US Open Cup, Quakes Update, Champions League, Where is Ronnie?

...alot of things to write about today.

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - "What Happened?"

One of the oldest cup competitions in the sport and many have never heard of it. Those who have heard of it really don't care too much about it (MLS teams definitely do not see it as any priority - this can be seen when you watch Cup qualifer rosters filled with reserves and developmental squad lads). Basically what happened was that the Cup went the way of the sport of "soccer" in America (Baseball and American football took over and real football faded to the background of the American sporting scene.) I understand that back in the early 1900's, football leagues were heavily dependant on overseas talent and little development was being done to improve America's talent pool. Doesn't sound too much different from today's game! So the US Cup will probably stay in the shadows for eternity (and that's a long time!)

2009 Champions League:

Man Utd is heading to Rome after trashing Aresenal at the Emirates today (3-1, aggregate after 2nd leg 4-1). Man Utd dominated this game. Tomorrow is the showdown between Barca and Chelsea to see who will face Man Utd in the UCL finals. 1st leg was a nil-nil draw at camp nou. Tomorrow's game at Stamford Bridge will be interesting.

Quakes v. Chivas USA:

The Q's looked horrible again. Alot a credit does go to Chivas though (they are a great looking team right now). It reminds me of how the first part of the season was last year - we have little to no offensive threat on the field. Ryan Johnson will be marked be every team and so will Arturo. What has damaged the team the most? (3) Jason Hernandez injury (2) Darren Huckerby injury and (1) THE LOSS OF RONNIE O'BRIEN.

The team is not the same without Ronnie. Is he still available? I don't know for sure, but as far as I can tell, he isn't under contract with anyone right now. There was some web chatter about a possible interest by the Portland Timbers (that better not happen!). We need to get him back. I bet the supporters would be willing to pass the hat if that would help the front office get him back in the black and blue.

Post Game Meals:

I haven't posted much about the post-game meals H and I have had recently. We did hit Hot Pot City again after the US Cup game against NY. The meal was great as always. After the most recent game against Chivas, H wanted to go to a wildlife-themed restaraunt that he was familiar with in Campbell. I said that that sounds interesting. He told me that the specific focus was on avian species, especially one specific type of raptor. I thought, "Wow, intriguing." He mentioned that he knew a Theresa there, so I assumned this must have been one of the raptor specialists. Thanks H.

Oh, and by the way, this is H's friend Theresa...

1 "friendly" and 1 "must win"

There will be 2 Quakes games this week at the SB San Siro. The first one is tomorrow night vs CD FAS - an international friendly. Don't expect the first team out there on the pitch for this one. CD FAS is a top club from El Salvador. The big game will be on Saturday when we take on Chivas USA - a must win as I see it if we are going maintain an outside chance to get into post season play. Chivas is one of the teams that is also fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Currently they have 39 points (2nd to Houston with 43). The Q's only have 30. RSL, Colorado, and FC Dallas are the teams we are trying to catch (this is why the FC Dallas tie last week really hurt us). This week: NY @ RSL, Toronto @ Dallas, and Colorado @ LA. (The Galaxy is behind the Q's with 29 pts. Ideally - Quakes win, RSL and Dallas lose, and Colorado and LA tie).

Only 5 games left. C'mon Boys!

Only 5 regular season games left (+ 1 friendly against CD Fas). Tonight's match is HUGE. The team is going to have to be playing their "A" game from this point forward. The defensive lapses cost us a victory in our last game vs. Real Salt Lake. The boys need to help Joe out. All the other teams know what Hucks can do now so they are adjusting their D to put more pressure on him. Arturo had trouble getting into the last game - I hope that changes soon. C'mon Boys - "Let's Go Earthquakes - da-da-dadada-da-da-da

10/02 - Thursday
@ FC Dallas
6:00 p.m.
ESPN2, Deportes

10/07 - Tuesday
CD Fas &
7:00 p.m.

10/11 - Saturday
Chivas USA
7:00 p.m.
HDNet, CSNW

10/15 - Wednesday
@ Houston Dynamo
6:00 p.m.
CSNBA, DK, MLSLIVE.tv

10/18 - Saturday
@ Kansas City Wizards
5:00 p.m.
CSNBA, DK, MLSLIVE.tv

10/25 - Saturday
Toronto FC
7:00 p.m.
CSNBA, DK, MLSLIVE.tv

Marshalls, Ross, etc.

H is the king of football-related goods at discount retail chains! http://www.hcanfinditfootball.com/ Jersey's, jackets, t-shirts, balls, etc. (sizes and styles are limited....to one)

I guess 1 Point is Better Than 0

Our Quakes played Chivas USA tonight down at the HDC. No television coverage (only Spanish radio). I looked at the box score and the game appeared pretty even, except that the Q's had a corner kick advantage. Despite that, the game ends nil-nil.

We are still hanging out in the basement of the MLS right now, but we didn't lose ground as many Western Div teams also lost this week. The remaining games on the schedule include a majority of them at the SBSS (South Bay San Siro). The home field support should make a huge difference as we see if we have enough kick left for the final sprint (...too many hours watching the Olympics!).

Next home game is Aug 30th versus the KC Wizards. The dilemma I have is that is also the opening day for Cal Football (vs Michigan State) in Berkeley. Despite my clear preference for "real" football versus American football, the California Golden Bears are my first love in terms of sports. My alma mater is finally showing life as a college football program after years and years of (personal) agony.

Section 108 Percussion: My cousin H and I form the Sec 108 percussion group at the SB San Siro. Sometimes we are joined by T as a third. We are toying with the idea of adding some variety to our cheering with cow bells, etc. We'll see how creative we can be. We also need to practice our "Oh Huckerby" cheer (the one that is on this You Tube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15xlpBjpUP0 )