Monday Morning Report: April 27

What a great weekend for ACDC!!!

The weekend started with a little bit of good luck.  I had to drive to Baltimore for work at 7am on Saturday (boo hoo) and encountered the horrendous traffic jam that was the 395 parking lot, crossing the Potomac River.  I immediately realized that most of our men playing that afternoon would encounter the same problem, and the afternoon traffic would destroy our roster.

So, as my trainees were gleefully chopping up cadavers during their dissection exercise, I texted all the Virginians to leave extra time for the traffic.  And our entire roster was on time for the game!  Our opponents were less fortunate.  They had 7 players for the first half.

We took advantage of the situation and scored four goals before the interval.  And even when they got up to full strength, we continued to play well in the second half.  The final score was 6-1, and it was a fair result.  Crosses were flying in from both flanks with velocity and accuracy. Kudos to Alex and Carlos for superb service, which made our strike force look great.  The goals were: Jan, Jan, Mumbles, Jan, Mumbles, Welch.

But our Bulgarian opponents were a feisty bunch.  As their frustration increased, the tension of the competition started to mount.  The end of the game was a roughly contested affair, and unfortunately, Mumbles got busted up by one of their players and ended up in a tussle with a sizable former-communist mob.  Anyone who wants to tease him about it will have to come through me, cuz as you know, I'm a big fan of the junior penguin, his tendency to fall down after consuming vodka, and his goal production. His one-game suspension will be over quicker than Ronaldo can roll around on the grass begging for a foul.

Sunday was crazy from the get-go.  We had 8 "no's" from our women on evite.  It was like Saturday night for Jeffy in college, on a good day....with a fresh hair-cut.  In the end, Kelley saved the day and recruited the female infantry.  The game itself was a helter-skelter affair.  We were at one field, and then had to move to another. We had a tough opponent, and they forced an own-goal for the first time in a long while.  Then, the cavalry arrived for us, in the form of Lindsay and Mumbles.  That really settled us down and Parham and Mumbs put us ahead.  The final score of 2-1 was another great and fair result.  

Hey, did anyone pick up the black jersey #4?  If so, please let me know.  

Save the date

Tentatively, we are having a going-away party for Jan and Jimmy on May 13th, after work. Please try to be free that evening to pay tribute to our departing friends for their years of service and contribution to the team.

The best weekend ever?

So, the Gunners won too!  With the great weather and the wins....can it really get any better?  I think not.  Next week is going to be tough.  We have a league-leader opponent on Sunday, and we are without a whole bunch on Saturday.  But.....an Arsenal win over Man U mid-week will go long way to make the penguin happy.  C'mon you Gunners!!!

Senior Penguin, Opus

Monday Morning Report: April 20

There's a lot to talk about, so let's cut to the chase.

The co-ed team game on Sunday was GREATTTTTT!  Because Captain Matt was a bit under the weather, I handed over the managing duties and got to play.  Have I said it was GRRRRRREATTTTT?  We beat up on an short-handed, defenseless Wild Panda team 6-0 (7-0?). There's really very little to add to that, except that penguins apparently enjoy a massacre of pandas.  Who knew?  The late-Saturday field change must have rendered our opponents all confused.

Our men's team was in action against La Tocadita Classico on a beautiful Saturday morning. It was the best 60 minutes of football the team has produced in our 2-year history.  Just before we went out, we talked about "patience," keeping possession, passing the ball around and working the ball up from the back with sensible passes.  We went out and did just that for 60 minutes, making safe passes to look for holes in the defense, using the width of the pitch, keeping the ball away from our opponent. Then, we scored!  Peter had a cracker.  And then?......and then we didn't know what to do with ourselves.

It was as if we sat back to admire our own handy-work, and we lost focus and desire.  The psychology behind this is fascinating.  We didn't expect to do this well against a strong team, and after our goal, it was clear that we felt "Ah, now it's OK for them to score."  The problem is that once the flood-gates opened, they put three past us in 15 minutes.

Although no one can be happy about the final score line of 3-1, we can take more than a quantum of solace from the first 60 minutes of play.  We have to start believing in ourselves. No one will believe that we can beat them, until we believe it ourselves first.    

Uniform Issues

As you may know, Carlos spent a lot of time and the team a lot of money, to get new red jerseys in the fall.  We did this because Adidas stopped making the old red jersey, and we didn't want a team looking non-uniform in our uniforms!  Consequently, it defeats the purpose, nullifies the work, and wastes the money, if you folks continue wear a hodge-podge of red uniforms. Captain Jeffy has a particular problem with this.  He claims it's because he has laundry issues.  So, here's a new policy to help our men's team captain.

This is OLD.  Do NOT wear

Everyone, including Jeff, will be required to donate $5 to the "Jeff Cruz Jersey Fund" every time you wear the wrong red shirt.  We'll use the money to buy enough of the correct shirts for Jeffy, so that laundry no longer becomes an issue for him.  That's the stick; here's the carrot. Give me your old shirts and receive a $5 reduction in the dues for next season.  I'll take all the old shirts and donate them in bulk to Goodwill.  

This is NEW. This is the correct uniform

Everyone wish a speedy recovery for Aaron, who underwent ACL reconstruction recently.  For once, ACDC was not "responsible" for his injury.  

Just got confirmation that Jan is leaving after this season.  Planning for the going-away party for Jimmy and Jan is underway.

Finally, I must beg your indulgence in using this forum for releasing my hate-juice on Manchester United.  All this talk about winning the quintuple is just so nauseating!  Now that they've lost to Everton in PKs in the semi-finals of the FA Cups, they can take their "quintuple" and suck on it.

To end this entry on a happy note, I'll re-post here a short video which I originally posted on our team's facebook page.  If you enjoy international football, whether you're an England fan or not, this will give you a good laugh.

Have a great week, my good people!

So what do you want to talk about?

Oh look, it's raining (again)! Maybe I can cancel all my patients...

I caught so much flak from my blog yesterday, I figure I'll try for a do-over. When there is no ACDC football to report, I can talk about football around the world. In fact, that is one of my favorite topics. But I refuse to believe that you are all that narrow-minded. You're not just dumb jocks who can't talk about anything else, right? You are curious about the world around you? You read, right?

So, what's wrong with me talking about the weather, NFL history and the rough seas in the English channel?

Tell you what, you can choose. Here are some of the non-football topics I feel comfortable writing about. Please vote by posting a comment what you think is best to discuss, when there is no ACDC football to report:

1) History of the "revolutionary" period, US, circa 1773-1790

2) 19th century Italian opera

3) Wine...any kind....you pick

4) Battles of the civil war 1861-1865, especially Gettysburg and Antietam

5) Best restaurants in Western Europe

6) Neurosurgical anatomy of the skull base, including cavernous sinus, regions of the clivus, and infratemporal fossa

Having said "non-football," this is actually a monumental week in football across Europe. I have huge personal stakes in it as well, as I have been offered a seat at midfield 20 rows in, in Rome for the CL final, and possibly at Wembley as well for the FA final....if the Gunners make it that far.

So, what topic is it going to be?

Monday Morning Report: April 13

There were no squads in action this weekend (hurrumph!), so there's no footie to report.  My weekend was busted by the bad weather on Saturday.  I put all my eggs (chocolate and others) in one basket.  I worked really hard to make this weekend happen; I gambled and I lost, so now I've ruined the next weekend as well.  Instead of watching the FA cups semifinals (Arsenal v. Chelsea), I will be working.  The details of my gamble are not even worth rehashing, but it did get me to thinking what events in the past have been completely busted by the weather.  Or nearly so?

I recall the "Fog Bowl."  I was a junior in college and Jeffy was 9 years old, when the fog rolled in from Lake Michigan and destroyed the playoff game at Soldier Field between the Bears and Eagles.  Phillie was behind at that time, and there was no way they could come back when their strength was Randall Cunningham and the passing game.  One couldn't see more than 10 yards ahead.

But I can't help but think that the biggest event that the weather nearly ruined was the Normandy landing June 6, 1944.  As you may know, the landings had to take place in the period between the end of May and early June because of the tide.  The original D-day was scheduled for June 5, and in fact, the sea-born troops were all loaded, ready to go by then.  The weather had begun to deteriorate as early as June 3, with the temperature going down, and the waves kicking up.  It was puke-fest on those landing crafts (not the Toussaint/Wood kind).  By June 4, the meteorologists told the SAC (best title ever, Supreme Allied Commander, i.e. Eisenhower) that he had to call it off.  There was a little drizzle (just like last Saturday!), but there was no way the seas would support the landing.  On the other end, Rommel left the coast for Berlin and his wife's birthday, because he also thought the weather was prohibitive.

By June 5 evening, it was now or never.  Well, not never, but it would be August before the conditions would be optimum for the joint aerial/amphibious operation, and politically, that would present big problems.  All the troops were once again ready and loaded, and there seemed to be an opening in the weather for overnight June 6. Can you imagine trying to make that decision? Two advisors were against, the navy was for, and Montgomery was for.  In the end, the SAC said, as the windows rattled from the wind and rain, "I am quite positive that the order must be given."  And off they went to Overlord.   

Leaves one to wonder what would have happened if the SAC hesitated.  Leaves me to wonder, what would have happened if the weather on Saturday morning had cooperated.  I didn't have to make a decision, based on the weather, for thousands of troops to fight, but I can't help but feel that the rain robbed me of something that is rightfully mine....especially with the beautiful weather on Sunday.

Oh well.  As they say, "at least you still have your health."  Bummer!  

There are more battles to be fought this upcoming weekend.  Both squads for AC D.C. are in action.  And I will be working.  Onward.  

P.S. Have I told you how cool this keg cooler is?  It's designed specifically for Heineken kegs and it's the BEST toy EVER!  And it gives me BEER!  Aaaaaahhhhhh....

Monday Morning Report: April 6

Got a little bit of the *boilk* going on today, as I was sitting with Mumbles and Peter drinking Scotch until late (for a Sunday night). The 22oz Bud Lite that George forced on me didn't help either. Oh well.

It was a decidedly mixed weekend for AC D.C. Both co-ed and men's team were in action, and neither squad lost. So, that's good. But whereas there was some excellent individual play going on, the team didn't play well together. So, there need to be a lot of improvement, and that's gotta come soon.

The men's game was all about the wind. We had the wind with us for the first half, which mysteriously was only 32 minutes long. Then, we had to work agains the wind for the second, which was strangely 45 minutes long. I have told the head-ref this issue already. First, the positives:

Carlos had a great cross, that was enticingly close to producing a goal. He also had a great run which resulted in their keeper being ejected.

Luis saved a goal with his head (without using his hands this time).

Ali had a great pass to launch Khalid into the clear.

We defended against set pieces well.

Mumbles had the goal of the century. I mean, it was a thing of beauty. Chris' long pass over the top was pin-point perfect, and Mumbs brought it down Bergkampesque, and fired a rocket that even St. Buffon (Gigi! Gigi!) won't know what to do with. Very impressive!

Ok, now, the not so good. We started the game OK but once again conceded within 15". I have no idea why this happens all the time. Focus? Then, we went up a man and up a goal, but we played like we were down both. The passing was quite stinky (more on this later). The end result was 2-2. I'll take the point, but can't help but feel like we dropped two points there.

The co-ed game was against our old rivals DC HOOS, which is currently a very weak team. And again, there were some brilliant individual moments: Jen getting clear in front of the keeper, Lindsay creating the goal for Parham to finish ... but as a team, we couldn't make sense of things. The 1-nil result was acceptable, but no better.

A problem shared by both squads is IMPATIENCE. We are so used to indoor and short-sided games (e.g. 5-a-side tournament), that we've forgotten that full field games takes a lot of patience. We need to hang onto the ball, and build from the back. Impatience leads to high-risk passes, and losing possession. We'll lose more than we win if we continue to do so.

In the men's game, when we were up a man and up a goal, there's absolutely no reason to play high-risk passes. Keep the ball. Pass it back if there's nowhere to go forward. Keep the ball. Let their 10 men chase after you and get tired. It's really very simple.

But to be clear, keeping the ball doesn't mean INDIVIDUALS keeping the ball. I mean the team. Whereas most of you were launching the ball as soon as it came to you (i.e. high-risk passes), there were those (bad habit) who kept the ball too long. That ALSO leads to the team losing possession.

Neither squads have games this upcoming Easter weekend. I leave you with 3 thoughts: keep possession, better passing, build from the back.