Welcome back, AC. Luis did a great job holding down the fort while you were off, but it's nice to have you back in the saddle. And a fine looking new saddle it is, too!
I am a bit bummed at having (this is the only instance, btw) a Mac system at home so I can't get the China telecasts via the web.
dpfirestarter (thankyou) gave us a nice report on Canada (sorry about that C, but they did tie China, so it's not all bad) and I hope he (or somebody) was watching Finland and can pass on some observations about that game, too.
The published stories have been exciting with all the kids scoring and laying off assists. A-Rod, Tarpley, and O'Reilly have been super. 8 goals scored without Abby netting anything. Lordy lordy think what may happen if the opposition is forced to give HER room while defending Tarp and the rest! Regardless of opposition, it seems extraordinary to me that the kids are all playing so well so early. Pia must really have them relaxed.
As for the goal v. Bri, the USSF story said it was a spinning shot that slipped through. It happens. But I'd expect Solo in frame v. China tomorrow. I was joking with one of my buddies who's also a big WNT fan from the Mia days that the fortunate thing was Hope didn't say after the game she'd have made THAT save.:)
They're off to such a good start! I really wish I could see the games, 2:30 AM or no. Next time I think we should take up a collection and send AC over to blog it back play-by-play. :):)
dp, I've downloaded the second half of the Canada & Finland games. When I open them, they won't play. I get an opening frame on Windows Media Player & that's it.
Something is missing? Any idea what?
I also find downloading from yousendit.com is quite a bit faster. The U.S. vs. Canada game is available there.
Yeah Ghost, all is not bad, tied going into the second half & appeared to run out of gas? Tie against a pretty good China team, hoping for a W tonight against Finland. With tie breakers we just might pull out second place?
Especially, C, if USWNT keeps up their scoring pace v. Pia's former charges. If we hammer them (?) and you all hammer Finland (!), you should have a good shot.
Ghost, I'm still not 100% sure you can't watch the "featured channels" of TVU on your Mac browser? It may just be the player download that requires Windows? Have you tried it?
But going into the office at 2:30 AM sure would impress the boss! Tell the boss you were multi-tasking & ask for overtime pay! ha
You can also watch the matches on tvants p2p. It will be on cctv5 tonight. I was the one who i think first got the Canada game up and going while i was hanging out on facebook, so I saw both games in full. The volume of possession from the US BLEW MY MIND. Yes we still need to tune up things like first touch but my god, the team was actually directing the entire rhythm of the matches. Which all says to me, are problems before were coach based not player based.
As for the players, Ali was fantastic, playing in Germany with printz clearly was good for her because she is a great addition, and in fact may put some other us defensive starters in jeopardy. I loved o’reilly in midfield. Her speed was amazing and she really helped not only open things up, but lay out some amazing assists. Arod is going to be a future star on this team. To come in with all the pressure and play like she did v Canada speaks well for her future. Abby had some fantastic assists. Solo was great-as usual ;). But as for Briana, she was not great, in fact, she doesn’t belong on the team anymore. I cannot tell you the number of times the defense turned to pass back and you can literally see them pause as they decide not to and look to another player. It hurt the back half rhythm. And the goal she let in was bad. It wasn’t wet, and it was RIGHT TO HER. I don’t speak Chinese but dear god, their announcers were laughing their butts off. And they kept coming back to the goal and laughing even more. I almost felt bad for scurry because she looked so bad during the match it was like she was chipping away her own reputation. Her goal kicks flat out stunk and a second shot would have been in had it not hit the crossbar. Honest to god if something happened to solo and we were playing versus Germany, England, heck even Nigeria, WE WOULD BE SCREWED. I really hope she makes her own choice and retires, but if she doesn’t pia needs to replace her with another keeper. We cannot take her to the Olympics.
Yes i love how the listed cat on the roster and say nothing of her injury leading to all kinds of speculation. Whats wrong with them. As hard as it is to believe, i think the ussocers womens coverage is now worse. it takes them 12 hours minimum to get an article up about a prior game. There are very few photos and video. I was shocked to see how fst the chinese get their stuff up and they have like 20 videos already from 4 nations including stuff for other teams as well as there own, as well as players blogs, as well as numerous articles and tons of photos. Is ussf saying we cannot provide comprable coverage? its bs and i am getting really fed up with this.
But what I want to know is was all the constant freezing of the picture, (I saw maybe 60% of the game) the fault of our computer system, or was it the feed? I didn't even get to see Boxxster's goal nor the other US goal called back for offsides. It was REALLY frustrating. A-Rod (I think) should have also had one with a bit more pace on her shot, but the Chinese keeper got a finger on it. Still, they looked SO much better(when I could see them) and Hope had one great save in the first half tipping a pretty good rocket from just outside the box over the cage. Nice.
Hope Solo played 4 games in the World Cup and 2 in the FN Tournament.
Briana Scurry played 2 games in the World Cup and 1 in the FN Tournament.
Results:
Hope Solo: 6 games played, 2 goals allowed (both in the first game of the World Cup while US was a player down), GAA 0.333 with 5 consecutive shutouts (and counting).
Briana Scurry: 3 games played, 6 goals allowed (2 in the Brazil game also coming while US was a player down), GAA 2.0 with no shutouts.
Too many athletes just don't want to acknowledge their time has come as it leaves such an empty feeling, it's what has defined their entire lives.
They know they will miss everything about what they do, the rush of winning, the agony of defeat, team camaraderie, something to do every day! So much more.
I'm just bothered by all the critsism she is taking. She doesn't deserve it, but yes, she needs to recognize her time has come and gracefully retire.
Coaching or broadcasting maybe to go with her motivational speaking?
Definitely, tarpley has been on form in this tournament, scoring 2 goals in back to back tournaments. The team is doing great and they are definitely great for the future, especially the youngsters who got their first 2-3 caps of the tournament.
The goal by Finland could definitely have been saved. Bri got a hand to it but I think she was confident that the ball would be blocked off just by that one hand which unfortunately did not and went into the net. It was a bad save, I have to say.
27 comments:
Everthing seems to be falling quite nicely into place. As big a Hope fan as I am, everybody just needs to leave Bri alone!
Tarpley's finishing has been nothing short of amazing! Abby has shown the playmaker side of her game.
I'm sure the odd goal (or two) will return for Abby, starting tonight.
Welcome back, AC. Luis did a great job holding down the fort while you were off, but it's nice to have you back in the saddle. And a fine looking new saddle it is, too!
I am a bit bummed at having (this is the only instance, btw) a Mac system at home so I can't get the China telecasts via the web.
dpfirestarter (thankyou) gave us a nice report on Canada (sorry about that C, but they did tie China, so it's not all bad) and I hope he (or somebody) was watching Finland and can pass on some observations about that game, too.
The published stories have been exciting with all the kids scoring and laying off assists. A-Rod, Tarpley, and O'Reilly have been super. 8 goals scored without Abby netting anything. Lordy lordy think what may happen if the opposition is forced to give HER room while defending Tarp and the rest! Regardless of opposition, it seems extraordinary to me that the kids are all playing so well so early. Pia must really have them relaxed.
As for the goal v. Bri, the USSF story said it was a spinning shot that slipped through. It happens. But I'd expect Solo in frame v. China tomorrow. I was joking with one of my buddies who's also a big WNT fan from the Mia days that the fortunate thing was Hope didn't say after the game she'd have made THAT save.:)
They're off to such a good start! I really wish I could see the games, 2:30 AM or no. Next time I think we should take up a collection and send AC over to blog it back play-by-play. :):)
Ghost, try tvu networks, no player download is required to view CCTV 5, which is the station tonights game is on.
Not sure if it works on Mac but I don't see why not?
here are the links to download finland game
1st half
http://www.sendspace.com/file/8lbaod
2nd half
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ql07wz
enjoy
dp, I've downloaded the second half of the Canada & Finland games. When I open them, they won't play. I get an opening frame on Windows Media Player & that's it.
Something is missing? Any idea what?
I also find downloading from yousendit.com is quite a bit faster. The U.S. vs. Canada game is available there.
Oh btw Ghost, it appears TVU needs Windows. Sorry.
Others might find tvu a good option as you don't need to download the player to view CCTV 5 tonight.
Maybe I'll just head for the office at 2:30 ...won't my boss be impressed? Not.
Thanks for the links.
Some excellent reading from Hope, Leslie, Cat, Heather, Lindsay & Chalups from China here:
http://portraitofpassion.bl
ogspot.com/2008/01/back-in-
goal.html
Yeah Ghost, all is not bad, tied going into the second half & appeared to run out of gas? Tie against a pretty good China team, hoping for a W tonight against Finland. With tie breakers we just might pull out second place?
:)
Especially, C, if USWNT keeps up their scoring pace v. Pia's former charges. If we hammer them (?) and you all hammer Finland (!), you should have a good shot.
lol Ghost, we seem hard pressed to score ONE goal, :(, never mind hammer them, but we shall see.
BTW A.C., this post needs a "byline", IMHO.
:)
Ghost, I'm still not 100% sure you can't watch the "featured channels" of TVU on your Mac browser? It may just be the player download that requires Windows? Have you tried it?
But going into the office at 2:30 AM sure would impress the boss! Tell the boss you were multi-tasking & ask for overtime pay! ha
You can also watch the matches on tvants p2p. It will be on cctv5 tonight. I was the one who i think first got the Canada game up and going while i was hanging out on facebook, so I saw both games in full. The volume of possession from the US BLEW MY MIND. Yes we still need to tune up things like first touch but my god, the team was actually directing the entire rhythm of the matches. Which all says to me, are problems before were coach based not player based.
As for the players,
Ali was fantastic, playing in Germany with printz clearly was good for her because she is a great addition, and in fact may put some other us defensive starters in jeopardy. I loved o’reilly in midfield. Her speed was amazing and she really helped not only open things up, but lay out some amazing assists. Arod is going to be a future star on this team. To come in with all the pressure and play like she did v Canada speaks well for her future. Abby had some fantastic assists. Solo was great-as usual ;). But as for Briana, she was not great, in fact, she doesn’t belong on the team anymore. I cannot tell you the number of times the defense turned to pass back and you can literally see them pause as they decide not to and look to another player. It hurt the back half rhythm. And the goal she let in was bad. It wasn’t wet, and it was RIGHT TO HER. I don’t speak Chinese but dear god, their announcers were laughing their butts off. And they kept coming back to the goal and laughing even more. I almost felt bad for scurry because she looked so bad during the match it was like she was chipping away her own reputation. Her goal kicks flat out stunk and a second shot would have been in had it not hit the crossbar. Honest to god if something happened to solo and we were playing versus Germany, England, heck even Nigeria, WE WOULD BE SCREWED. I really hope she makes her own choice and retires, but if she doesn’t pia needs to replace her with another keeper. We cannot take her to the Olympics.
US Soccer has FINALLY indicated that Cat is on the IR with an ankle sprain.
This injury occured in training prior to the tournament. Just so we can all wonder what's up with Cat, they wait a week to announce this!
Yes i love how the listed cat on the roster and say nothing of her injury leading to all kinds of speculation. Whats wrong with them. As hard as it is to believe, i think the ussocers womens coverage is now worse. it takes them 12 hours minimum to get an article up about a prior game. There are very few photos and video. I was shocked to see how fst the chinese get their stuff up and they have like 20 videos already from 4 nations including stuff for other teams as well as there own, as well as players blogs, as well as numerous articles and tons of photos. Is ussf saying we cannot provide comprable coverage? its bs and i am getting really fed up with this.
hey meredith,
do u have any of the chinese sites that have the videos? i would like to see some highlights of other games.
thnks
here you go, i use google to translate a little, makes it easier to navigate pages.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fteamchina.sports.sohu.com%2F20080116%2Fn254703310.shtml&langpair=zh%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
whoops forgot, click on womens soccer video collection link above video
Well Ghost, we tied 1-1, looks like 3rd place on a -4 goal dif vs. -5 for Finland, ughhh!!
Let the US vs. China game begin!
lol, I must be 3/4 asleep, we get 3rd on points! :)
Enjoying the US game thru my half closed eyes!
U.S. 1 - China 0
Well, that was fun!
Congrats US WNT!
Should have been 2-0, goal called back for offside, it was ONSIDE!
So 1-0 US.
But what I want to know is was all the constant freezing of the picture, (I saw maybe 60% of the game) the fault of our computer system, or was it the feed? I didn't even get to see Boxxster's goal nor the other US goal called back for offsides. It was REALLY frustrating. A-Rod (I think) should have also had one with a bit more pace on her shot, but the Chinese keeper got a finger on it. Still, they looked SO much better(when I could see them) and Hope had one great save in the first half tipping a pretty good rocket from just outside the box over the cage. Nice.
Now I'm going home and back to bed.
i'll upload the game. i had no issues with freezing at all. it does it when internet is overloaded and starts to freeze up.
good job by the USA, tournament champions.
USWNT GOALKEEPERS
2007 World Cup and 2008 Four Nations Tournament
Hope Solo played 4 games in the World Cup and 2 in the FN Tournament.
Briana Scurry played 2 games in the World Cup and 1 in the FN
Tournament.
Results:
Hope Solo: 6 games played, 2 goals allowed (both in the first game of the World Cup while US was a player down), GAA 0.333 with 5 consecutive shutouts (and counting).
Briana Scurry: 3 games played, 6 goals allowed (2 in the Brazil game also coming while US was a player down), GAA 2.0 with no shutouts.
Yes Anon, but don't you agree Bri has earned our respect over the years?
Pia has/will figure it all out and do what we all know is required in I'm sure a very professional manner.
I'm more worried Abby hasn't let the WC events go? Bit more time maybe?
We can Hope!
Yes, Coach, I do thing Briana has earned our respect for her past performance.
In fact, I think Ryan did her a great disservice by putting her in the Brazil game when she hadn't played in months.
I also think her time has come and gone, she is not the keeper she once was and is certainly not on a par with Solo anymore.
This is not to deny her talent, but age comes to us all.
Totally, 100%, agree.
Too many athletes just don't want to acknowledge their time has come as it leaves such an empty feeling, it's what has defined their entire lives.
They know they will miss everything about what they do, the rush of winning, the agony of defeat, team camaraderie, something to do every day! So much more.
I'm just bothered by all the critsism she is taking. She doesn't deserve it, but yes, she needs to recognize her time has come and gracefully retire.
Coaching or broadcasting maybe to go with her motivational speaking?
Go New England & Green Bay!
Definitely, tarpley has been on form in this tournament, scoring 2 goals in back to back tournaments. The team is doing great and they are definitely great for the future, especially the youngsters who got their first 2-3 caps of the tournament.
The goal by Finland could definitely have been saved. Bri got a hand to it but I think she was confident that the ball would be blocked off just by that one hand which unfortunately did not and went into the net. It was a bad save, I have to say.
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