VERSUS Offers Up the Easiest Wayne Gretzky Trivia Question Ever

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Al Woods

Or is it? Maybe it’s a trick question—hey, they didn’t call him “The Great One” for nothing.

This painfully obvious trivia fail showed up during the Los Angeles Kings/Detroit Red Wings game on VERSUS the other night. I’m thinking they were asking how many games did it take Gretzky to reach 800 points, but who knows?

VERSUS later showed the answer, without changing the original question, making their trivia fail all that much more hilarious.

So, it took Gretzky 1116 games to reach 800 games? Maybe they should have called him “The Late One.”

Rimshot!

[H/T to Puck Daddy]

The Last Angry Fan

Poll: How Will Wayne Rooney Do Against Wigan?

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Al Woods

Wayne Rooney looks like he’ll start for Manchester United this Saturday in their match against Wigan Athletic.

Rooney, who has just returned from a sabbatical in the United States, will be stepping on to the turf at Old Trafford since October 16 when he played in the 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion. The vibe from the adoring Manchester United fans that day will be quite different this Saturday, especially after the whole transfer episode that was eventually resolved on October 22 when Rooney signed a new five-year agreement. I don’t expect United supporters to boo Rooney, but I believe he’ll receive a much quieter response from the crowd than usual. The jury will be out until Rooney regains the support of his supporters. The only way to regain their faith is by playing to the upmost of his abilities. A return to goalscoring will also help.

The challenge for Rooney is that if he doesn’t score, whether it’s this Saturday against Wigan, or in the follow-up games, the patience among United supporters may wear thin.

But what do you think? Will Rooney get back to his best form this Saturday against Wigan? Or will he be invisible like he’s been for so long? Vote in the poll below.

EPL Talk

Special 1 TV: Wayne Rooney Reports Live From Portland (Video)

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Al Woods

The latest episode of Special 1 TV has been released by the BBC, and in it we find out that Special 1 TV will now be shown on a weekly basis instead of every two weeks.

In the episode, Wayne Rooney reports live from a clinic in Portland where he’s getting a lot of intimate recuperation. Plus he’s joined by a couple of friends.

There’s also several Jose jokes regarding his sending off mid-week in Spain.

Enjoy the new episode and Be Champions!

EPL Talk

“What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch, it was a bit of handbags, that’s all.” – Wayne Rooney

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Al Woods

Without looking, do you know off the top of your head who is currently atop the Italian Serie A table? I bet you would say AC Milan or Inter Milan. Some of you may go for Juventus. You would be wrong if you went with any of those three footballing super-powers. Leading the Italian league so far this year? SS Lazio with a stunning record of 7 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. That loss, by the way, was in their first league match of the season, a 2-0 defeat to Sampdoria.

Now, to be fair, Lazio has only played AC Milan (a 1-1 draw) amongst the league’s usual heavyweights, but still, they are now unbeaten in eight straight league matches, and now have a chance to really prove their worth tomorrow morning when they face bitter rivals and derby foes AS Roma.

Lazio are winning through one of the stingiest defenses in club football right now. Their keeper, Fernando Muslera, has only conceded six times in nine matches, and again, two of those were in the loss to Sampdoria. They are certainly not easy to crack open. They don’t score a ton, to be honest, tallying 13 times in these nine matches, but when you play defense like they do, one or two goals will mostly be enough to win.

Their manager is an interesting story. His name is Edoardo Reja, and he met his wife Livia while he was rooming with current England gaffer Fabio Capello when they both played for Ferrara. He has never been considered to be a top manager, but he’s really done a job with this squad so far, and has them leading one of the more prestigious club leagues in Europe.

Five of their next eight matches are at home, before the Italian holiday break. The big ones are obviously the derby match tomorrow morning against Roma, home encounters with Napoli and Inter Milan, and an away tussle with Juventus. Lazio could certainly be one of the squads to make some noise during this end of Autumn/beginning of Winter period that’s upcoming. They will be one to watch, for sure.

Let’s see what we have for television and internet today. It’s a huge day of matches, to be honest.

8:45 am – ESPN2 – Bolton vs. Tottenham
9:30 am – GolTV – Schalke 04 vs. St. Pauli (Replay)
10:30 am – ESPN3.com – Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich
11:00 am – Fox Soccer Channel – Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton
11:00 am – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv – Fulham vs. Aston Villa
11:00 am – FoxSoccer.tv – Birmingham City vs. West Ham United
11:00 am – FoxSoccer.tv – Blackburn vs. Wigan
11:00 am – FoxSoccer.tv – Blackpool vs. Everton
11:00 am – FoxSoccer.tv – Sunderland vs. Stoke City
1:00 pm – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv – Bologna vs. Lecce
1:00 pm – Fox Soccer Channel – Sunderland vs. Stoke City (Delayed)
1:20 pm – FoxSoccer.tv – Derby County vs. Portsmouth
2:00 pm – FoxSoccer.tv – Sochaux vs. Auxerre
2:00 pm – FoxSoccer.tv – Arles vs. Caen
2:00 pm – FoxSoccer.tv – Bordeaux vs. Valenciennes
2:00 pm – FoxSoccer.tv – Saint Etienne vs. Lorient
3:00 pm – GolTV – Real Sociedad vs. Racing Santander
3:00 pm – Fox Soccer Plus – Derby County vs. Portsmouth (Delayed)
3:45 pm – Fox Soccer Channel – Inter Milan vs. Brescia
4:00 pm – FoxSoccer.tv – Stade Rennes vs. Lyon
4:00 pm – Telefutura – Columbus Crew vs. Colorado Rapids
5:00 pm – DirecTV – Espanyol vs. Malaga
5:00 pm – Fox Soccer Plus – Blackpool vs. Everton (Delayed)
6:00 pm – Fox Soccer Channel – AFC Wimbledon vs. Ebbsfleet United (FA Cup, Delayed)
6:30 pm – Azteca America – Jaguares vs. Atlas
7:00 pm – Telefutura – San Luis vs. Santos Laguna
7:30 pm – GolTV – Once Caldas vs. America de Cali
9:00 pm – Telemundo – Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Cruz Azul
9:00 pm – Telefutura – Pachuca vs. Queretaro
9:30 pm – GolTV – Millonarios vs. Deportes Tolima
10:00 pm – Fox Soccer Channel – Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas
11:00 pm – Telemundo – Atlante vs. Club America
1:00 am – Fox Soccer Channel – Sydney FC vs. Newcastle Jets

Obviously, a lot of us will be focused on the two MLS playoff matches happening today. Colorado and FC Dallas (the two away teams today) hold one goal aggregate advantages coming into today, so those matches will be highly charged, I would imagine. With San Jose eliminating the Red Bulls on Thursday evening, MLS is once again proving that their playoffs are not to be missed. It’s a pretty good day of Prem action, with Spurs-Bolton in the early match, and a sneaky tough Wolves team traveling to Old Trafford to face the still-Rooney-less Red Devils. The Fulham-Villa match has the air of desperation hanging over it, as both of those squads really need to build up some points before the relatively awful December fixture crush starts. All in all, though, it’s quite a day of matches available today. I hope you enjoy some of them.

Thanks as always for your clicks and comments. We truly do appreciate it. Sorry for the lack of a podcast this past week, we ran into some time commitments that did not allow us to get together to record. I believe that we’ll have one this next week, so stay tuned for that. Have a great Saturday and enjoy the matches.

Avoiding the Drop

Edenbridge Bonfire Society to Burn Wayne Rooney in Effigy

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Al Woods

Wayne will simply never understand the true nature of sacrifice.

I mean, really, there isn’t much I can add to this that the title doesn’t already tell you. One should take special note of the green Shrek ears, the bag full of money in Wayne’s right hand, and the newly-signed Manchester United contract under his left arm.

The most surprising thing about this event, actually, is that it’s not Manchester United fans who are holding it. Instead, it’s the Edenbridge Bonfire Society, who have previously set the likes of Katie Price and Russell Brand alight. Traditionally, The whole thing is the capping moment of their torchlight procession and firework celebration, which starts at 6:15 sharp in Edenbridge. If you’re in the area, the whole thing might be worth checking out; there’s a parade on everything.

Society spokesman Charles Laver – who previously dismissed Rooney’s candicacy as he was simply being a “greedy little boy” – had this to say on Rooney’s selection:

“I hate football myself so I’m quite happy to burn a footballer. One of our members is a big Man U fan, so he’s been advising us on getting all the details of the kit just right.”

Rooney’s reinforced steel structure – which stands 49 feet tall – is packed with fireworks. 15,000 spectators are anticipated at the event; there’s no word on whether or not the Rooneys will be bringing Kai, but something tells me “no”.

Avoiding the Drop

Special 1 TV: Wayne Rooney Strikes Back (Video)

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Al Woods

When the creators of Special 1 TV chose Jose Mourinho, Wayne Rooney, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Sir Alex Ferguson as some of the main characters of the show, it was an incredibly wise decision not only because they’re wonderful characters but also because they’re in the news all the time.

All four of them have been in the headlines recently, so it’s no surprise that there’s plenty of hysterical material to work with as shown in the latest episode (see above video).

For me, this was one of the funniest episodes they’ve done in a very long time.

EPL Talk

Has Wayne Rooney Killed Football?

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Al Woods

Has football finally jumped off the cliff?

In a week where we were treated to an utterly enthralling Champions League game at the San Siro and the emotional scoring return to the Emirates of Eduardo, the biggest stories were one player’s greed and the near collapse of a team that won the FA Cup three seasons ago.

Whilst Portsmouth where thankfully saved after Sacha Gaydamak saw sense regarding his repayments, the Wayne Rooney saga has left yet another stain on modern football and left me seriously considering what the future might hold for the game that we all hold so dear.

For years we have heard grumblings from fans about ticket prices and player behaviour but the last 18 months and the issues they have brought up must rank as some of the most disturbing times that the sport in Britain has ever known.

Even ignoring all the clubs in dire financial positions in the Football League and just looking at the EPL we are left with a disturbing picture. Leveraged buyouts followed by protests and high court hearings, billionaire owners nearly forcing the closure of Portsmouth and countless distasteful player contract negotiations and outbursts.

This great sport was once the people’s game. It was part of the ebb and flow of people’s weeks. Whilst there are many who still follow home and away, there are less and less ordinary folk able to do this. The increase in corporate boxes is one sign of where football is heading, and personally it is not a good one.

The players who played the game were people who the fans could relate to and whilst I am not suggesting that we need to return to those days, something needs to change otherwise the bubble is going to burst. Unfortunately the people in charge of the game can not or will not see this. UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Scheme does not go far enough. The FA has little power over the Premier League and the League itself has become too full of money to notice anything else.

Even the sensible suggestions of how to right the wrongs are thrown out of the window based on the fact that they would jeopardise the financial might of the EPL. A salary cap would be a fine first step on the road to a brighter future but it would mean players deserting the league and heading for the riches of Spain and Italy. The only way it would be palatable for the money men is if the rest of Europe followed suit and the chances of that are similar to the chances of me playing for England.

The game is tainted and it forces us all to consider the question that has been bugging me for the last month or so. If we had a choice, would we accept losing some of the top players to other leagues if it meant ours was a fairer, more sustainable one? Would you sacrifice the likes of Rooney and Yaya Toure for a league where each club spent the same amount on wages or at least had them strictly tied to their expenditure?

It is time for some radical thinking if we are going to save the game for successive generations. There are people now watching the game who honestly believe football started in 1992 and that footballers have always been overpaid and billionaires have always seen clubs as playthings. That in the wonderful words of Ian Holloway is “wrong.” What are we gong to do about it?

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Tag Archives: Wayne

VERSUS Offers Up the Easiest Wayne Gretzky Trivia Question Ever

Poll: How Will Wayne Rooney Do Against Wigan?

Special 1 TV: Wayne Rooney Reports Live From Portland (Video)

“What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch, it was a bit of handbags, that’s all.” – Wayne Rooney

Edenbridge Bonfire Society to Burn Wayne Rooney in Effigy

Special 1 TV: Wayne Rooney Strikes Back (Video)

Has Wayne Rooney Killed Football?