The USA advanced to the final round of qualifying for the 2014 (Men’s) World Cup last night with their 3-1 victory over Guatemala. The Yanks won their group, which was expected, though they put in several terrible performances along the way. The USA is still a favorite to grab one of the three automatic qualifying spotsContinue reading “The USA Continues on the Road to the World Cup”
Category Archives: Sports
Katie Baker on Mike Francesa
Katie Baker has a hilarious column on grantland.com about Mike Francesa’s show this past Monday: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8452270/the-jets-giants-mike-francesa-bad-weekend-nyc-sports. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of listening to WFAN, New York City’s all-sports radio station (the jingle comes into my head immediately: “Sports radio sixty-six, the FAN! W-F-A-N, New York!”), in the afternoon after coming home from juniorContinue reading “Katie Baker on Mike Francesa”
Some Random Sunday Thoughts
As I sit in front of my computer on this lazy Sunday morning that has now meandered into the afternoon, these are three of the things I am thinking about while I procrastinate working on revisions to an essay: I am glad that Manchester United finally converted a penalty kick after missing their last three, with RobinContinue reading “Some Random Sunday Thoughts”
Missing Chess
I had a vivid dream about playing in a chess tournament last night. I haven’t played in a tournament in nearly two years, which was the last time I even played a game. My life is much too busy these days to go back to playing chess because of the all-encompassing nature of my professionalContinue reading “Missing Chess”
Manchester United: Exciting But Inconsistent
Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Southampton today was thrilling, but also troubling for United fans. New acquisition Robin van Persie showed his brilliance with a hat trick–including two goals in the last five minutes of the match–to give the Red Devils the three points. But on the whole United looked flat, creating few scoring chancesContinue reading “Manchester United: Exciting But Inconsistent”
Books Acquired Recently
Aldrich, Nelson W., Jr., ed. George, Being George: George Plimpton’s Life as Told, Admired, Deplored, and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, Rivals–and a Few Unappreciative Observers. New York: Random, 2008. I am fascinated by George Plimpton as a sort of public intellectual who was one of the last of his kind. However, this fascinationContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
The U.S. Wins a Thriller Against Canada
If you weren’t watching the Olympic Women’s Soccer semifinal between the U.S. and Canada this afternoon, you suck. It was one of the most thrilling, well-played soccer matches I have seen in my twenty-plus years as a fan. Both teams played their guts out, with the U.S. scoring the winning goal in the 123rd minuteContinue reading “The U.S. Wins a Thriller Against Canada”
Rooting for the Knicks
With the latest news (it keeps changing! by the time I finish writing this post everything I say might be completely outdated) that the New York Knicks are going to let Jeremy Lin join the Houston Rockets, some people, most notably Bill Simmons, have asked whether it is justifiable for Knicks fans to switch theirContinue reading “Rooting for the Knicks”
Left Field Cards and Some Thoughts on Obsession
I just read an article by Paul Lukas (http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/6053/the-coolest-baseball-cards-of-the-year) about Left Field Cards (http://www.leftfieldcards.com/index.html), an art project by Amelie Mancini that consists of quirky sets of baseball card-esque postcards. I love paper culture, and I love baseball, and I love the nostalgia evoked by baseball cards (I collected them avidly as a boy), so I absolutelyContinue reading “Left Field Cards and Some Thoughts on Obsession”
Euro 2012: Spain Champions Again
Spain made history today with their 4-0 victory over Italy in the Euro 2012 final, becoming the first team to ever win three major championships in a row. Spain also became the first team to win two Euros in a row, and these two victories, along with their 2010 World Cup championship, make them theContinue reading “Euro 2012: Spain Champions Again”
Daniel Shank Cruz 