Pompey vs. Boro

I love the matches that occur during the weekdays, I don't know what is so interesting to me about them, but they are intoxicating to say the least. On to the game itself. Just watched the game between Middlesboro and Portsmouth at the Riverside. Middlesboro were riding a high when the beat Chelsea last week. Middlesboro have almost always been on the brink of breaking out evrey season for the last 2 - 3 seasons and everytime their attempt at joining the top of the table is muddled by some screwup (intentionally or un intentionally). Their performance during their match play against Chelsea was great. Falling behind the champions 1-0 early and then in the last 10 minutes regaining the lead through 2 goals was something that no team has done to Chelsea for almost 2 years. Going into the game at home the expectation was that they would not only be able to thwart any attacks that Portsmouth put, but would be able to produce a great midfield play that would support their forwards. For portsmouth, their acquisition of players has led them thus far to be able to keep up with all the to teams in the league.

The match was a great thrill to wathc through and through. The game was really high paced and was led throughout by the play of the forwards and the defence rather than a robust midfield for both the teams. Middlesboro's performance from the beginning was really shaky and Portsmouth wasted no time to capture on the egregious play of the Boro defence with Kanu opportunistically capitalizing on a stray ball in the 6 yard box. Portsmouth kept attacking the Boro defence but during the middle the team picked itself and there were certain chances created by Viduka and Mandieta but to no avail. On the other hand, Pompey's defence was fierce with their acquisition of Sol Campbell during the offseason and a great performance by Linvoy Primus kept the Boro players at bay.

Things looked bad from the start for Boro during the second half as the last season's acquisition benjani proved his high price for portsmouth by scoring a goal during the early minutes of the half. As Middlesboro under the new management of Garret Southgate looked to stop leaks in their defences Kanu's icing on the cake 3rd goal sealed the deal for Portsmouth. The las goal especially left a lot to be desired by the Boro defence, as Kanu broke free from the half with 4 defenders in pursuit. As Boateng slipped to get the ball away from Kanu and knocking him down in the process, kanu cooly chipped the ball over the halpless Australian keeper Schwartzer. In the dying minutes of the game Svetoslav Fodorov scored the final goal of the match to complete the humiliation that Middlesborough faced at the hands of Portsmouth.

Performace by the Boro team was something that the manager would like to forget in a hurry while Portsmouth reach at the top of the table right beside Everton and Aston Villa. The match was briefly interrupted by two people that ran on to the pitch but that was the only bright event in the dismal loss at Riverside.

Houston Texans Pre-Season Denver

As Mario Williams sprang forward and made his pass rush on Jake Plummer, Plummer had no other option but to throw outside and as Denver rolled off the field, Texans couldn't help but smile about what they had accomplished against one of the most prolific offenses in the AFC. As one of the last ranked defenses in the NFL last year, Texans have come very far in these pre season games. If compared to last year's defense, by the first half they probably would have given up about 21 points or more and would have not scored any when heading into the locker room. This is 2006 though, and this is Gary Kubiak's team and this is a renewed defense which held the Broncos for the first half to almost zero points and due to some foolish penalties by the defense gave a 10 point lead going into the half.

As people scrutinize Gary Kubiak for picking Mario Williams as the first pick instead of Reggie Bush, every move that number 90 makes this season will be under a microscope. Looking at all the pre-season games it seems that Mario has done pretty and performed well under the pressure that he is under, and not only Mario Williams but the entire defense has performed pretty well.

As far as the offense goes, I think that they have gotten one of the great rising stars in the shape of Wali Lundy. Amazing performance during the earlier games and amazing performance during the game against Broncos' front 4. David Carr is also showing why Gary's faith in him wasn't misplaced. Eric Moulds, Andre Johnson, Vernand Morency and Wali Lundy acting as a third receiver Houston at least is not limiting it self to either the running game or for that matter the ground game.

Although there are way too many games to go and with one of the toughest schedules until Thanksgiving it will not get easier. We will just have to see what the Houston team pulls out in the first game of the season against Philly.

Devlisly Red!

As the second week passed for the EPL with teams clashing in mid week as well as on the weekend one thing became clearer; this will not be a repeat of last season. As teams battled their rivals the major highlight games shaped the table. Beginning with midweek, Chelsea lost their first match ensuring that the new duo of Michael Ballack and Andrei Schevchenko were brought down to reality of the EPL, but as always the Sunday clash between Rovers and Chelsea left a lot to be expected from the Rovers. Liverpool returned to their winning ways as they won their first game of the season over the hammers. With Robbie Fowler returning to the reds and captain Gerard staying put with the reds, I like their odds to stay in the top four this season and they proved to be worthy with the win. Hammers, even though lost this battle are looking good as they beat out WHL last season in the last game and started with a win with the first game over Charlton Athletic and to qualify for a UEFA cup spot this season would be greatly appreciated by the hammers' fans.

Arsenal's last season woes continue into this season as they barely qualified for the UEFA champions League last season (through a little help by the hammers) but they better get the team in order. A summer transfer of Tomas Rosciky, youngster Theo Walcott and the biggest news; Henry staying at Arsenal should be utilized to the best. The team although is still not ready because Ashley Cole and Reyes are still not settled, and the loss of Bergkamp's leadership and the left midfield loss of Pires is surely to be felt within Arsenal, but is Wenger finds the mental strength to fight his way through the Jungle of EPL he will be rewarded with a spot amongst the top 8, at least. All credit to Man City to find the mental strength to bear a lot of bad news during the week and still come out and defeat Arsenal. If they find the same form throughout the season a spot in top 8 is not unthinkable. Everton was the biggest surprise as they stayed close to Manchester United, who has not lost any matches yet, and Alex Ferguson looks to capture another title, but I think that without Van Nistelroy they may find themselves at a loss during the mid season. It will be interesting to see Everton maintain their season beginning which they lost last season.

The newcomers' welcome continued as Sheffield United, Watford and Reading didn't record a W in the column. Charlton Athletic also proved with their win that they are not here to play hokie pokie, but they are here to play and at least stay in the standings. Portsmouth and Fulham are showing their colors in the beginning of the season, but obviously with the onset of more difficult games, only time will tell what will become of them. Newcastle also disappointed as Owens will not be in the starting lineup when they lost to Villa on Sunday. Totenham also needs to get their team together as their loss of Everton was nothing to be remembered.

So as the second week comes to an end Manchester United seems to be running away with it, but watch for Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton behind. Let us see what the middle week clashes and the third week bring.

English Premier League

As is generally the case that the sports bug bites every nation and every sports fan at the end of summer, you can't help but spiraling down into the Black Hole that is the adrenaline aspiring world of games. So let’s get my one half cent on all the beginnings of my favorite sports and teams starting with Football. EPL As the English Premier League started this weekend you could almost feel the electricity in the air. With all the new players that transferred during the summer, and the wounds and scars of the world cup still fresh the players took the field to start a new chapter. Every match that was played played out to something that wasn't expected. Arsenal equalized with Aston Villa as they opened up the EPL season in their new stadium. Arsene Wenger was cautious when he stated that if they wanted to compete with Chelsea, the only way for that was to stay as close as possible in the top tier. Any slip ups in the standings and Chelsea could once again run away with the title. The biggest surprise though was definitely Reading's win over Middlesboro. Reading who ran away with the Championship last year in the League 1, was destructive in the late first and second half. After their stuttered start in the first half (which could be called as first start jitters in the big leagues) they hounded the Middlesboro team until they pulled back three goals. Liverpool's start was saved by the return of Robbie Fowler (ever long the Red). The welcome provided to Sheffield United and Watford was just as expected in one of the toughest leagues to date. Chelsea and Man United didn't disappoint either with their wins over their foes. Although the season has only started and there are 37 more games to go and but as of right now it seems that teams are not taking into account any accomplishments of last year, but rather are focusing their attention on winning this year. As the weeks go by and the teams start to fall behind, we will probably see a clearer picture during the early weeks of December. Till then my till is empty because you have just listened to my one half cent.