Well well well, it’s amazing what a couple days of games can do for you. BTW, before I launch into my knee-jerk reactions to the events I’ve witnessed, can I just say how utterly awesome it is to be a soccer fan in this country? Thanks to FSC and their network of channels, you could watch every Champions League qualifier, some in HD. On Directv, they even set up a special UEFA Champions League mix channel so you can watch all eight games simultaneously. And the late-breaking news was that ESPN2 nabbed some of Setanta’s Premier League games for the US broadcast, which are also in HD. This is a far cry from World Cup games being interrupted with commercials a few decades ago. Amazing stuff.

Anyway, I am a little annoyed with Spurs and their cracking start. I have been doing my best to keep my expectations firmly in check and not get my hopes up, yet they play Liverpool off the park in their home opener and drill Hull in the first away game. Lovely lovely, just don’t break my heart again boys…

I also may need to revise my opinion of the Big Four. While I think Ars*nal’s performance against Everton was helped a great deal by the home side, going up to Parkhead and winning 2-0 (albeit on flukey goals) is nothing to sniff at. I still think this side’s major problem is that it needs to bulk up the midfield, but they could be quite a bit handier than I suspected. Injuries could (and probably will) decimate the squad over the long haul as they’re still too thin for me. The same goes for Liverpool—the first team is quite good but I think they’re too thin.

Man Ure fans don’t need to panic—yet—as they usually start slowly, but they’re lacking any ‘pop’ thus far this season. As many a pundit has said, Ronaldo made everyone around him better and without him, Man Ure don’t have the same creative spark. But this all more or less plays into Chelski’s hands, as I think they are the most well-equipped to rotate a large squad of quality players over the course of multiple competitions. I’ll stick with my prediction that they’ll win the league (for now!) but I’m coming around to the idea that it might be Chelski, Ars*nal, Man Ure, and…who knows? I can easily see Liverpool falling off the pace early, despite their big win.

Of course, things are still way too up in the air to make sense of what we’ve seen, but it’s damn interesting, innit?

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I had an iSimple installed in the Vibe yesterday. This device is installed behind the dash and overrides the FM receiver, allowing you to plug in other devices for audio. It works on the same premise as the an iPod FM transmitter, only this one’s fueled by the car’s battery rather than the iPod’s battery, and is thus far more powerful. No more driving off the highway trying to reposition the iPod to get a clearer signal, no more searching stations trying to find enough static for the iPod to come through clearly. The iPod adapter both charges and plays simultaneously too, meaning I’m not killing my iPod battery on the commute to school.

As you might guess, I’m quite excited about it.

Current Mood: Fine |