Well, it looks like the Comcast cable folks will be able to watch this one on CN8. German NT player Sandra Minnert will be joining the 'dum for this match. We'll see how many times the announcer screws up Minnert and Meinert. Maybe Maren knows a few phrases that can get under her skin. Game time is 4 PM on Sunday. Boston will know if a win puts them in first before kickoff.
If anyone is taping this game would it be possible to get a copy? Or, if you are a trusting soul, I could copy the tape and return it! I'd be more than happy to pay for the tape, postage, etc. Thanks!
I should be able to help you out. PM me with your address and I'll drop it in the mail next week sometime. If I don't watch it Sun night though, it might take me a couple of nights to get through it.
" Boston will know if a win puts them in first before kickoff. " What do the outcomes of the other games need to be for Boston to go into first if they win ?
Go Breakers!!! Thank you, Courage. Now Boston needs to take care of business tomorrow afternoon. Minnert Gives Freedom Options
Oh jeez now i must have a copy of this game. Is anyone willing to make me a copy? We can trade or I'll pay you.
Impressions from the game..... Where were the real refs? Why is Hucles in the NT pool? Why does Hamm only get called for 8.9% of the fouls she commits? Karina rocks. Meinnert rocks. Aldama rocks. Lilly rocks. Are Kate, McCann and Klugel ALL color-blind? The Breakers were in white today..... All played tough, most played well. Love Stephanie Cant-begin-to-say-her-last-name... Has Siri replaced her divot yet? Pia needs to work on her half-time pep talk....the first 10 minutes of the second half were very, very scary..... Philly cut Munroe because......uh, stumped on that one.... Much more fun looking for improvement in a first place team than what we've dealt with the last couple years
Go Breakers!!! Team W L T PTS BOS 5 3 2 17 WAS 5 2 1 16 ATL 4 2 3 15 SD 3 2 4 13 SJC 4 4 0 12 NY 3 5 0 9 CAR 2 5 1 7 PHI 2 5 1 7 My tape connection fell through. Please PM me if you can help.
Hmm.. Just returned from RFK.. don't imagine I'll be saying that again this season Maren's second goal was pure brilliance- and my navigator father who was shouting out tactical instructions through most of the game, illustrated Siri's mistakes in such a way that had me laughing.. Steph Mugneret-Beghe- well, where do we send the Thank you card to Joe Cummings for pushing for her to come into a blue uniform? Nice comraderie between Maren and Jones as Jones was exiting the game for Minnert. Hucles had many a nice run up the field... nothing wound in assist form, but still... Did the TV get the Breakers bench discussion and reaction - images as the reds were being issued at the 74th minute? I think Lil's shoulder shrug was the best... And what about the lack of non-foul calls on Meinert... good heavens... The area in which I was at RFK was disappointing by the majority of the Freedom fans who booed incessantly at the ref whenever he called a foul against the Breakers. Wish Popper would continue to fight on balls .. and follow through with play.. Pia's arm waving near the end of the game was amusing.... yes..yes..attack..attack... Loved seeing Lil direct her teammates- McCann on an Aldama throw-in as Washington was attacking. I wonder how much paperwork the league will receive as a result of the ref's officiating- or lack there of. Photos.. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030608/168/4c46o.html -MFM's goal celebration..what a thing of beauty http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030608/168/4c3ql.html Ange and Siri http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030608/168/4c3op.html Jena and Mia
Now for the situation involving the cards and fouls. By the time, things boiled over in the second half between Hucles and Skylar, there were several bad or mis-calls by the ref. And watching the match, one could sense that both teams were getting upset with the calls or lack thereof. Cards should have been handed out before this incident happened. Something was bound to happen. Abby's red card was justified and it wasn't. Abby should have received a yellow earlier in that match for one of her five fouls. The ref should have warned her after a couple of fouls. He didn't and so when she fouled Heather in extra-time, a red card was handed out. The projection of Heather's leg made it a foul for me. A little late, yes. But Abby ran straight into the middle of the leg and the body at the same time and not her foot to stop the ball and it was a hard move anyway to do in extra-time of a match already lost. Why do that? I think the announcers said something like "All the Freedom want is for the final whistle to blow and to run into the locker room." just before then. However, this should not have been a straight red. A second yellow would have been more appropiate. That being said, the WUSA should have refs look more closely at the quandary that happens every time a Wambach, Prinz, Hooper or Mia(Just kidding) plays. That is, is the forward fouling the defender or is it a show of strength by the forward that causes the defender or midfielder or whomever to fall down? Many Abby fans agree that she is being punished for being strong and big and this is no doubt true in many cases. However, it is up to the refs to decide on this and to ask themselves about the incident in question and say "Would this have been a foul if it involved somebody else?" So Abby got the red card and didn't make things better by arguing. Go on and accept it. Can't change it. Same things for coaches. No purpose in yelling. If there's a card on one of your players, the ref is probably thinking that you'd be upset. No point in yelling. Brava to Mia for her peacemaker stint in this game. How did Mia get called for the foul when Maren half-nelsoned her, I don't know Perfect segue into one of those moments of women's sports when real tough guys say idiotic things like "Damm, those chicks are rough". I made that up but I'm sure somebody out there said it. Not that this was a incident that any fan of the WUSA should remember fondly. Now from my memory both players seemed have reasons to feel slighted on the play. Little probably felt that Hucles pushed her down first when they were scrambling for the ball. Then Hucles ran towards the ball with Skylar at a half-prostrate stance with Hucles' body into her side That's a tough move. You see if often enough and you may expect it but it still doesn't feel pleasant. Okay. Now from Skylar's p.o.v. not only did Angela run into her side but her arm was around her head. In that split moment we can understand that. Now there the play was actually called dead. You can see players just standing around. It would appear that the ref would call the right call(considering the rest of the game, that's up for debate) in giving the Freedom a free kick because it appeared that Angela had pushed Skylar down.(That is debatable. It didn't look too forceful). Anyway, the whistle blew. Skylar felt slighted because Hucles had put her arm around her head. She probably didn't hear the whistle. Neither, it would appear, did Angela. They both continued. Skylar then does the tackling which was retalilation(in her mind) which is always caught by the ref. It happens all of the time. I also wonder if Skylar had her head bumped a little before the tackle when Angela's arm was around her. But after the tackle, it is clear that she hurt her head going down. I stopped the tape at the moment that Skylar lost control. She is getting up and Hucles' arm is around her head whether on purpose or not it's hard to tell. She then puts her arms around Angela and knocks her down. Looking at it again, it seems that Angela can't plead total innocence on this. Her arm is around Skylar's head for too long of a time for me to see it as a total fluke. Also it would appear to be a foul by Hucles not for the push(?) but for a foot on Skylar's foot or for kicking out Skylar's foot like you would kick out a leg on a chair to make the person on it fall off. Combo of the two most likely. Also the arm seems to be pushing Skylar's head downwards when they are making the turn. It's so difficult. It may even had been a squeeze by Angela. Hard to say. Angela may have been totally innocent after the original foul. Not that the ref could have seen this but Hucles did cover Skylar's face with her hand. Maybe the 4th official who was there told him that. It all depends on what may had actually hurt or what the players themselves thought at the time. It's open for debate. Angela's natural movement may have caused her arm to move that way and Skylar thought she really was putting the squeeze on her.
Hucles got jumped by Skylar, plain and simple, and she defended herself. There's no way in hell that Hucles should have been sent off. Was she supposed to let Little attack her from her blind side? What exactly did Little plan to do once she latched on to Hucles' body? Very weird play. The straight red to Wambach was borderline -- I'd have given her a yellow. And maybe I'm thinking of a different episode than DennisM, but Mia had Meinert in a headlock on one occasion, and the foul was called on Meinert.
Wasn't sure about the Meinert-Mia incident. I think you were right. I just remember the wrong person was called for the foul. "The straight red to Wambach was borderline -- I'd have given her a yellow." Maybe but for me, it would have been her second.
At a recent referee clinic, Brian Hall said that players will seek justice. If they are not getting it from the referee, they will get it in other forms (late hits, hard tackels, off the ball stuff). It sounds like Mr. Russo had a tough day (this was his third Breakers match in a month). I wonder if he will see a WUSA field again this year. The referees are told to let the game flow, to let the players play. This is entertainment and we want to see the stars in action. But there is a line crossed when entertainment begats mayhem. As a referee we have to stop things just short of that line. The yellow cards add up and may take a player out of a future game. But injuries or red cards are certain to take a player out of a future game.
I saw about half the game, missing the 1st and last goals and the 3rd red. It was a pleasure to listen to Seamus Malin; it's been a while. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love Maren Meinert. If you want to know how this game should be played, just watch her. Anyone have any ideas on how to get her to change her mind about going back to Germany after this season?