Major League (Soccer) & Albert Pujols

ALBERT PUJOLS MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Photos: Massacre in Marshall

Small Time Skates from Columbia, Missouri Hosted a MASSACRE IN MARSHALL skate contest.

With the sun beating down and temps nearing 100 degrees, everybody at the Marshall Skatepark was massacred.

by newkid_pics

Photos: DROPKICK MURPHYS with Civet

Tuesday July 15, 2008. Beaumont Club. Kansas City, MO.

Civet, an all girl punk rock band, opened up for Dropkick Murphys. Their cover of the Misfits "Horror Business" was a highlight of their set. Civet was an appropriate opening band as Dropkick Murphys came out to play louder and faster than their shows I've seen closer to March 17.

Civet MySpace. Dropkick Murphys MySpace.

Weezer

Weezer's sixth album is out now! The album starts out strong with a catchy nerd rock song Troublemaker. This might be their best album since Pinkerton. It has the strong songs reminiscent of their blue album and the weirdness of Pinkerton. If you're a fan of Weezer's earlier work, but haven't been impressed in recent years, this album may bring you back.

Jimmy Conrad is Everywhere

Kansas City's Jimmy Conrad is everywhere.

Jimmy Conrad in commercials:




Jimmy Conrad at BigThink.com talking about Retiring from Professional Sports.

Jimmy Conrad in his column "Conrad's Corner" at ESPN's soccernet.com.

Jimmy Conrad on billboards around KC:

Also, Jimmy Conrad in Penthouse?

FULHAM STAY!

Fulham survive the relegation battle by winning against FA Cup finalists Portsmouth. With four wins in the last five games of the season, Fulham climb the stairs out of the basement to stay in England's top league for another season.

Oh yeah, Manchester United are league champions for the 10th time after today's results.

"It's All In Our Hands"

America's team, Fulham, with (from left to right) Americans Kasey Keller, Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johson, Carlos Bocanegra, and Brian McBride are fighting to the end. The end being their last game of the season vs. Portsmouth this weekend. Last week, Brian McBride scored first to bring Fulham out of the basement with a 2-0 win over Birmingham. Now FulhAmerica control their destiny. A win secures their place in England's top league.

Check out Fulham's Day of Destiny video.

Vice Review

Photo: Brandon Phillips of the Architects @ the Record Bar.

Kansas City's own Architects just released Vice, their third album. If you're already a fan, then you're going to want to add this to your collection. Some of Vice's standout songs are Pills, Daddy Wore Black, and New Boots & Truncheons. You can actually check out all three of those new songs on their myspace page. This album didn't have the soul like Keys to the Building or the in-your-face attitude of Revenge. While a few of the songs from Vice will make your playlist, Vice is only a very average effort from the great Architects.

Season 13

Two weeks of the 13th season of MLS have already come and gone.

Ives Galarcep tagged Kansas City to be "this season's surprise." After only two weeks, the new look Kansas City Wizards are sitting pretty at the top of the league with two exciting wins at their new temporary stadium. Sticking with Kansas City, the Wizards open up Week 3 as they host New England Revolution this Wednesday.

MLS on TV for Week 3:
MLS Soccer on Fox Soccer Channel
Sat. Apr. 12 Chicago Fire @ San Jose Earthquakes 3:30 pm CT.
Watch the Chicago Fire welcome the Quakes back home to San Jose.

MLS teams in action in the CONCACAF Champions Cup action.
Two 2nd leg of the Semi-Finals on Fox Soccer Channel
Wed. Apr. 9 Pachuca @ D.C. United 6:30 pm CT.
Wed. Apr. 9 Houston Dynamo @ Saprissa 9:00 pm CT.

Check out the new MLS Football, Futbol, Soccer ad campaign:


Be ready for an exciting summer!
Check out the MLS website for all the latest news: www.mlsnet.com.

Halls of Lame

Madonna is on this years list of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
WTF? The Rock Hall includes inductees such as: Elvis (The King), The Beatles (the guys who defined rock and roll), and The Ramones (the saviors of rock and roll). and now Madonna? no discredit to what what she has accomplished in her career, but it is NOT rock and roll.



Preki, also known as God, gets snubbed this year by the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Check out his wikipedia resume.
seriously? come on.

Also, check him out scoring against Brazil.

Englad Set to Host US at Wembley?

It is looking more and more likely that England will play host to the US for a friendly at the end of May. This would be great. This would be a treat for US and England fans. The American side would probably showcase former MLSers now playing in the Premiership such as Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson, and Tim Howard. This date could mark the 100th appearance of former English captain and current Los Angeles star David Beckham. This could end up being a historic day for both American and English soccer. I'm hoping for a great match.

The Bruce

Bruce Arena is the greatest coach/manager in the history of US soccer. He basically built the dynasty that was D.C. United in the infancy of MLS. He took over Steve Sampson's pile of trash after the 1998 French disaster, turning them into a 2002 World Cup semi-finalist and earning the team a #4 world ranking leading up to the 2006 World Cup.

The summer of 2002 could arguably be the best summer of my life. I was a young adult with practically zero worries and responsibilities. I would be up late watching some serious soccer nearly every night. I remember watching the USA shock Portugal in a Salina, Kansas hotel. I remember watching my dreams fade away as Germany gets lucky with a win in the semis. I remember watching the rest of the tournament in a house with a pretty small TV with friends from a wide array of backgrounds, none of which expected any type of a showing from the US. I remember having friends from Argentina discount the entire World Cup as their country went crashing out in the group stage. Maybe I'm too sentimental, but I'll never forget what that team meant to me. It was an easier life in a different day.

Yes, American soccer fans had high hopes for the team in 2006. Bruce's side was drawn into a tough group, nearly advancing out of the group stage. That summer I was devastated. I blamed Bruce just like everybody else. The team was just "this close" to advancing. If the US did advance, Bruce would have people hailing him as the greatest (or at least one of the greatest) in the history of the modern game. I still place some of that blame on Bruce, but that doesn't take away what he had done for the program. Bruce was the reason why the hopes were so high. He was a victim of his own success.

I am still a fan of Bruce Arena, what he has done, and what I think he can still do.
Bruce Arena speaks for the first time in a while to Goal.com in their two part interview.
Goal.com - Give & Go: Bruce Arena Pt. I and Part II.

float

Flogging Molly's new album Float was released today. I have listened to it a couple times. It is nothing groundbreaking. It sounds like a solid Flogging Molly effort. The first track"Requiem for a Dying Song" already seems to have become a fan favorite. I've mostly been listening to the title track "Float" because I feel like I can relate to the lyrics. I don't build boats; if I did build boats, I wouldn't want them to sink. Also, sometimes I drink alone.
You can listen to some FM songs here. Float video here.

Photo: Flogging Molly in Kansas City, MO. 2/5/2008