Beli-choked Up

Is the "Tiger Woods body double" job open?
(CEB II)

It's been a while, huh? What has been taking me away for the blogosphere for these past 2 weeks? Contrary to all reports, it is not because of me burying myself in a bunker after the Yankees 27th Fall Classic triumph. Simply put, life has happened. Helping friends move, been psychiatrist to a few more, and most importantly trying to help out my economic situation. Most of my recent days have been solely dedicated to plugging away into obtaining a career in the corporate world, which has sprung more opportunities than several months ago, but still has been like the Sigfried Line in getting through to the hiring call. The plummeting numbers in my bank account let's just say are making things a wee more desperate than they were 2 months ago, so I've had pretty good reason to spend virtually every waking moment dedicating myself to creating an entry way into what I like to call cubicle heaven. Stressful, but keeps me away from thinking that the teams I hate the most (Yankees, Lakers) are the reigning champions in their respective leagues, and another one of my despised squads pulled off an improbable victory against the Pats yesterday. I think I'm gonna spontaneously combust now. Anyhoo, I'm just reminiscing about the comments from my Sox buddies ranging from, "Do you want a receipt with that?" to "New Yankee Magic: Just Add $423.5 Million!" and how they could only give me limited joy. However, I have to admit that I wasn't exactly in a mood to write anything that would give any credit to the Yanks, for they were the better team and it was their Series to lose. Other than my recent back and forth job hustling, I have become a renaissance man as of late, you know, by perfecting my best Ali-G impersonation. It might be well important for next Halloween, considering it might be one hell of a task to get willing partner to pull of my Miami Vice dream idea. Now let me get back on my writing groove with something that seems more dreaded right now than the thought of the Yanks getting their rings in 5 months.

Just when you thought champagne was an easy gift...
(espn.com)

Why do I feel like I did in the morning after the 2006 AFC Championship Game? All considering I actually wasn't too hyped up for this version of Patriots-Colts. You had a game with two teams who have pretty much clinched their respective divisions with two quarterbacks who already have their first ballot Hall of Fame tickets to Canton all but stamped. Other than the fact that the two were battling for decade status (Indy had one more win than the Pats in this decade coming into the game), there wasn't much at stake. But Grady Little took over the coaching duties for the Pats in Indianapolis on Sunday night and spoiled my mood for the week. You can accuse me for being a Monday morning QB all you want, but that call wasn't even a good at the time. I mean, you think that was the best chance for him to win the game? Especially when the Patriots defense was wearing out Peyton Manning for a huge bulk of the night, and especially when you came into the quarter with a formidable 17 point lead, which doesn't exactly take a genius coach to manage a victory. If you're gonna let a quarterback of the caliber of a Manning beat you, let him beat you on a 70 yard drive. Giving him only 30 yards to work with 2 minutes left is like giving a Marine Corps sniper a point-blank shot to your left temple, and in the end it was Belichick's brains that were laid out over the ground at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mine as well have Brady sacked at the goal line. At least it probably would have given the Patriots more time to score after the Colts romped in. It may be blasphemy for some Pats fans out there, but Belichick gave that game to the Colts with a gold ribbon, not just with the 4th down call itself, but by showing that he had no confidence in his defense that has allowed the third fewest PPG in the NFL this season. If he had no confidence in his D stopping the Colts in a 70 yard drive, then why would he put them in a scenario where thy had to stop them in that short of distance? Let me move on to the other football before my rage-filled body burns this whole house.

We're not in León anymore.
(futbolmania.tv)

Other than the Celtics recent good start, Barcelona has been the beacon of light for my sports consumption, partially because they haven't played a game in almost a week due to the international break and thus giving me little to complain about. However, their last apperance on the pitch resulted in a Pacquiao style victory against Cultural Leonesa 5-0 to advance to the next round of the Copa del Rey. All while while third division Alcorcon upset the loathed Real Madrid, putting me in a comedic mood, considering they went on a Yankee-like spending spree during the last transfer period (£224.8m, or about $376 million dollars) only to get eliminated by a team who not only plays in a stadium that seats only 3,000, but a club that hasn't even been close to entering the Spanish Primera in their almost 40 years of existence. I'm going on a limb and saying that Real Madrid head man Manuel Pellegrini is at the same level of job security as Jim Zorn at this point. Granted, they have been playing without their top galactico Cristiano Ronaldo and his bum ankle, but they have been playing without him since early October and have been stumbling since the Sevilla loss with stars like Kaká and Benzema. It is Madrid's recent play that makes me wonder if they have the depth to ultimately overtake Barcelona in La Liga. Not to say that I don't have concerns for my Barça as they are heading towards possibly the two most pivotal contests in the entire season. I'm not completely overlooking the Athletic Club matchup this coming Saturday, but the games against Inter Milan and Real Madrid that loom up ahead are taking all of my soccer curiosity, and for good reason. The Camp Nou installation of El Clasico is a big deal by nature. However, the Champions League game against Group F leader Inter has me all riled up, considering we are in a group of death in which 4 teams are separated by two points. Barça's recent performances against Rubin Kazan didn't exactly give me a confidence boost as to whether I thought Barça will ultimately have the chance to defend their Champions League title in the knockout stage. Hopefully, the 12th man at Camp Nou can push the blaugrana to official title defense mode, so I can continue belting out my tenor version of the Champions League theme that's always in those Heineken commercials.

Ahhhhh, that was refreshing. But I feel like I'm missing something. Oh yeah! Expect some highly anticipated and necessary Sox talk during this week. I know, it's been a long time!