Crawley vs Man U!

Woooooo-hooooooooo!

Rooney's goal vs. Manchester City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSAlvp4GPCY

I'm not a huge Wayne Rooney fan, but this was one of the best goals I have ever seen (and it ended up winning the match 2-1 against Man United's arch-rivals). I could do without his celebration afterwards, though. Too bad Rooney hasn't performed like this while wearing an England jersey!

ESPN gets right to Euro Championships!

Every match of Euro 2012 and 2016 will be broadcast on ESPN! This is excellent news for soccer-deprived Americans like me. I will definitely round up another betting pool for Euro 2012!

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6077737/espn-acquires-us-broadcast-rights-2012-2016-european-championships

On another note, as a Liverpool fan, I must say that I am sorry to see Fernando Torres leave, especially to my least favorite team (Chelsea). However, Liverpool got top-dollar for him, despite the fact that he really hasn't been the same player since his injury last spring. Liverpool essentially got 2 for 1: Suarez and Carroll (very talented young strikers) for Torres. I hated Suarez last summer for his dirty, classless handball against Ghana (which ended up winning the game for Uruguay), and not to mention the fact that he is coming off of a suspension for biting an oponent, but I'll give him a chance. Also, I am very much rooting for Michael Bradley to kick-ass with Aston Villa.

Qatar???!!!!

FIFA just announced that Qatar has been awarded the 2022 World Cup. I don't get it. Qatar? 130 degrees in the summer. Qatar - are you serious? In 1994 USA smashed records for World Cup attendance. Do you think soccer fans are excited to go to Qatar? I'm not! I hate FIFA - I really do. Russia 2018 is not much better - they are a weak soccer country. Qatar!! I am really pissed about this.

COPA Americas

Apparently CONCACAF is trying to modify the Copa America into a 16-team tournament that includes 6 North and Central American Teams:

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1616/concacaf/2010/10/06/2153459/report-concacaf-request-entry-into-the-copa-america

I think this is an awesome idea that could make the tournament more exciting and legit - hopefully on par with the Euro Cup and African Nations Cup. I have always thought the guest invitees system with the Copa America tournament (2 out of 12 teams - usually Mexico, Costa Rica and/or USA) was odd/random (Japan in 1999!) and controversial.

P.S. please ignore my EPL predictions below (Liverpool is in trouble and Chelsea is still Chelsea)

EPL predictions

The English Premier League starts tomorrow. I think it's a bit more wide open this year, with perhaps Manchester United being the only team of the "big 4" (Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool) to be a sure bet for a top 4 finish. With the addition of Chicharito (the sensational young Mexican who was brilliant in South Africa this summer), I think Man U wins the Premier league. Chelsea is getting old - I doubt Drogba, Anelka, and Lampard can match the types of seasons they have had in the past 3 years. Expect Arsenal and Tottenham to be similar to their past two seasons, whereas Liverpool and Manchester City should be better than last year . Manchester City is so loaded with talent and egos, but if they gel as a team, they are capable of finishing as high as second, I think. Here are my predictions (in order)

Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Tottenham
Arsenal
Chelsea
Everton

These are fairly bold, and probably stupid predictions, but I just have a hunch that Man City and Tottenham are going to be stronger and hungrier than Arsenal and Chelsea. On to some not-so-bold predictions: Barcelona (with an incredible duo of Messi and David Villa up front) will hold off an improved Real Madrid squad.

International Friendly: Brazil 2, USA 0

Did anyone catch the Brazil-USA friendly this evening? I was pretty excited for the first 15 minutes - USA looked energetic and even quick. But then Brazil started to have some fun, and we were fortunate it didn't get ugly. How about this 18 year old Neymar?! He's my new pick for the 2014 Golden Boot! He's got great quickness and a suprising amount of power for such a scrawny kid. Brazil is absolutely loaded. Their non-World Cup team is probably far better than any other country's.

Most likely no one will take a look at this blog until June 2014, but in case any of y'all do, the English Premier League season starts Saturday, and I'm going to be making my picks for the top-5 teams - feel free to join in. If anyone can top my predictions I will by them a pitcher of beer using my World Cup prize money.