa also had some difficulties on the left side of the infield. Higa was unable to field a sharp ground ball after it took a nasty hop, and Aylward suffered the same fate on a ball that bounced clear over her head. "Christine should have dove," commented Higa. "That was just a weak effort." Higa has quickly developed a reputation in the clubhouse as intense and overly critical of the performance of his teammates. "I guess I'm just the only one that cares about winning," commented Higa.

The Swingers announced a bit of a scandal in a press release following the ballgame. In the release, the team disclosed the true age of second basewoman Melanie Ureta. Ureta, a Filipino by birth, apparently lied about her age when she entered the professional draft. "Lying about your age is fairly common among Cuban defectors who play in the big leagues, but this is the first case of a Filipino," commented Comissioner Bud Selig. Ureta, who is listed on the Swinger roster as a 25 year old, was revealed to be 32. "We don't care as long as she continues to play at a level that makes her a cornerstone of this team," commented Manager Aylward.

The Swingers will attempt to end the regular season on a high note next Monday night against Master Batters at 9:30pm. Good seats still remain, call the Swingers ticket office today!

- Dan Higa

Swingers season statistics.

Swingers Softball Recap (7/25/05)

The Swingers are showing signs of life and extended their winning streak to 2 games after a 22-2 drubbing of Office Average on Monday night. The Red Devils were victorious despite the loss of Manager Christine Aylward and first baseman Ron Sturm, both out due to suspension. Commisioner Bud Selig issued a one game rebuke for both Aylward and Sturm after the pair tag-teamed a camera man during practice earlier in the week. Sturm headlocked the assailed media employee while Aylward repeatedly kicked the man in and around the groin. The incident, captured on film, will cost both players a one game suspension and a $5,000 fine. Neither Aylward nor Sturm had any comment.

Short Shortstop Dan Higa took over managerial duties in Aylward's absence and fielded a slightly different looking lineup. Recent AAA call up Adam Tsacoumangos batted in J-Rod Ross's usual number 3 spot, and Jamaal Granger played first base for the first time this year. The moves paid off for Higa, as Tsacoumangos drove in 3 runs, and Ross 2. Granger also contributed with his first home run of the season, a solo blast that just cleared the wall in right field. It was the first of 3 RBIs for Granger on the evening. "I was inspired," said Granger, who was recently engaged to girlfriend and teammate Melanie Ureta. "My heart was on fire, and it showed on the field today." Several male teammates groaned in the locker room listening to Granger's mush. Ureta also contributed a solid performance, going 2-5, scoring a run, and driving in a pair with a 2 out second inning single. "Melanie is a cornerstone for us," commented interim manager Higa, "The moon will rise tonight, the sun will rise tomorrow, and Melanie will play second base." It was also a career night for the short shortstop, who reached base in all 5 at bats, scored 3 runs, and drove in 5.

On the mound, starter Eric Ridenhour pitched two solid innings, giving up just two runs and walking only 1 batter. It was enough to earn Ridenhour his second straight victory. Coming on in relief Jason Brunick tossed 3 scoreless frames and extended his scoreless streak to 6 consecutive innings. Brunick lowered his team leading ERA to a microscopic 7.00, while striking out 2 and walking 1. "He had excellent stuff tonight," said catcher Bobbi "The General" Closser, "His fastball was on the black of the plate, his curve had good break, and he mixed his speeds well all night." Defensively, the Swingers provided excellent defense for the pitching staff, highlighted by a sterling outfield assist at third base. Tsacoumangos handled a shallow fly ball that dropped just in front of him, and threw a strike to rookie call-up Lynsey Winkler at third base. Winkler applied the tag to give the Swingers a key second out in the 4th. Winkler was called up from the AA Badgers of Mobile, AL to boost the club during Aylward's suspension. It was a solid debut for the rookie, who reached base 3 times and scored twice. Winkler, also a soccer standout, is rumored to be in negotiations with A.C. Milan of the Italian Serie A. If the deal goes through it could be a blow to the Swinger's farm system, already depleted after midseason call ups to Tsacoumangos, Katie Stemmler, and Lindsay Mendro. Winkler had this to say about the deal: "I was a bit dissappointed with Milan's latest offer of just $46 million. We're still in negotiations, so I can't really comment any further. Please forward your questions to my agent." The only miscue for the Swingers occured when "The General" Closser failed to make a play on a foul pop up at home plate. "My dog barked and it distracted me," said Closser, who's new pet Buck Nasty was in attendance.

In a subplot to the evening, Erik "K" Gutierrez returned from substance abuse suspension to play in just his second game of the year. "K" Gutierrez was clearly not himself without the juice, posting another goose egg for the evening. He did, however, reach base on an error and score. "I'm like a dog with no teeth if I can't use my steroids," said Gutierrez, "It's no fair when I can't cheat!" Luckily for the Swingers, several other players helped pick up the slack. Kristen Babb picked up the first RBI of her career, and reached base in all 4 plate appearances, while Kim Brunick walked twice and scored before being lifted in the 3rd for "The General" Closser.

After the game the Swingers front office announced that they had made a trade deadline deal with Minnesotta to send outfielder Emily Hodapp and first baseman Brian McChesney to the Twins in return for cash considerations and a player to be named later. Hodapp, a clearly talented lefty, scored 3 runs in limited action for the Swingers. McChesney, also a left hander, batted .333 and drove in 5 while splitting time with Sturm at first. "We're sad to see half of our left handers leave the team, but financially, the deal made sense. Coed Softball is a business, and we have to operate under the financial constraints upper management puts on us," commented manager Aylward.

The Swingers are 3-5 with 2 scheduled contests left and an oppurtunity to reach .500 for the season. It is unclear if any rained out games will be rescheduled. Next Monday's game is a 6:30pm start against the Mayco Sharks, and good seats still remain. Call the Swinger's ticket office today!

- Dan Higa

Swingers season statistics.