Whoa Nelly, it’s a big one this weekend. The Merseyside Derby, Ars*nal versus Chelski, and Villa versus Spurs. These games are big for different reasons. Everton need a win to move into a more comfortable spot in the table, and Liverpool need a win to get a foot back in the top four spots. Chelski need a win to consolidate first place, while Ars*nal need a win to show they can hang with the big boys. Villa need a win at home to show they can challenge for a top four spot; ditto Tottenham. Draws will not be welcome by any of these six sides, so I’m hoping for some explosive football-type action.
My picks: Wins for Liverpool and Villa and a draw for Chelski and the Ars*. Not confident picks mind you, but picks nonetheless. Last week’s “Last Man Standing” pool ended in a push, as I picked Stoke (1-0 winners) and Larry picked Spurs (9-1 winners). No bonus points for a blow-out thankfully, and this weekend we both took Man Citeh over a suddenly resurgent Hull. Since neither of us can win or lose, we chucked this one and re-picked. I took Fulham at home over Bolton. C’mon Dempsey! Grab another brace, son!
Equally exciting is the top o’ the table clash betwixt Barcelona and Real Madrid over in sunny Spain. Madrid is somehow topping the table despite not playing all that well (a close look reveals they’ve played mostly crap teams thus far) while Barcelona is head and shoulders the best team in the world when they’re on their game, yet they have also been falling into cruise control and drawing games they should win.
I kept on eye on both of these teams in the Champions League this midweek and if their form extends to the weekend, I would bet my house and the lives of everyone in it on Barcelona beating Madrid like a rented mule. Barca absolutely shredded Inter whereas Madrid stuttered and herked and jerked against the world powerhouse that is FC Zurich. Los merengues can be frighteningly good when they’re firing on all cylinders with Kaká and that Ronaldo kid looking particularly dangerous, yet too often their play doesn’t result in clear-cut chances. Barcelona on the other hand always end up threading the ball through the fourth dimension, finding players in the box without a soul around them, and they duly stuff it in the net. Seriously, it borders on black magic.
Prediction: Barcelona 3-0 winners.
I’m enjoying the brief calm before the storm of work that starts raining down at midnight tonight when my research writing students submit their final portfolios, followed by my creative writing students’ portfolios on Monday night. I’m reading about 44 draft portfolios, all of which are around 20 pages each, and giving feedback before the final drafts are due Wednesday, December 9th.
‘Tis a lot of work, but hopefully well worth it in the end. The only thing that drives you nuts is when you put in the considerable effort to provide thoughtfully commentary, and that commentary is then ignored and you see a final copy that’s identical to the draft copy in the final portfolio folder. Such is life.
One of my students is writing his research paper on Bob Marley and Rastafarianism. Natty Dread and Rastaman Vibration have been on heavy rotation for the last couple weeks. Happily, Baby Grey digs it!
Current Mood: Is That A Baby Stirring? | 