Friday night I went out to help celebrate my friend Brandon's birthday. Unfortunately I had been under the weather and was reduced to raising a celebratory glass of ice water. Better in the long run though since I had a 30-minute drive home afterwards. Soccer did rear it's head of course as I was talking with another friend that evening about his 11-year old's team and soccer exploits.
The 11-year old was still playing with his local club this season, having turned down the chance to play with one of the bigger club's in Madison after making the cut at try-outs. He decided he wanted to play with his friends another year and think about trying out again the next time. Certainly the merits of small vs larger can be argued both ways but kudos to Mom and Dad for not pushing their son into something he didn't want just because it is "supposed" to be better/higher level/etc...
Saturday of course saw the USA come back to knock off Turkey 2-1. A much better performance by the Yanks and a game show by the Turkish, who were playing their third game in eight days. Bradley's charges were much sharper, the offensive flow in the second half was excellent, and the USA fans' collective mood has improved dramatically from Tuesday night.
Sunday saw a picnic lunch on the patio of a local brewery even with temps pushing the 90 degree mark. I also have a new favorite board game as we played a few rounds of Puerto Rico later that night. I had played one time before over the Christmas holiday when my brother and his wife were in town and am now officially hooked.
And then Monday came and (along with yard work) the Special One landed in Madrid. Jose Mourinho basically declared that he was going to take the job (even though it was not open), and Real Madrid, being who they are, obliged by bringing the biggest name in coaching to direct the biggest names in the game. I don't know a whole lot about much, but I do know one thing - this is going to be very, very fun to watch.
Final note - the contradictory headline of the day goes to Sky Sports with these two statements leading off an article:
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