A leisurely Memorial Day weekend

A few highlights from Memorial Day weekend...

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:

Howard issues England warning

USA keeper not underestimating England ahead of World Cup

Karma returns to the CL semi-finals as Barcelona visits Milan

One year ago (well, 51 weeks ago) Chelsea players and fans were left fuming following their semi-final loss to Barcelona. The referee had missed two fairly obvious penalty calls against the Spanish squad, allowing Andres Iniesta's late strike to win the two-legged tie. Accusations flew, suspensions were handed out, and Barcelona advanced, defeating Manchester United to lift the trophy.

Fast forward to this evening in Milan. Barcelona loses 3-1 to Inter, with the Italians benefiting from a penalty that wasn't called as well as a missed offside call on the final goal. There are a few differences from last year, Barcelona still have the second leg at home to overcome the deficit and Inter could easily have won by more than two goals.

However, it seems fitting that former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was the one to deliver this little bit of payback. I guess Karma really is a, well you know.

The Special One vs Chelsea - thank you Tim Howard

This week's Champions League action sees high drama with the return of one Jose Mourniho to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea attempt to overturn a first leg 2-1 defeat at the hand's of Inter Milan.

Drama of course because of Mourinho's self proclaimed status as "The Special One" and his two premier league titles at the helm of Chelsea. And in case you were wondering Chelsea have not lifted the trophy since he left (as I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you all about).

Mourinho is great entertainment at all times as he works the press and exudes ultimate confidence. This week's game will be the latest episode of the theatre that follows his every move. I love it!

Watching the 2-2 draw between Birmingham City and Everton over the weekend it occurred to me that we may just have Everton keeper Tim Howard to thank for this particular spectacle.

You may not be asking yourself why, however I'm going to pretend you did. Rewind a bit to March 9, 2004, the venue Old Trafford, the players Mourinho's FC Porto and Manchester United.

There were a host of reasons that United bowed out to Porto, including poor marking, poor finishing, and a red card for Roy Keane. However the lasting image will be Howard, in goal for United, palming Benni McCarthy's stoppage-time free kick directly to Costinha who slotted home the winner.

Cue Mourinho dancing down the Old Trafford touchline, FC Porto marching to the Champions League title, and finally "The Special One" moving to the Premier League as Chelsea manager.

Yes, Mourinho would have eventually forced his way into the international consciousness sooner or later, even if Porto had lost at Old Trafford. And whether Howard deserved full blame for the loss is certainly debatable. Either way, Tim's last minute error on that March evening in 2004 started a chain of events that culminate this week in London and have, at least for my money, provided one of the best soccer story lines in recent memory.