Ribeye steaks on the grill; ones that taste like angels.
Fireworks.
For a man that has put on a military uniform for nearly 13 years of his life, sacrificing family-life for building sand castles in places where they talk funny, I have a different view of what independence actually means.
We entered the American Empire quite some time ago. It is just like the Roman Empire and any other empire you can think of out of your history books. For well over 200 years, we gained independence from Great Britain and went straight to work on being a World power.
Independence is not about being a World power; it is about how we got there. It is about the ones that sacrificed for us to be at this point all throughout our great history. It is about our families being able to go out for a barbeque and not worry about being mortared.
We enter these conflicts because we want to save our right to throw some hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill every July 4th with family and friends, because that is the American way.
Entering the United States Air Force in 1995, I had no clue what freedom meant. I wasn’t sure what we were independent from no matter what we learned in school in our history classes.
My life-changing experience came while temporarily assigned to Aviano Air Base, Italy as operations against Kosovo were kicking off. On the Armed Forces Radio Network, my supervisor and I were listening to then President Clinton deliver his speech announcing that bombing operations were imminent.
During this speech, 10 F-15Es were running at the same time, full of bombs. After President Clinton finished his speech, the aircraft started taxiing. In one or two minute intervals, they took off into the Italian night. Two hours later all 10 of them returned safely, completely “slick”. Meaning, somebody somewhere got messed up really bad by the bombs that were loaded on these aircraft. They were gone from every single F-15.
Then, it hit me. I understood what freedom meant. I understood how we got to this point.
Now, I understand why we are in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fighting once again for the very freedom others have already temporarily provided. So instead of taking a few minutes today to complain about gas prices, NFL contracts, and why we are in Iraq, think about the ones that are in the line of fire not able to enjoy this day quite the same as we are today.
They see fireworks of a different kind. Not celebratory fireworks, ones that could end their lives instantly.
Instead of worrying why we are there, support them. We signed on the dotted line and we have no choice in the matter. For the ones that signed up pre-9/11, it was a different World back then. But we all knew there was a chance we would need to step up to support and defend our constitution.
Supporting and defending is our job. Pretty soon, the job will be done and our World will be safer.
Cristiano Ronaldo has worn the famous red Manchester United shirt for the final time after Real Madrid has kidnapped Ronaldo, holding a club of equal importance hostage.
In his final match as a Red Devil, Ronaldo scored United’s only goal in normal time to help his soon-to-be former club win its third European Cup with a penalty kick victory over Chelsea.
Ronaldo will take his 42 goals in all competitions and his green Nike football boots to Real Madrid this summer after his native Portugal was ousted from the European Championships following a 3-2 loss to Germany.
Manchester United can say he’s “not for sale” all it wants. Ronaldo is as good as gone thanks to an overly aggressive pouching campaign by Real. The outcry in Manchester will be loud, but it will matter little. Warm up the boo-birds as they will be raining the typical course of boo’s towards the 23-year old one-time wunderkind. When the two footballing giants lock heads at Old Trafford in future UEFA Champions League fixtures, Ronaldo becomes a target.
Many players in the World are under the misconception that a move from Old Trafford to the Bernabeu is a step in the right direction. Ronaldo's potential move is lateral. Moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid is like moving from Manchester United to, well, Manchester United, just in another country.
Every player has its price, including Ronaldo. Even though Ronaldo has proven time and time again that he is the best player in the World as we speak, even he has a price tag. Manchester United will not let him go cheaply. It will take far more than the current World record fee to get Ronaldo to Spain, a figure in the neighborhood of 75 million British pounds (125 million Euros).
The current World record transfer fee already belongs to Real Madrid when they wooed Zindedine Zidane from Juventus (Italy) for 46 million pounds (76 million Euros). It would take likely double that offer to secure the skill and finesse of Ronaldo.
This is where some people would start to rip Ronaldo, which would be completely unfair in this case. If a player with Ronaldo’s talent wants to make a lateral move from a club that helped mold him into who he is today, by all means, there’s the door. It is tough as an avid Manchester United supporter to admit it but if his move is driven by financial desires, please go to Real and do not let the door hit you on the way out.
Ronaldo forgets the supporters that picked him up after being vilified in the English press during the 2006 World Cup. United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off in the quarterfinal round, a game Portugal went on to win in a penalty shootout. Ronaldo was involved in the incident that drew Rooney’s red card, and responded by winking to the Portugal bench.
While Ronaldo was booed all over England for his antics, it was the United fans that backed him. It was Rooney that forgave Ronaldo for his almost unforgiveable actions on the World’s grandest stage.
Wearing the No. 7 shirt at Manchester United is an honor. Names such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham made No. 7 what it is today. By all means, Ronaldo did nothing to diminish the importance of the shirt. Ronaldo was brilliant in his time at Old Trafford. But along with the shoes to fill with the famous squad number, a player must be focused on the task at hand.
At Manchester United, anything less than an English Premiership title and a solid run in the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League is a disaster. If your top player has his mind in Spain, no matter how talented he is, your whole squad suffers.
The Sir Alex Ferguson that has transformed the club into the superpower it has become believes no player is irreplaceable. Not even Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Beckham, or Jaap Stam, some of the top players in our generation to operate on a football pitch.
Take the 75 million British pounds, take 35 percent of that figure, and go buy Ronaldinho from Barcelona. The dazzling Brazilian clearly is on his way out of Barcelona as he is not in the future plans of new manager Josep Guardiola.
With a fresh Ronaldinho, you get a player that could be equally as good as Ronaldo if he finds the form that made him one of the best players in the World, if not THE best player in the World. By acquiring the services of Ronaldinho, you also get another leg up on Chelsea and Manchester City, who have been keen on snagging his signature.
No true supporter of a club would want a player not 100 percent committed to the cause. Ronaldo has been excellent and has earned every single moment of praise that has come his way while in England.
It is time for him to leave and Manchester United need to sell him while his value is at peak levels.
Only five games to go. The race towards the ultimate prize in the English Premiership is heating up.
Manchester United is looking to repeat and seemingly had a hand on the title until suffering a setback with a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough last weekend.
Manchester United still has Chelsea clipping on its heels, just three points back from the leaders. Chelsea won the league title in 2005 and 2006 and could make this year’s title run-in very interesting indeed.
Arsenal was cruising along until February, only managing three victories in eight matches. Arsenal is behind second place Chelsea by 11 points. Even in North London, Arsenal fans are already looking forward to next year barring any major Houdini acts in the last five games.
The relegation run-in could be equally as dramatic. The difference between finishing 17th or higher in the Premiership is roughly 30 million pounds (60 million dollars). Three clubs will make the drop. Up until two weeks back, it appeared eight clubs were in danger of dropping to the Coca-Cola Championship .
Tottenham, Newcastle United, and Sunderland appear to be in good shape, all at least 10 points clear of the drop zone.
For those Americans always wondering how the European football works and have basic questions, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) The regular season champion is the league champion. No playoffs, which means the season means everything. The 20 Premiership teams play 38 games. All teams face each other twice in a home and home situation.
2) Relegation: The bottom three teams will drop a Division for next season. It would be like an NFL team being relegated to college football for a year. The top three teams from the Coca-Cola Championship will come to the Premier League. The top two teams outright will move up, while the third spot is decided by a four-team playoff. The first playoff round is over two legs (home and home), and the final is a one-shot deal. Relegation could literally mean financial ruin. Just ask Leeds United.
3) The top four teams in England will qualify for the European Champions League. Three teams will automatically enter the first group stage, while the fourth will need to qualify in order to make the first round. The fifth place team will qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Title Run-In
Manchester United (77 pts, 1st)
Last Five Fixtures: Arsenal, at Blackburn Rovers, at Chelsea, West Ham United, at Wigan Athletic
Last Five Results: W, W, W, W, D.
Big Match: Arsenal- the smart money is on the road fixture at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea. However, with a win over Arsenal, United could be three points clear with a huge goal difference heading into the clash with Chelsea.
Potential Spoiler: West Ham at Old Trafford- No matter the result with Chelsea, United need to be careful with the Hammers at home. West Ham beat United at Upton Park 2-1 in December. Last season, West Ham beat Manchester United twice, including a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
Last word: Manchester United know the drill. Nobody outside of Manchester thought the Red Devils could outlast Chelsea last season, which is exactly what they did. And no manager in the Premiership is as experienced in this situation as Sir Alex Ferguson. Prediction: Champions again.
Chelsea(74 pts, 2nd)
Last Five Fixtures: Wigan Athletic, at Everton, Manchester United, at Newcastle, at Bolton Wanderers.
Last Five Results: W, D, W, W, W.
Big Match: For obvious reasons, Manchester United at home- Avenging a 2-0 September loss at Old Trafford could give the Blues a huge boost down the stretch.
Potential Spoiler: Newcastle- Newcastle have come to life in recent weeks under the direction of Kevin Keegan.Newcastle United will want to send the fans home on a winning note before what promises to be a busy off-season at Tyneside.
Last word: Too little, too late. Prediction: Second. Where they lost it? New Year’s Day at Fulham. It was a terrible set back against a club almost certainly headed for relegation.
Arsenal (71 pts, 3rd)
Last Five Fixtures: at Manchester United, Reading, at Derby County, Everton, at Sunderland.
Last Five Results: D, D, L, W, D.
Big Match: at Manchester United- Arsenal fans are wondering what could have been. Since February, the Gunners have only managed 14 points in eight games, including only three victories. A victory at Old Trafford would guarantee Champions League football next season at Emirates Stadium.
Potential Spoiler: Arsenal- The Gunners could really make some noise down the stretch and spoil it for Manchester United. Should Arsenal get three points at Old Trafford this weekend, it would be all to play for at Stamford Bridge. An Arsenal victory would #### up the volume to 11 when Chelsea and Manchester United collide.
Last word: Arsenal overachieved early on and actually finished about where they were supposed to. Prediction: Third. Where they lost it? January 12 at home against Birmingham City. A 1-1 draw against a relegation threatened club on your own pitch started a stretch of strange results. Some of those include draws at Birmingham City, home against Aston Villa, at Wigan Athletic, and at home against Middlesbrough. They dropped 10 points from those five fixtures, three of them at home.
Champions League Race for Fourth: Liverpool, Everton, Portsmouth.
Prediction: Liverpool finishes fourth; Portsmouth passes Everton into the UEFA Cup.
Relegation Run-in (denotes potential six-pointer)
Middlesbrough (35 pts, 14th): at Tottenham, Bolton Wanderers, at Sunderland, Portsmouth, Manchester City. Prediction: Safe.
Wigan Athletic (34 pts, 15th): at Chelsea, Tottenham, Reading, at Aston Villa, Manchester United. Prediction: Safe.
Reading (32 pts, 16th): Fulham, at Arsenal, at Wigan Athletic, Tottenham, at Derby County. Prediction: Safe.
Birmingham City (30 pts, 17th): Everton, at Aston Villa, Liverpool, at Fulham, Blackburn Rovers. Prediction: Down. Six-pointer away from home and two tough games back-to-back against teams from the upper half of the table.
Bolton Wanderers (26 pts, 18th): West Ham United, at Middlesbrough, at Tottenham, Sunderland, at Chelsea. Prediction: Down.No six-pointers and three difficult road fixtures.
Fulham (24 pts, 19th): at Reading, Liverpool, at Manchester City,Birmingham City, at Portsmouth. Prediction: Houdini. Two six-pointers and an extremely difficult pair of games away from home. They have the most talent of the bottom four, which will win on the day.
Already Relegated
Derby County (11 pts, 20th)- The Rams look to be a yo-yo club at best, moving back and forth between the big time and the Coca-Cola Championship.
44 years removed from one of the most talked about cultural events in World history, there is another British Invasion. Yet this time, the English are invading a little closer to home in Europe and doing it via the football pitch.
Three English clubs have advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool will fight it out with Spanish outfit Barcelona in order to win the most prestigious club competition in the World.
As expected, only one English club was eliminated in the Champions League quarterfinals. Liverpool scored two goals late at home to oust Arsenal from the competition. Steven Gerrard blasted in a spot kick to give Liverpool the advance before substitute Ryan Babel added insult to injury, scoring an injury time goal for Liverpool. Emmanuel Adebayor gave Arsenal a lifeline, scoring in the 84th minute for the Gunners before Gerrard’s penalty one minute later. Liverpool advanced 5-3 on aggregate.
Chelsea needed to come from behind to move on thanks to a clean 2-0 victory over Turkish side Fenerbahce. German midfielder Michael Ballack got the Blues off and running with a goal within the first five minutes, while fellow midfielder Frank Lampard scored in the 87th minute to allow Chelsea to advance 3-2 on aggregate.
On Wednesday, Manchester United continued to have Roma’s number with a 1-0 home victory. It paled in comparison to its 7-1 victory last season over the Italian side, but Sir Alex Ferguson and company will take it. Carlos Tevez scored in the 70th minute to give the Old Trafford faithful something to shout about other than advancing to the semifinals for the second time since winning the European Cup in 1999.
Barcelona moved on with a 2-0 aggregate victory over FC Schalke 04 of Germany. Toure Yaya’s goal in the 43rd minute ensured a 1-0 home victory.
Which team has the best chance to reach the pinnacle of European football in Moscow on May 21?
Manchester United (1968 and 1999 winners): Cristiano Ronaldo is playing out of his mind. The Portuguese midfielder leads all scorers in the Champions League with seven goals and has scored 27 goals in the Premiership this season. With Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney heating up, goals should not be a problem for Manchester United. Gary Neville started in the second leg of the quarterfinals against Roma, which is a good sign for the United defense. Favorite.
Barcelona (2006 winners): Along with Ronaldo, Barcelona has arguably the best player in the World in Ronaldinho. Lionel Messi has netted six times in the Champions League this season, while Thierry Henry knows a thing or two about English teams having played a majority of his career at Arsenal. Henry has been the source of growing transfer speculation in recent months after struggling to equal the same goal scoring prowess he enjoyed in England.In La Liga, Samuel Eto’o is the only Barcelona player to have scored over 10 goals. Will Barcelona’s La Liga title race, in which they are currently third, be too much to handle? Underdog.
Chelsea: Nicholas Anelka and Didier Drogba have been the most successful Chelsea players in the Premiership, combining 19 goals.Chelsea’s European failures have been well-documented in the past. Despite sitting in second behind Manchester United by three points domestically, the London club is loaded with talent. Darkhorse.
Liverpool (1977, 1978, 1981, 1985, and 2005 winners): What would a British Invasion be without somebody from Liverpool? The most successful English club in Europe will attempt to play its underdog role en route to another crown. In 2005 when Liverpool won it, hardly anybody expected it. Gerrard and Fernando Torres have combined for 11 Champions League goals already, while Torres has scored 21 domestic goals for his club. Gerrard has chipped in with 10 league goals as well. Liverpool is will be a tough out down the stretch, as evident with its triumph over Arsenal. Underdog, but a dangerous one.
Football (or soccer as many of you call it) is the beautiful game. It is my favorite sport in the World, has been since the late 1980’s.
I support Manchester United. I have since the late 1980’s when they showed English games on Prime Sports Network. My favorite player of all-time is David Beckham, followed closely by Eric Cantona.
I am a football expert. Not many people know it, but I am. I know what I’m talking about. I was thinking about my career as a writer the other day and what I could do in the future. Had something with soccer opened up, I would jump at the chance.
What do I think about certain things in the world of football? Read below. Leave a comment if you disagree with me. I respect all of your opinions, unless you are a Gooner.
Is David Beckham a failure? How is he supposed to play when he’s injured? Brining the Los Angeles Galaxy into American households, how is that failing? How is it failing when the MLS actually matters now? Beckham, when healthy, won’t score more than 15 goals this season and will be labeled a failure for everybody that doesn’t understand the beautiful game.
He never has been a goal scorer. With my own two eyes, I witnessed Beckham launch a pass 80 yards into the feet of Ryan Giggs, who was bursting down the left wing. Giggs didn’t have to slow down. Americans would be hard pressed to find somebody that could do that throwing the ball, let alone do it with your feet.
Who will win the MLS this season? Does it matter? Actually, Major League Soccer has turned itself into a product worth watching. It is reaching the level of the English League Championship, just one step lower than Premier League football.
I have a huge problem with the MLS playoff system. DC United was the best team last season with Chivas a close second, both strolling through the regular season with the best records. In the first round of the playoffs, United loses to the Chicago Fire. Houston Dynamo won the MLS Cup, coming out of the West as a second seed. Drop the playoffs and make the season count for something. It’s football, not American football. Continue to improve your product and market it for me, not the NFL fan. They hate soccer.
Who will win the Champions League? Bias says Manchester United, who cruised to a 2-0 road victory over Roma in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Between Arsenal and Liverpool, it’s all to play for after the two English powers drew on Wednesday. Liverpool picked up a crucial away goal for a 1-1 draw.
Fenerbahce earned a 2-1 victory over mighty Chelsea in the first leg in Turkey. Chelsea is still in the thick of things thanks to an away goal. All Chelsea needs to do is keep a clean sheet and got one of its own to move onto the semifinals. It normally doesn’t matter when you lose away from home as long as you can score. One goal is more important than a victory in European football. Barcelona got a good result with a 1-0 win over FC Schalke away from home.
Manchester United has the best chance, with Barcelona coming a close second. It ought to be interesting to see what happens.
Which is the best domestic league in the World? Without question, it’s the English Premiership. Four teams have qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals; Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Chelsea. English clubs have qualified for the last three Champions League finals, with Liverpool winning it in 2005. Liverpool finished fifth in the Premiership that season.
Who is the best player in the World? This is no bias. It’s Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese magician whines and cries a lot, but is clearly the best player in the entire universe. At just 23, Ronaldo has a tremendous gift and has the flair of come with it. If he could work on the whining, diving, and crying part, Ronaldo would become more likeable. Doubt he cares. Never been a huge fan of his antics despite my allegiance, but his talent is immense.
Who is the best American player? Been a huge fan of Clint Dempsey ever since I first saw him play. He may not have made the splash many Americans thought he could when he moved to Fulham in England, but he will. Dempsey ‘gets it’. He has a chip on his shoulder, he’s good on the ball, and he understands football. A lot of American players are too busy playing soccer instead of playing football. There is a huge difference. When more Americans start playing football like Dempsey, the US National Team will be more of a force. American ‘soccer’ players are becoming a dying breed, which is a breath of fresh air.
Why does Fulham have so many Americans? Along with Dempsey, Eddie Johnson, Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra, and Kasey Keller are on the books at the west London club. Dempsey, Johnson, and Bocanegra are likely in the for the long haul as long as Fulham can avoid relegation. Keller and McBride might be on the way out due to age and heading to an MLS club near you. I'm not sure why the adminstration at Fulham is so keen on American players. Obviously if McBride and Bocanegra were disappointing, they would not have pulled the trigger on the others. This is a good sign for the state of our national team.
Who is the most overrated American player? That is the easiest question I could ask myself. Landon Donovan. Donovan couldn’t hack it in Europe, so he whined the cried until he got to come play in the states. Nobody goes to Europe and plays right away, yet for some reason Donovan thought he was different. Donovan has scored 35 International goals for the United States, a record. But it took him 99 caps to do it.
In 75 games, Donovan has netted 36 goals for LA Galaxy. In a league like the MLS, a center forward/striker needs more than that. If he was as good as he thought he was, he’d have 50 by now. Clearly the most overrated player in the past decade from the states. He barely deserves to be on the national team roster, let alone start up front every game. He’s a soccer player, not a footballer.
