Manchester United... Europe's best ??

Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium : Champions League Final [21st May]

After the opening ceremony was over, both teams walked out lead by England's heartbeat in defense, John Terry of Chelsea and Rio Ferdinand of Man Utd. with their respective teams. The game began with high tempo and it wasn't long before Man Utd. took the lead through, pretty-boy Ronaldo (who now has 42 goals, making him Man Utd.’s most prolific winger or midfielder surpassing George Best’ record), who made Essien look like a fool. If you give anyone a free-header at the back post, guarantee yourself some pleasant words from the keeper. Ten minutes later, Man Utd. could have wrapped up the game with Tevez’ header saved by Cech, who dressed like a Guantanamo inmate cleaned up the mess, resulting rebound hit right back at Cech by Carrick, when he had all the time to place it in the bottom corner. Chelsea though, had their say and deservedly equalized through Lampard after some deflections.

Second half was pretty quiet and perhaps the only highlight was when Giggs was brought in, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of most appearances by a Man Utd. player. Also, Drogba hit the post with a curling right footer and soon after was full time. Extra time began, with Lampard hitting the post in the first half and Giggs on the other end could not bury the ball in the net, only for John Terry to save off the line. Extra time second half had scenes of an ugly confrontation between both teams initiated by Tevez which later escalated and followed by Drogba slapping Vidic. The ‘Top Drogg’ was shown red disgracing himself yet again. Some advice for Didier, if you really want to be shown a red card in a final, do it the Zidane way and go for the knock-out. Penalties were inevitable, mostly everyone scored but the misses were the key. Ronaldo’s penalty was saved by Guantanamo inmate 001 expertly. John Terry was the next who missed, slipping on the wet turf and his shot hit the post and out it went. Man Utd. had the advantage and lost it but gained it back again. Anelka stepped up, he needed to score to give Chelsea any chance, and Van Der Sar was out to deny him and successfully completed his business.

So, Man Utd. were crowned champions of Europe. The press were already sniffing, and looking for a scapegoat. They blame John Terry who could have won the Champ’s League for Chelsea if he was to score. If there is anyone to blame, it’s Drogba who didn’t respect his team enough to have carried out those actions. Blame John Terry, who on the last day of the English league suffered a dislocated elbow but had no desire to sit this one out. If anything, John Terry should be shown the most respect because after the game was over he was the only one who actually showed the most sorrow. Blame Mr. Grant for substituting Makélélé who had an excellent game, or for having sent JT rather than Carvalho who has done this before at international level. Reports say Avram Grant threw his medal into the crowd, mimicking Jose Mourinho. Mr. Grant, don’t try to be someone you will never become. As for John Terry, you have my utmost respect.



Hypothesis Test:

Step 1 ~~ Ho : Man Utd. are not Europe’s best... &... Ha : Man Utd. are Europe’s best

Step 2 ~~ Alpha = 0.05

Step 3 ~~ P-Value = 0.0499

Step 4 ~~ Reject Ho if P-Value <= Alpha

Step 5 ~~ Reject Ho because P-Value is less than Alpha, there is just about sufficient evidence to say Man Utd. are Europe’s best.

Good job Sir Alex Ferguson and continue the football Giggsy…

Picture Source : Sky Sports & UEFA

Queens of the Stone Age : Live in Halifax

Four hours of sleep the previous night, a six hour bus ride while having some home-made egg salad on the way and we were finally in Halifax (NS). Downtown was busy, we arrived about lunch time and so had to grab another snack. Walking around the mall we saw a Lebanese Restaurant, so we went wild on the falafel sandwiches. Let’s just say the egg salad didn’t react well with the extra hummus which was requested.

Sightseeing started after lunch, pictures were taking and a little shopping was being done when I sighted a distinct figure outside the glass window. Said to my buddy, "That was the Queens drummer...". We got out and followed while being disregarded as to I was seeing things and needed sleep. It in fact was Joey Castillo but we had no nerve to approach him because while we were waiting for the Queens drummer to get out of a store, friend of mine said, "Any gothic bastard off the street... Queens’s drummer...", with quite a bit of sarcasm in that statement. Oh well, that’s a story we'll be telling our kids.

Anyways, got to the gate four hours in advance so we could get the best place. People kept on coming and lining up. However, people weren’t as well equipped as us when it came to winter wear. No disrespect but a few of the smaller people started turning dead white because of the cold. Gates opened, we were in the premises. Mugison opened for QOTSA and could not have done a better job. Excellent vocals and some good tunes to get the crowd warmed up. Although, the crowd could have given them a better ovation.

Enter Queens... Words cannot describe the experience but to sum it all up, amazing concert. My favourites of the night were 'Little Sister' & 'Songs for the Dead', vocals on some songs were weak but that’s what Queens are all about. The rawness is what matters. It was a diverse crowd, with the majority out there to enjoy the music. But the others just wanted, in the words of Josh Homme, to get f--king loose.

I did wave out to Joey Castillo at the end of the concert, and I really think he knew who we were...

Good night’s rest was needed and all I can say is, "We be chillin' in the Holiday Inn..." ;)

Picture Source : Flickr

Champions League : Moscow '08 Final

So the British have mastered Europe it seems, with Manchester United & Chelsea going head to head this year for the bragging rights to be Europe's best. It's safe to say Man Utd had an easier job of reaching the finals this year, but not because they got weaker teams but because of the consistency shown by this club. Team effort was needed for all this to work, and when you have individuals with the experience such as Giggs and Scholes along with the young guns such as Tevez, Nani, Rooney and who can forget the dazzling brilliance of a Portuguese prodigy that is Cristiano Ronaldo. These are all traits to achieve a season of silverware, and if you have a winger that can pop-up and score 41 goals in all competitions (that's the tally so far), you deserve to be called the best and Sir Alex Ferguson knows all about that. Taking nothing away from Chelsea, Avram Grant had a difficult job of managing 'The Untouchables' after 'The Special One' parted company with mutual consent. Mr.Grant has not done all that bad, guiding Chelsea to their first ever Champions League final is a huge achievement. But Chelsea didn't have it easy, Fenerbahce gave them a run for their money with their fighting spirit and the never say die attitude of Liverpool in the semi's would have tarnished Chelsea's hopes of their first Europoean final. It was not third time lucky for the Reds, who have defeated Chelsea twice in two years at the same stage of this competition.

Man Utd. are said to be favourites and after clinching the league title today, many experts are writting Chelsea off in their quest for a first European title. Hat's off to Man Utd. on winning the league, who have shown beautiful football this season. Unlucky Mr.Grant, your just not as special as 'The Special One'.

Alot of big names on the team sheets in Moscow, 21st May, but two men to watch would be Ronaldo of Man Utd. and Drogba of Chelsea. Drogba has been criticised in the past, but has proved himself over and over again, so Ferdinand watch out !!

The Red Devils have been crowned Englands best, but will they be Europes best ?? Or can the Blues cause an upset and run away with the European title ??

21st May... Moscow '08...

Picture Source : Sky Sports & UEFA

What to expect ??

This is going to a general blog... Expect nothing amazing but just the mundane bullshit we think about sometimes...

Hope everyone enjoys...

Stay tuned...