Accosting Frank Lampard

Tottenham 1, Chelsea 2
White Hart Lane
FA Cup Quarterfinal Replay

Everytime I watch Chelsea, the beauty of their goals is counterbalanced by the irreverance and arrogance on the pitch (especially in the waning moments of the match). With 5 minutes to go, time-wasting tactics was already at its max. Shevchenko kicked the ball away, Petr Cech booted it into the stands (receiving a booking in the process). Drogba started a catfight right after the penalty to delay Robbie Keane's attempt and concentration (although that would have already been effected by John Terry positioning himself right on the penalty mark for a few seconds). Regardless, the sublime upper 90 shot by Shevchenko (his 13th) and the right panel strike by Wright-Phillips (his 4th) were simply ridiculous. Drogba's set-up with a strong chest to Wright-Phillips was the perfect assist. Nobody doubts Chelsea can play, but I have yet to see them win with 100% class. I'm not saying they don't have any, they just don't have 100%. Or 80% for that matter. Also, when FSC came back from a commercial break, the whole Chelsea team was more or less piled on top of a Tottenham fan who jumped the barriers and went after Frankie Lampard. It looked they were all kicking him in the head, but at least they watch out for each other. Anyways, Tottenham miss out on a favorable semi-final match-up and Chelsea moves on, pushing one step closer to a possible showdown against Man Utd in the FA Cup Final.

CHE: Shevchenko (55), Wright-Phillips (61)
TOT: R. Keane (PEN 79)

Middlesbrough 0, Manchester United 1
FA Cup Quarterfinal Replay

Man U needed a penalty strike from Cristiano Ronaldo to seal their ticket to the semis. In the Red Devils' defense, their play was quite good but they just couldn't finish. There were many unlucky bounces, deflections, and too much errant miscommunication. Despite all that, Ronaldo made a nice run into the penalty box and was taken down. We all know his reputation, but it seemed a legitimate foul call with maybe a hint of Broadway. Ronaldo sunk the shot. No real response from M'bro and Man U booked a semi-final matchup with Jay Demerit and his Watford boys.


MID: NONE
MAN: C. Ronaldo (PEN 76)

FA Cup Semifinal Draw
Chelsea vs. Blackburn
Manchester United vs. Watford

Can Brad Friedel or Jay Demerit force the upset?!?

- Vasco Da Gama's Romario hit for a hat-trick recently to move his goal-total up to 998 goals. I'd love to see the list of all these goals, because I am positive all of these didn't come in professional matches. At 40, though, Romario can still finish his chances. Can somebody verify that? Or compile the list???


- Last night, there was one striker who understandably was the happiest man in the world. David Nugent, from the Championship side Preston North End, was called up by Steve McClaren to the English men's National Team for the upcoming qualifiers against Israel and Andorra. Many are on the fence about this, but clearly it is not as controversial as the call-up of Theo Walcott by former coach Sven Goran-Eriksson right before the 2006 World Cup. He's got 14 goals in the Championship for 4th place Preston. Oh yea, and he's only 21.


- Cobi Jones, legendary American wing midfielder and long time posterboy for dreadlocks, has announced that after the 2007 MLS season he will be calling it quits. I credit him for being one of the first guys on the U.S. soccer scene, probably with Alexi Lalas, to become rather mainstream with his feisty play, blistering speed, and distinct style. He will most likely end his career with 164 national team caps and 15 goals. Club-wise, he will finish his MLS stay with the Los Angeles Galaxy and playing alongside players with incredible international caliber like David Beckham and Landon Donovan. I will certainly do a rewind of Cobi Jones' career as his retirement draws near. Hopefully, he can leave with another MLS Cup championship under his belt.

- A little late to throw this out there, but the United States dropped 2 places to 30th in the FIFA World Rankings. The US women, however, are at number one with their Algarve Cup win.

- With the injuries recently to Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark and Chicago striker Chris Rolfe, two Houston Dynamo replacements have been summoned for. They are: William and Mary grad and Houston captain Wade Barrett and midfield general Brian Mullan. Barrett's age makes this pick an interesting one, but no one can deny that Wade's tenacity and determination is contagious. That's why he's won 3 MLS Cup championships. At outside back, though, there is a decent pool of players to pick from. Why no Jose Burciaga Jr.? Jeff Parke? Marvell Wynne? Dason Robinson? even a Michael Harrington or Bakary Soumare could use a brief glimpse. However, the lion-hearted, feisty, vet role has to be filled as Ben Olsen is not on the roster and neither is Mastroeni. Talk to me.

- According to Goal!, whose info is according to "Don Balon" a rather reliable Spanish football magazine, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United have already agreed to a deal with Barcelona in the vicinity of 75 million Euros (about 100 million dollars). All of this apparently is a counterbalance to the transfer speculation of Ronaldinho leaving Barca for AC Milan. We shall see. Here's the link to Goal.com. And here's the link to the Don Balon article in Spanish.

***I will have your 'games to watch" later this week as there aren't many games midweek due to the upcoming International Friendlies and Euro 2008 Qualifiers.