Soccer Thread

[biffnix]

Tonight - Mexico vs. USA at the Columbus Crew stadium. 7pm Eastern time, ESPN2, ESPN2HD and Univision. Final round, World Cup qualifier.

It should be a hell of a match. Anyone else going to watch?

On a smaller scale, Bishop High vs. Mammoth High - at John Schwab field in Bishop, Thursday, 5pm. Bishop is currently 1st in the High Desert league, and Mammoth is in second. It's quite a rivalry, and should be a heck of a game as well. I'll be there, bundled up and cheering for Bishop!

Cheers,

Joe G.
Bishop, CA

[ride395]

Leaving work early ... vamos el tri!

[biffnix]

Didn't see much in Rafa's red card - Marquez had his studs up going in for the challenge, so that must've been it.

85th minute, still 1-nil team USA. Jozy Altidore in as a sub, too...

[biffnix]

Goooooal! 2nd from Michael Bradley! 91st minute rocket under Sanchez!

[ride395]

oooof ... rafa being rafa, i guess.

this outcome follows the recent pattern. the game at azteca will be intense.

i wanna see both go through.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html

[sr129]

Marquez is a chump He has a long history of playing dirty.There is no place for that kind of play. The ref got it right. FIFA should give him more than a 1 game ban. I like what they do in the Premier,3 games for a stright red

[ride395]

oguchi wasn't exactly exhibiting finesse ... and notice how howard's knock had worn off only just a little later. howard ->

[PianoMan]

No question, the ref got rafa's red right. He kicked howard studs up...

[biffnix]

No question, the ref got rafa's red right. He kicked howard studs up...

Yeah, I had a chance to google pics of the red card play, and watch video replays. Rafa is definitely focused on Tim Howard's leg, and goes in with studs up. Straight red for sure. Didn't see that when I saw it live. You can watch a video in Spanish here: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2009/02/usa-mexico_rewind.html Totally shows Rafa going in studs up.

Also, what's with the two fouls before Bradley's second goal? Check out the Mexican player totally take out Altidore, then follow up by hammering Donovan before he passes to Bradley who scores the goal? Yellow card, minimum, for the terrible tackle on Altidore...

But tonight, it's the Bishop derby match! Bishop High vs. Mammoth High in Bishop. Bishop is favored to win, but you never know what to expect when local bragging rights are on the line...

Cheers,

Joe G.

[biffnix]

Bishop High takes first place in the High Desert League again. They defeated Mammoth High 1-0. The only score was by Chino Santana from a penalty kick. While Bishop dominated the midfield the entire first half, they pulled Chino Santana back to defense to rest him for the playoffs, and moved Gabriel Riberio to striker (also to rest him).

This made for a very scrappy 2nd half. Plenty of fouls to go around, and the refs struggled to keep the players gentlemanly. But, Bishop outlasted Mammoth's long-ball attacks, and stayed hard at the back for the win.

Cheers,

Joe G.
Bishop, CA

[ride395]

You know, Rafa is known for losing his temper .... but he does have this going for him:

He was the only guy out there that I can think of that has ever won anything meaningful in soccer, the 2006 Champions League with Barcelona.

[biffnix]

So, both Mammoth High and Bishop High won their first round of CIF playoff games. Mammoth absolutely pounded their opponents from Victor Valley Christian, 9-0. Bishop also didn't have much trouble their first round, defeating Vasquez High (from Acton) 5-0.

I was the assistant referee for the Bishop-Vasquez game, and it was an interesting insight into how seriously some parent take their children's sports. I've refereed all season for Bishop and Mammoth high, and while sometimes I got the occasional outburst from a frustrated coach, it paled in comparison to what happened in the Bishop/Vasquez game.

A Vasquez parent came over at halftime to where the refs were resting. We were seated, and talking to the local Mojave Desert Officials Association assignor, who also happens to be the Bishop High girls varsity coach. This parent came over and began immediately demanding to know what we were talking with the "Bishop coach" (he didn't know he was the girls coach, or that he was the MDOA local liaison). Then he started in on an offside call he didn't like. Thankfully, our assignor politely asked him to leave us alone, and that he needed to return to the stands.

Anyway, the entire second half, this same parent is behind me by about 10 feet, literally running up and down the track as I go, shadowing me to see if I get the calls right (I'm on Bishop's attacking side the 2nd half). Of course, he says nothing when the calls are against Bishop (apparently I'm a good ref when that happens) but if a call went against Vasquez, I was the worst referee in history. Sheesh. He got so verbal I had to finally ask the Vasquez coach to speak to him before I brought it to the center ref's attention. The only sanction available to non-players is to eject them from the vicinity of play, which means they can't be in the stadium, or within earshot. I'd hate to do that to a father who might just be watching his kid's final game of soccer... Anyway, he finally went back to the stands (although he remained just as verbal). Quite an eye-opener. That has never happened with either Bishop or Mammoth parents, no matter how heated the competition...

Anyway, Bishop plays Nordhoff high, from the Frontier league. I have no idea where that is. Mammoth's next opponent will be Avalon High, from the San Joaquin league. Wish them both luck in the next round of CIF Division VII playoffs!

Joe G.
Bishop, CA

[ride395]

Nice story ... freakin' parents, lol!

Good on you for reffing and good luck to Bishop and Mammoth in CIF.

[biffnix]

Liverpool beats La Liga struggler Real Madrid 1-0 in Champions League play. My son was happy about that.

In local news, Mammoth High's varsity boys soccer team fell yesterday to Avalon, who were champions of the San Joaquin league. They lost 3-0.

Bishop High remains alive, and made it to the quarter finals for the second year in a row with a 3-1 victory over Nordhoff High, who were 2nd in the Frontier league. Apparently, they're in Ojai. Anyway, Bishop was up 1-0 at half, made it 2-0 twenty minutes into the half, and then Nordhoff scored to make it 2-1. Bishop got a penalty kick late, which Chino Santana missed, but a teammate kicked it in on the follow-up to make it 3-1. Nordhoff had a late red card, when a player was ejected for dissent.

Rosamond also stays alive by upsetting the number four seed in the tournament, St. Paul, who were champions of the Camino Real league. So, Rosamond move into the quarter finals to play Sage Hill, who are ranked #2 in the Academy league.

There will be a coin toss to determine whether Bishop plays at home on Friday, or away. They will play Mary Star of the Sea high school, who came in 3rd in the Camino Real league.

Good luck to the both Rosamond boys varsity, and Bishop High boys in the quarter finals tomorrow!

Joe G.

[biffnix]

Bishop High wins! They defeated Mary Star of the Sea High School at home by a score of 4-0. The first point was on a penalty kick, and the other three all came in the second half.

It was a good game, and the referees were very good. They stopped any overly physical play early, and both teams actually played some pretty football.

So, the CIF matchups are set, and Bishop High goes to the semi-final in Division VII. It's not known yet who they will play, but if Avalon wins their quarter final match, they come to Bishop to play the semi on Tuesday. I haven't hear who the other possible team is, but they would play out of town for the semi if it's not Avalon.

Go Broncos!