SoxFan1

Raburn leads off the 4th with a HR. 4-1.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 09:35 AM) If Ryne Sandberg is named manager here is the rhetoric you will hear from the minion nation; ? "Rhino.....awesome. Rhino knows Wrigley and what it takes to win here. We would have won with Rhino in 69 and he carried us in 84, 89, 92, 96 and 03. If we had Rhino as player manager the last two years we would have won it all. Pinella couldn't handle the winning tradition that is expected here, he was a loser look at what he did in Tampa. Rhino, he is a hall of famer and a winner. He will go to Santo for advice in the playoffs and what it takes to be a winner. Santo has the rings to prove it. He can bring back Bowa to coach third, Bobby Dernier can work with the outfielders, Sarge can replace Joshua as the hitting coach and have Sutcliffe work with the pitchers. Jody can turn Soto back into the MVP winner like he was last year. RHINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! f*** ya." Rick Sutcliffe during the game on ESPn was talking about how Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones are great because they play every day of the season from spring to the end of the year because they feel they owe it to the fans .....Jeter yes but hasn't Chipper missed huge chuck of time in more than a few seasons?????? ESPN flat out sucks. It's not like Chipper takes days off, he's been riddled with injuries. But if he's healthy enough to go, he does.

Luckily, I go to school in Michigan and get to experience all of Michigan's HORRIFIC announcers. If you think the Tigers announcers are bad, which they are, listen to the announcers for the Pistons. My goodness...

If he was 28 and not 22, I'd think for sure he was on something. But just because of how young he is, I think there is a shot that he's just THAT good.

Weird. Let's hope his next 5 starts are amazing, we certainly need them.

QUOTE (knightni @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 10:27 PM)

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 09:41 PM) I think most of us diehards on here realize we're not that good. Like somebody said beautifully, one facet of our game usually falls apart bad enough to cost us a win on a given night. Why do you generalize so much? Who is "most of us diehards"? According to THIS, I'd say everyone thinks we can be damn good.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 06:57 PM) Valencia has looked decidedly poor for United in these first two games. I don't remember his first touch being this weak when he was at Wigan. I think Man Utd might really struggle to score goals this season as all their strikers are in the creative mould as opposed to the "give me the f***ing ball so I can score" mould. I know I'll be called a homer, but their best replacement for Ronaldo was in-house and they haven't given him a legit chance yet, and it's Zoran Tosic. Right now, he's basically in the best form of his career. Here's what he did last Wednesday vs South Africa... Nani has been a total disappointment so far at ManU, Anderson isn't going to be a spark and Valencia hasn't looked too good.

Unbelievable.

He was out.

I'm REALLY tired of Alexei.

Thats some horses***.

Alex Rios is a nice addition.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 02:40 PM) :notworthy

Gordon Beckham IS the Matrix.

QUOTE (HeGone33 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 02:18 PM) Perhaps we can make a thread with some of his worst attempts at trying to be funny......... Could be a good idea, but he'd probably just be flattered.

QUOTE (HeGone33 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 02:09 PM) Does anyone else get these Joe Cowley twitter updates? This guy is a douch, mr. negative who thinks he's a comedian........ Unfortunately, yes. He's gotten worse as the season goes on. He used to be informative, now he's just annoying. He reads SoxTalk.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 02:09 PM) Then move him into the 3 hole an move Dye out of it. Pods Beckham Quentin Dye Konerko Pierzynski Rios Ramirez Getz/Nix

CQ has the fast hands back.

Wow, Burnley up 1-0 on ManU early. Fantastic volley. Burnley wins it 1-0, ManU not looking too hot early on this season. Tottenham smashed Hull.

Yay Gordon!

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 12:27 PM) My apologies then. It came across to me at least as a quick little jab. I guess I don't have such narrow guidelines for the term 'world class.' To be honest, for as long as I have been watching and following soccer, "world-class" has ALWAYS meant the elite players at the time.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 07:42 AM) Give it a f***ing rest already. We get it. You think US soccer is a joke and not worthy of discussion blah blah blah. He used that term once to describe what, 4 players? Howard has been playing at Man U and now Everton over the past 5 or so years so there's nothing wrong with labeling him as that. Donovan could play just about anywhere in the world if he so chose to. Oguchi Onyewu was a manistay at Standard Liege, the best team in Belgium, and was just signed by AC Milan. No problem there either. Dempsey is a bit of a stretch, yes, but he has been playing in the Premiership for a while. He doesn't even mention Altidore there who has a legit possibility to become a 'World Class' player in the near future. You're a moderator. You don't need to run in and try and cut down or belittle or make snarky comments whenever someone mentions the US or something about US soccer in a positive light. It's like trolling, and it get's old. But by all means, keep bringing up your beloved Serbia all the time. Everyone here cares about them so much. Oh and as to the bold...you're really using the term "big club" loosely there aren't we? I wasn't trying to belittle or cut down US soccer at all. I honestly did not. But his use of the term "world-class" irked me. Read DBAH0's post, World Class means the elite players in the world. None of the players he listed are close except for Howard, who I think is one of the best goalies in the world right now. I'm not trolling at all, soccer is my favorite sport. I'm just stating my opinions, sorry if they don't agree with yours. BTW, you REALLY overrate Landon Donovan. And yes, I'm fully aware Wolves is not a big club, I thought about it while posting and meant to put top leagues but never changed it. My apologies sir QUOTE (DBAHO @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 11:10 PM) Good luck to Matic getting a game in that midfield though. My guess is he'll be loaned out somewhere to get some first team football. Yeah, it seems to be the most likely scenario. That's what they did with Rajkovic, though he is still out on loan to Twente I believe. QUOTE (DBAHO @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 10:45 AM) It all depends on what you consider "world - class" to be. I'd consider world class to basically be elite, and that means approx the top 10 players in the world. Of course none of those mentioned in Simmons' article would make it, I'd have it as this. Cristiano Ronaldo Leo Messi Kaka Fernando Torres Steven Gerrard Frank Lampard Zlatan Ibrahimovic Xavi Hernandez Frank Ribery Karim Benzema BTW Slav, I was going to put in Vidic possibly, but I think he has a weakness against speedy forwards (as Fernando Torres showed at Old Trafford last season). Sounds like he is also going to move to Barcelona at the end of the season possibly. Of the players mentioned, Howard is probably a top 10 goalie in the world, and Everton is a top 10 PL club, but he had a chance to be the #1 at Man Utd and he blew that opportunity. Donovan, well he's played at the top level in the German Leagues, but I don't think he's good enough to play for the best clubs in Europe. Onyewu is an interesting one because he didn't show much when he was on loan to Newcastle and now he's playing for AC Milan. He has the physical attributes to be a top center back in the future however. Dempsey is carving out a decent role at Fulham rotating as a winger and a second striker for Roy Hodgson. The one player I'd really take a good look at this season is Freddy Adu. Needs to show something at Benfica this season, otherwise people are going to start wondering if he can ever make it at the top level. I agree with you that Vidic does have issues against speedier forward, but that match against Liverpool was a hardcore outlier. He's done fantastic against some fast strikers in the EPL and in international play, including shutting down Mutu and Henry. Torres is something else though, that was a horrific match.

QUOTE (Sonik22 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 07:52 PM) Awesome article He really uses the term "world-class" loosely.

Beckham will do something positive in this at bat.