A catch-all blog for Mark H of Denver, CO. I hope to document my travels, put my opinions out there, keep track of worthwhile stuff I find, and maybe attempt to stockpile some vegan content.
Terry Cooke does not play in week 1. Week 2 at home he sits on the bench until the 65th minute, when Colorado happens to have a free kick. What does he do with his first touch of 2009?
Upper 90. First touch. What. Cookie, earning his spot.
Oh, yeah, the game-winning goal? Cookie set that one up too. Cooke to Clark to Cummings. Done.
Chivas 2, Rapids 1. It was tough to watch that second half. The Rapids just collapsed after giving up the second Nagamura goal. For that, I think the whole team needs to work on their resilience. It was like they knew they were lucky to take the lead, and lost hope when reality caught up and they fell behind. The first half Rapids dominated, and deserved the Cummings goal. The second half Rapids panicked.
Now for the tough love. There are a lot of Kimura fans in Colorado. I am not one of them. I know you can't place blame on one player for a loss, but I cannot sit back and pretend Kimura is a reliable defender when I see his blunders lead to goals so often. When I saw him starting again on Saturday, I thought, here we go... but I will try to love him. He did ok, but it did not last. And neither did my hopes of trusting him this year. Let's go to the tape:
A Chivas cross goes harmlessly into the box with three Rapids around, no Chivas challenging for the ball . Kimura has lots of options: control-and-clear, head wide right out of danger, head-tap back to Pickens... but no. Instead, a nice soft head-pass, across the top of the box, to settle perfectly at the feet of Paulo Nagamura. Clear shot, easy goal. Appalling. Unacceptable.
Gary Smith has called for accountability and earning your spot every week. If that is true, he must hold Kimura accountable for these gaffes. Last year's last-minute Movsisyan RSL goal in that knocked us out of the playoffs was also a nice setup from KK. I noticed these things several times last year, and the problem has not been fixed. So, in the name of accountability, I am starting a tally sheet, tagged here for the first time as Kosuke Kimura own-goals. Somebody's gotta keep track of these things. I mean, I know its not literally an own goal, but a gaffe like that might as well be.
Kosuke Kimura 2009 Own-Goal Tally: 1
By the way, Soccer by Ives noticed it too. Ives has Kimura on his week 1 Worst XI, along with Zach "The Snack" Thornton who gave us a gift for the first goal.
The Times in the UK published an article yesterday that says non-believers are now the third largest group in the US, after Catholics and Baptists. Third! It's a surprising rank, and makes it sound a bit better than it really is, unfortunately, but hey, it's a start.
Disney will release Earth this month in theaters. It looks to be a re-editing of Discovery's amazing Planet Earth series into a family-friendly collection of stories that should appeal to children. I guess that means less hunting scenes, and more baby polar bear antics. I seldom find myself applauding Disney, mainly because they are one of those giant super-power corporations. In this case, I have to nod approvingly. There is a big need for nature-enthusiasm among American kids. Disney knows what kids like, and I think an increased love for our planet and all its amazing animals can only be a step in the right direction.
Here's one of my favorite clips from Planet Earth featuring a couple of New Zealand's unreal birds of paradise.
I need to get that Smashing Pumpkins song from the trailer to Watchmen. I thought it was on a Batman soundtrack previously and I was right: Batman & Robin. The song title is The Beginning is the End is the Beginning. According to Allmusic, it never showed up on a SP album, just that soundtrack. Whoever did this trailer made a wise musical choice. Dark, compelling, different but still familiar.
The boys are back in 6 days. Rapids at Chivas on Saturday March 21st, and then the home opener vs KC on Saturday March 28th. New kits, a new striker, and hopefully a new era. The Rapids are running a new promotion this year that I love: the so called "Lads' Night Out." It entails 2 tickets to the game, plus 2 beers at Fado's downtown, and a free party bus ride to and from the Dick! 39 bucks. Not bad.
Radiolab is an excellent radio program from WNYC. Jad and Robert, the hosts always put together an interesting conversation about the many ways science can meet culture, and how it matters to us. Last week they posted Darwinvaganza, a special evolution episode, to celebrate Darwin's bday, and it has some great thoughts on what it means to believe in evolution. I need to listen to it again because I was distracted the first time, but it had some great ideas, and really is an example of why i love public radio (PRI in this case). Radiolab is on NPR every week; 90.1 fm in Denver. Have a listen.
The boys are back in 6 days. Rapids at Chivas on Saturday March 21st, and then the home opener vs KC on Saturday March 28th. New kits, a new striker, and hopefully a new era. The Rapids are running a new promotion this year that I love: the so called "Lads' Night Out." It entails 2 tickets to the game, plus 2 beers at Fado's downtown, and a free party bus ride to and from the Dick! 39 bucks. Not bad.
Hawks in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. Picture taken by D. Mueller on Jan 10, 2009. We saw them hanging out on the beginning of our canopy tour.
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