What Kind of Crowd Will There Be in Oakland?

The Q's have again scheduled 2 games this season at the Oakland Coliseum - the 2 home games with the LA Galaxy. Of course, they were anticipating the presence of a Mr. Posh Spice to bring in a larger crowd - but this won't be happening this year since Mr Posh is staying in Italy until after mid-season.

I am hoping that there will be a decent crowd, but I am not going to get my hopes up. I just hope that it doesn't turn out to be a huge stadium with a small crowd. H and I will be there - no matter what - to support the Q's. I think the confines of the SB San Siro give us a better home pitch advantage.

UEFA Champions League - Update

The CL quarter-finals are now complete.

Chelsea (Go Blues!) beats Liverpool FC (7-5 on aggregate)

Manchester Utd beats FC Porto (3-2 on aggregate)

Aresnal beats Villarreal (4-1 on aggregate)

FC Barcelona beats Bayern Munich (5-1 on aggregate)

Semi-final Match-ups

Chelsea vs. FC Barcelona

Manchester Utd vs. Arsenal

My thoughts: I am still pulling for Chelsea to go all the way. John Terry will be back from yellow card suspension. Michael Ballack needs to get rid of the Greg Brady haircut (it is probably what causes him to run so slow!).

Drogba, Lampard, Terry, and Anelka will carry the day against Barca. Petr Cech better be at the top of his game and have no mistakes like he did vs. Liverpool.

Prediction for 2009 Finals in Rome: Chelsea FC vs. Manchester United

Playing Not to Lose

Well, the Quakes did score 3 goals today (Johnson, Convey, Alvarez), but so did Chicago. Ball control for the Q's was inconsistent, including some awful passing at times. What bothered me the most was that it seemed so clearly that when the Quakes had a one goal lead (2x), they sat back and tried to play defense in a way that I can only describe as "playing not to lose". Two of the three goals scored by Chicago were not the fault of Joe C - the defense let him down horribly.

We did get one point, but it was still hard to take. Plus - there were so many Blanco fans there. Didn't feel like any home field advantage.

Up Next week: LA Galaxy at the Oakland Coliseum

"Blown" Off of the Pitch

Yikes - the Q's dropped their match against KC in horrible conditions - rain, snow flurries, and WIND. There was a point where Joe Cannon had a very difficult time getting goal kicks away because the ball wouldn't sit still on the ground due to the high winds. The Q's did have their chances to score, but couldn't get one into the net. Ball control seemed to be a major problem for the Q's and it looked like there were defensive breakdowns when the Wizards scored. Joe Cannon played very well - as usual. Some top notch saves.

I am sure the boys are looking forward to returning to the SB San Siro and sunny California.

uh oh....

I have just started receiving Gol tv and FSC in my upgraded tv package. Does this mean less time with my family? Skipping work? Less blogging? Fewer meals? Few hours of sleep? We shall see...gotta go - Toronto FC vs Sounders FC on FSC.

Conflicted

All of the stories in the recent news about Lew Wolff and where his Oakland A's may or may not be going to play in a few years has resulted in me being conflicted. As a Q's supporter - I'm grateful to Mr Wolff for bringing the franchise back to the Bay Area. The Quakes belong in San Jose - their roots. All Q's supporters are looking forward to the proposed Quakes stadium that is being pursued. All of the botched attempts to move the A's, including the latest to Fremont has all but failed. What kind of message does this send, if at all, with respect to the future home of the Quakes? I beleive the basic message is, "Believe it when you see it."

My views:

(1) The A's BELONG in Oakland. Period. Do what has to be done to keep them there. The existing Oakland Coliseum site provides the most logical location for a new stadium. GET IT DONE.

(2) The Quakes can survive at Buck Shaw for awhile - there is still alot of room for growth in the fan base before a new stadium can be filled on a regular basis.

A Busy Couple of Weeks in International Football

World Cup Qualifying

Wednesday April 1, 2009
Trinidad & Tobago at U.S.
Honduras @ Mexico

Champions League

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Arsenal @ Villarreal (1st leg)
Porto @ Manchester Utd (1st leg)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Chelsea @ Liverpool (1st leg)
Bayern Munich @ Barcelona (1st leg)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Liverpool @ Chelsea (2nd leg)
Barcelona @ Bayern Munich (2nd leg)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Villarreal @ Arsenal (2nd leg)
Manchester Utd. @ Porto (2nd leg)

Check ESPN for tv information