Whether or not someone was Dipsy or Damani, I spoke to PW during the match. He said that Damani was available as a sub if we needed him in an emergency.
Hmm. Maybe it was, I didn't really look other than to hear what Bretos was saying. He was there, though.
I thought his runs and his positioning were very good, but his touch was awful, both trapping and passing. The header at the end of the first half was nice, though. That said, he's still pretty green, so I'm not saying he sucks and should be benched or anything. What's weird is that we started this year with DMB in that position, and couldn't get anything going. Then he moved over to the left wing and played great. Now he's stagnated a bit on the left, and moves back in to the middle and gets good results. I think it's just the change of scenery that he may need every once in a while. And good GOD, we couldn't hit the side of a barn in the first half. Good job being patient and waiting for the goals to come, though. Later, COZ
Not so fast, my friend! We've had the Quakes' number at Spartan this season, so who knows. Also, thanks for keeping LA stuck in 4th, and I'm happy to see Marsch get a nice goal. Red card on Weds or not, he got clobbered.
Ralph was held out because all the knocks he took at Colorado on Wednesday. He and Williams will be back in time for the Open Cup final. Bill Q. www.thefirealarm.com
"Bethany is WRONG" Damani was at the game and available to play. He was held out on purpose. I thought Peter said that it was from the head injury during the Colorodo game but I was drinking "coke" at the time and may not have heard correctly. Anyway, Damani was there and I very briefly talked to him after the game (me: "Damani", Damani "Hey what's up" end of conversation). This game reminded me of the Open Cup game in many ways. The Fire controlled the whole game but couldn't put anything away in the first half. Second half they busted through. Only real difference is it didn't get as ugly and the Fire didn't let up any quick cheap goals. I disagree with Coz' assesment of Jaqua. I thought he played quite well, held the ball pretty well and made very good runs. His passing was a little shotty. He wasn't that far off the mark on a couple of shots and he is very good in the air. In my opinion he outplayed Ante, so that says something.
Blasphemy! She's not wrong, she's just relying on bad sources. Geez, give her a break... she's probably drunk on the smog in LA.
OK, did anyone else think that Bolanos was s-l-o-w. I can understand why he hadn't started a game yet due to fitness. Granted, it was his first game and all, but still, for someone played up by some as the second-coming of Peter I was disappointed at his speed. Then again, it may have been his concern at not making a mistake in his first game. Hope he's faster than he showed Saturday.
Zack was in top form Saturday, as was Jimmy. That's what won the game. As for Bolanos...those gloves have to go. I know its colder here than in Costa Rica, but c'mon. I was happy to see Perez not get the ball very much. And hi-fives for Damarcus and Jesse. Nice of Dave to come say hi to S8 too. Also: Marcin is not an uncle fcuker, but after three beers, watch out for your sewer grate. And don't go in the meteor hole, there's a dead dog in it.
I thought Jaqua played very very well. He won just about every header off Zach's goalkicks, but we had very few runners onto it. His touches in the first 20-25 minutes were poor, but after he settled in he controlled and pass competently. His header almost beat Hartman and had another outside-of-the-foot shot in 1st half from inside the 18 that swerved wide, but I felt was well taken (Razov would have skied the bar on it for sure). I think Jaqua would start for almost any other team in MLS, except C-Bus. Was that a 4-3-3 we were playing? Whatever you call it, Beas was floating everywhere and invested more energy than in the last month. Good game and got to shake Alan Hopkins (FSW) hand: Me: Alan Hopkins, hi. Welcome to Naperville. Hopkins: You going to let us get back to LA with a win? Me: Not a chance. Hopkins: C'mon. Me: Go back to doing Bundesliga games. Fun in Naperville. Last comment - was the Naperville mayor high on life or what during the halftime? I thought he was going to start singing Karaoke-style.
As well as buried treasure: the ChiPS DVD box set with a autographed Erik Estrada glossy. "Here is new old song, is very good: Some time I feel, I have got to BEEP BEEP"
Pradel is always like that. Even at the VFW event this past year that was in support of our troops/9-11 related (I don't remember 100%) he was bouncing off the walls. Before being elected as Mayor he was a Naperville cop and was in charge of Saftey Town which teaches kids about road saftey. His name was Officer Friendly. Ever since moving here in '91 I don't remember him acting any differently.
It would not surprise me to see Evan get a game suspension for this elbow to Broome. He is suspened Friday for caution points accumulation. If he gets another game, he'll miss 2 of the last 3.
Jeez, I *said* I'm not entirely down on Jaqua here, just that his passing, particularly in the first half, was kinda horrible. Also, I know that in baseball, cold weather means the ball doesn't hang in the air as long, but can we use that excuse for our crossing? There were exceptions, of course, but I don't recall too many above the knee. Wow, I'm sounding excessively critical after a very good win. I'm happy, honest. And to piggyback on monop_poly's Allen Hopkins story, Max Bretos actually recognized me from my goofy picture on the Fire's website, and claims to read my stuff. Speaking of that, I'll post the pieces I wrote for that insert they were handing out at the stadium on my site sometime this week. Later, COZ
he's also particularly creepy in those city of naperville commercials promoting the giraffes last year i think it was....in that safari outfit ::shudder::
Anyway, how did it go from a 'Goodbye to Naperville' standpoint? What did you all do after the whistle?