KingsX

Already had a slow play warning!

He came from Italy To kick ass in Brittany

Britain Is The Home Of Golf. The Old Folks’ Home, That Is. With first-time winners taking each of the last seven major titles, you might not think experience counts for much in golf anymore. But as the world’s top players head to Royal Birkdale for this week’s (British) Open, it serves as a reminder that the unique challenges of links-style courses still provide at least one championship showcase for golf’s greybeards. Traditionally speaking, championship golfers do the bulk of their winning in their late 20s and early-to-mid 30s: Since 2000, about 60 percent of major winners were age 32 or younger at the time of their victory. But the big exception seems to be the British Open, whose champs are consistently much older than those of the other majors. Of the five major wins by the 40-and-older set since 2000, only one of them didn’t come at The Open (Vijay Singh’s 2004 PGA Championship win). According to ESPN’s Stats & Information Group, the average age for British Open winners since 2000 was 33.7, while the average age for all other major champs was 30.7. And the results have been even more extreme in recent years, with four 40-somethings winning the Claret Jug this decade,1 and this doesn’t even count Zach Johnson (who won The Open at age 39 in 2015), nor does it reflect the heroic near-misses from old-timers this century, such as 59-year-old Tom Watson’s playoff loss at Turnberry in 2009 and 53-year-old Greg Norman’s third-place finish in 2008 — the last time Birkdale hosted the event. Since 2011, the average age for The Open winners has been 38.5, nearly 10 years older than the average of the other three majors ... https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/britain-is-the-home-of-golf-the-old-folks-home-that-is/

The great mass of fans abroad only want to see the big five (or six). Those who did show up for Brighton vs Burnley wouldn’t be able to name more than two of the players and might not show up the following year. The NFL plans five overseas games this year, and I wonder if that will begin to saturate the market. (Do NOT waste your money on the Cleveland Browns FFS.) The chance of moving regular-season London or Manchester derbies overseas is nil. If they must trial this, the biggest clubs moving one lesser home date overseas is the most feasible way. The gate from, say, Huddersfield at Arse would be greater than at the Emirates, and there would be few no-shows.

Folks, get over these Championship transfer fees and clear the scales from your eyes. This: makes this kind of thing a risk worth taking, especially for ego- and risk-driven individuals (i.e. many club owners). Your own club is Exhibit A. Bought for 39M plus 100M in debt write-offs IIRC? And worth nearly 400M less than seven years later. Not to mention the brand exposure for KP. While that leap was likely a one-off, once a club makes it to solid Championship status, the incentive to spend 10M or more for perceived difference-makers is clear, if not irresistible. If you feel your club is top ten there, you reckon your chances at that nine-figure bonanza as 30%. You almost have to give it a go. And spending money to stack the deck is second nature to these uber-successful businessmen and crony capitalists. Absolutely true: do it wrong and they can impair a club’s future. But prudence (investment after promotion) is no longer incentivized -- quite the opposite. There is much more to gain than lose. This is not a world we made, nor the one we would make. But we are living in it because our own choices have underwritten it.

That's about one UK pound per game week. It took me about five minutes to quit fuming and realize, I'll pay the man, and it will be worth that price for my real-time access to every game. From Arlo White on down, NBC has built a generally good team of broadcasters. The technical quality of the streams is also good. And they are the reason why I can often engage with my club on a level as good or better than those of you in the UK who cannot get to games. At a less extortionate price. IMO this is one clever job of slicing off a small subset of US TV-sports consumers who are probably younger and more affluent, and already used to watching games through streaming rather than the coax into the set. And turning us into a leading edge for how to "monetize" their broadcasts in the post-cable age. Clever enough bastards to get my $50 anyway.

Well, that's 50 bucks out of pocket for every stateside LCFC fan who wants to see the games. A laptop full of viruses from "dodgey Russian streams" that are minutes behind -- if they work at all -- is not an alternative if you have the buck and a half a week in disposable income. Rather than drive myself crazy, I will try to see this as a glass half full. NBC has built a good team of broadcasters, considering they go ten deep on some gamedays. And the availability of all the games on, at worst, a quality stream, is the reason why I can engage with my club on a level as good or better than, those UK fans who cannot get to games.

Would be interested to know what you (Brit) folks thought of Erin Hills. Looked something like an Open course to the naked eye, But played American -- guys hitting driver every other tee, staying (or getting) out of the bunkers without much trouble, and skying it into every green. I still thought it was refreshing, something a little different.

Earls of Leicester at the beginning of August, front row.

Every good, proven piece has to make this club look better to other ambitious players. Excellent start to a very critical window.

Laudatory article about Bruce Arena’s impact on the USMNT. Some striking parallels with the Shakey situation, both starting in extremis with conservative returns to basics, causing some feeling that the football was too negative and lacked ambition. Not easy to make a case against either man’s early results though ! When Bruce Arena took over the U.S. men's national team in late November, he inherited a squad in disarray. The Americans found themselves in last place of the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, mired in mediocrity and trending downward as previous manager Jurgen Klinsmann's motivational ploys and tactics lost effectiveness. Arena, who coached the United States from 1998 to 2006, got the job because of his familiarity with the program and its players as well as his presumed ability to get the red, white and blue to Russia in 2018. He was the choice by necessity and by default, the best man to get the job done, but also the only one who could. As a result, while his hiring was applauded as the right decision, it wasn't exactly met with overjoyed enthusiasm. The return of Arena signified a return to the past, an admission that before the Americans could move forward, they needed to go back. Arena wasn't a forward-thinking coach; he was a pragmatic one. He probably could lead the team to the World Cup but would do so by going back to the basics, leaning on athleticism and effort rather than technical ability and tactical nuance. Now that Arena's side has returned eight points from four World Cup qualifiers, including an impressive draw at Mexico's soccer fortress, Estadio Azteca, on Sunday, it's time to consider that he has exceeded expectations. Not only has the coach gotten the tactics right and brought the fight back to the U.S., but he's building a blueprint for a team that could find success in 2018 and beyond. the rest: http://www.espnfc.us/team/united-states/660/blog/post/3143093/arena-has-exceeded-expectations-since-replacing-klinsmann-as-us-manager

A superteam loses to the Ultrateam. Cleveland mourns. Half a billion Chinese put their pirated LBJ jerseys away. Foxestalk takes no notice whatsoever. It's a sunny morning, lunch and ales coming up with old friends at a brewpub ... I for one am over it Unless and until Golden State have to divest one of their big four, anyone expecting a different result will be illustrating the definition of insanity.

Great point! A fair result, we were El Tri's equals tonight. Real (and desperately needed) progress under Bruce.

What about Columbus?

Wow. How often does Geoff Cameron play this well for Stoke?

Guzan in goal = recipe for disaster.

There always has to be a hyped young American player. Of those I can remember, Pulisic looks the most complete and ahead of his years. Top ten of his generation? That would be awesome and such a huge boost. He has the potential and time in hand to get there. IMO the best US player ever, by a mile, was Michelle Akers. Best skills in the world and never lost a 50-50 ball in her life. Why are we so far overdue to develop an all-around world-class male player.

I would love to watch it in person, but not gonna happen. I logged on in the first minute of general sale and whatever few tickets may have been available, were already gone. Now north of $300 to buy a single for game 3 or 4 on Stubhub. Believe the Cavs can and will take one at home. But dubs' starting five is the best that will ever be assembled in the modern era.

Female football star banned for life after vicious attack on pitch in Bosnia's top flight Silvija Sekacic pinned Adnu Ljubanovic to the ground and struck her repeatedly before team-mates and officials could intervene Despite being shown a red card, Sekacic showed no remorse: “Red card, but at least if nothing else I beat her up.”

Canadian Premier League given green light, aiming for 2018 start It appears Canada is about to have a league of its own. Over the weekend, Canada Soccer officials revealed that plans for the Canadian Premier League have been approved and that Hamilton and Winnipeg will be founding cities for the new division. Canada Soccer has already stated that at least 10 cities have already expressed interest in joining the new league, which hopes to take to the field as early as 2018. The flagship cities will be the 8th and 9th largest metro areas in Canada? Sounds more second division than Premier, but more power to them. Full link: http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2017/05/08/canadian-premier-league-given-green-light-aiming-for-2018-start/

Interesting article about N'Golo's days coming up in France. More rejections and bumps in the road than I would have thought. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2704137-finding-ngolo-kante-the-men-who-discovered-the-pfa-player-of-the-year

Isn’t it stating the obvious that Kasper is the least replaceable player on the squad? He has turned likely losses into draws and wins. Both by the nature of his position and the quality of his performances, he is this year’s Kante. (Ndidi not till next year.) The man is also a marketable asset. No Kasper = no wives watching LCFC football (at least in our house). No one is irreplaceable; but his departure would set the club back a ways.

Speaking of unappreciated at home ... Jimme O'Neill had to move to France to make a musician's living. As far as I know he's still there.