The Internet Is Filled With Weird and Wonderful Things

Like this wacky interview on Japanese TV immediately following Manchester United's victory in the FIFA Club World Cup last month, starring bemused but game Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. Iron Chef meets Match of the Day.

Curse of the 'Pool Men

Telegraph (uk): Gary Neville builders create Liverpool FC shrine under Manchester United player's pool

Liverpudlian brothers Brian and Gary Greer buried a Liverpool scarf and a copy of Kop, the club's fanzine, and a match programme, in a plastic tube when they worked on the England defender's pool.

"While we were there we created a Scouse time capsule under the pool and tiled over the top of it," Brian Greer told The Sun newspaper.

"When his house is dug up in the future, archaeologists will see what a passion he had for the Red men."

People sure do like to pick on Gary Neville. Here's a video of a British show that's like "Punk'd" on MTV, where Rio Ferdinand sets up fellow footballers. Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are not amused.

Becks From 70

Reminds you of this, doesn't it? From 1996:

Champions League Exit

MOTM
Chelsea player Didier Drogba celebrates after Chelsea beat Liverpool during the second leg of a Champions League semi-final game at Stamford Bridge in London. Chelsea won 3-2 to qualify for the final in which they will play Manchester United.
(AFP/Carl de Souza)
Chelsea beat Liverpool 3-2 yesterday in overtime to advance (4-3) to the Champions League Final in Moscow on May 21st.

Rafa made some baffling personnel selections; no Peter Crouch as usual, even though this was a must-win, must-score-to-win game and Crouch has an excellent record of scoring goals in international matches, for club and country. Riise and Arbeloa at the wing backs. I'd rather see Stevie Finnan hopping on one leg than Arbeloa, but I'm not Rafa. Arbeloa got beat like a rented mule on Chelsea's first goal.

Ryan Babel on the bench. Jermaine Pennant on the bench. Bennie Onion at least provided a little offensive spark, and created Liverpool's only goal in regulation time (and got subbed out early for his troubles), but Xavi Alonso was invisible as he has been for much of the year. Dirk Kuyt was so bad the ESPN announcers never even said "He works so hard" once during the game. Kuyt has the worst first touch I've ever seen. The ball bounces so far off his feet you'd swear he kicked it.

Rafa claimed Torres was hurt when he subbed him out for Babel in the 2nd overtime, but that was a stunning move when goals were critical. And then Babel scored that incredible 40-yard strike goal and you had to wonder, why wasn't he in from the beginning?

And it must be said, the pre-game taunting of Drogba by Rafa was nothing short of disastrous. MOTM Drogba made him pay & pay dearly with his two goals.

This morning I watched the highlowlights on SportsCenter and got a good laugh. These guys really know nothing about soccer. Steve Levy did the voiceover and pronounced Sammy Hyypia "Huppeeuh". And Frank Lampard he called "Lamperd". Just pronounce that one like its written, moron. Lamp - ard. Or call him Lamps and avoid the gaffe. You just know that Levy has never actually watched an entire soccer game. Never. From now on I'm going to call Levy (Lee - vee) "Levee". (I expect better from an Oswego graduate.)

I'm an American so I don't have the Manchester United hate you get when you grow up a Liverpool fan in England. So I'll root for the Mancs in the final, for Paul Scholes, the best English player of his generation, who didn't get to play in ManU's last Champions League final in 1999 due to suspension. And I just can't root for Chelsea, the unlikeable Blues, Terry, Lampard, Cashley and co.

If Liverpool had won, it would have been an all-Reds final in Moscow. So appropriate. Warren Beatty would have had to attend. But Chelsea has its own connection to communism, as Roman Abramovitch looted the money he used to buy the Blues from the Russian people as communism collapsed in a frenzy of capitalistic greed. Another reason I can't root for Chelsea.


Guardian (uk): Player Ratings

Guardian (uk): Benítez left with empty feeling and unclear future
A trophyless season will do Liverpool's manager no favours in Anfield's civil war

Independent (uk): Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2 (Chelsea win 4-3 on agg): Lampard summons remarkable courage to fire Chelsea through

Independent (uk): Moscow prepares for an English invasion

Telegraph (uk): Liverpool manager Benitez looks to the future

The Times (uk): Absent Roman Abramovich gets his home brew

Liverpool Echo: Chelsea 3 - Liverpool 2
AT least there’s no need to worry about those Russian visas anymore.

All Hail the Ginger Prince

wikipedia
Manchester United are in the Champions League final for first time in nine years.

Manchester United 1-0 over Barcelona. The lone goal a fabulous 30 yard strike by Paul Scholes. As the song goes, Paul Scholes, he scores goals! This ensures an all-England final (against either Liverpool or Chelski)

For me MOTM was Rio Ferdinand who anchored the makeshift United defense, while Wes Brown (other than a few errant whacks on van der Sar's head), Evra, Park and Tevez had strong games. Hargreaves survived a game at left back, but barely. Hope Evra's injury is not serious but he got a boot in the head which is never good.

Here's the goal in all its glory:



BBC: Ferguson heaps praise on Scholes

Manchester United Signs 9-Year-Old Phenom

Remember the name: Rhain Davis. He'll turn 10 in October, but he's already got a contract with Manchester United. Watch the video:

Newcastle to Sign Alan Smith

Looks like Newcastle has won the Alan Smith derby. Big Sam has added a lot of quality players since he took over: Alan Smith, Mark Viduka, Joey Barton, David Rozehnal and Geremi. Newcastle is one of those teams where you always wonder why they underperform so. This signing should make Alan Shearer happy.

Where will Obafemi Martins find a place in this strike team?

BBC Football: Magpies make successful Smith bid

The Magpies are in talks with the 26-year-old, who has been linked to a host of Premiership clubs, and it is believed the deal is worth £6m.

Smith could even make his Newcastle debut alongside former Leeds team-mate Mark Viduka in a pre-season friendly against Sampdoria on Sunday.

Goal.com: Alan Smith Set For Newcastle - Report

The future of Manchester United's England striker Alan Smith could soon be resolved with the Manchester Evening News reporting that United have accepted a £6 million offer from Premiership rivals Newcastle deal for the former Leeds man.

Somth, 26, is apparently due to hold talks today with Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce over personal terms.

A transfer could then be completed this week.

Guardian (uk): Newcastle agree £6m Smith fee

All Hail Drogba

Chelsea's Didier Drogba celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the FA Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in London, Saturday May 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

FA Cup Final result: Chelsea 1, Manchester United 0 (extra time)

Telegraph (uk): Drogba ends drought to secure Cup for Chelsea

BBC Sport: FA Cup final - Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd

Guardian (uk): Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United

I don't particularly like Chelsea, their robber baron owner Abramovich, their whiny manager Mourinho, but I have been impressed with Drogba this season. While Chelsea players dropped like flies around him, he played in an unbelievable 54 (or is it 55) games for Chelsea. If I was his agent I'd want a games-played bonus in his contract because that's just an unbelievable number.

Drogba, I felt, was the real Player of the Year in the Premiership this year. Christiano Ronaldo was prettier to look at, Drogba more effective, IMHO.

AC Milan 3 - Manchester United 0

AC Milan's Kaka (C) and Gennaro Gattuso celebrate at the end of their Champions League semi-final second leg soccer match as Manchester United's Darren Fletcher (R) leaves the pitch at the San Siro stadium in Milan May 2, 2007. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini (ITALY)
AC Milan and Liverpool will meet in a rematch of the 2005 Champions League final on May 23rd in Athens. Milan trounced Manchester United yesterday. The Mancs were missing three of their four starting defenders (Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, and Patrice Evra) but I thought the game was won and lost in the midfield where Gattuso dominated play.

BBC: AC Milan 3-0 Man Utd (agg 5-3)
Mighty Milan destroy Man Utd

Goal.com: AC Milan - Manchester United: AC Milan Player Ratings

Goal.com: AC Milan - Manchester United: Manchester United FC Player Ratings

It's All Good For Alan Smith

Manchester United Online: Smith back in training

Alan Smith was the surprise face on show as almost the entire United squad trained on Tuesday morning.

The 25-year-old, who will revert to his original role as a striker this season, has been out of action since breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle against Liverpool last January.

Sir Alex Ferguson expects to have the fans' favourite back in action in late August or early September.

So, not only is he back way ahead of schedule, he gets to go back to his natural position, striker. He looked lost in the midfield, where only his workrate kept him on the field.

The Sun: Fergie shock at Al's return

Whew, That Was Close

The most exciting thing in Middlesbrough, a big blue bridge (I kid you not)
Gooch not yet signed with Middlesbrough, he tells Yanks Abroad:

Yanks-Abroad.com: ONYEWU COOLS BORO SPECULATION

"Nothing has been worked out in my eyes," Onyewu told YA in response to published reports from that he was on his way to the Riverside. "That is just like I was signing with Manchester (United) earlier."

His agent Will Sherling was equally cool on the proposed transfer of the Standard Liege man

"There is interest from a number of clubs in England and throughout Europe," he told YA. "There are options but as of now there is no deal done."

Previous post: Gooch to Middlesbrough? (June 5, 2006)

Gooch to Middlesbrough?

Gooch gives Borgetti "The Stare"
Oh, Gooch, don't do it, Middlesbrough is a godforsaken shithole of a town. Wait, go to a town closer to London. Or buy a train pass and expect to do some traveling. Make sure you have high speed internet and a really big TV 'cause there's nothin to do up there, man.

Well, at least you get to play with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank and (if he sticks around) Mark Viduka. But Middlesbrough? Did you go there before you signed?


NYTimes World Cup Blog: Gooch to Middlesbrough?

SkySports: Boro Move for American Ace

Middlesbrough look to have tied up a shock deal for USA star Oguchi Onyewu.

The 23-year-old, know as Gooch, is currently playing in Belgium for Standard Liege - but Boro are now understood to have tied up a deal for the highly-rated central defender.

Onyewu is set to partner Eddie Pope at the heart of the USA defence at the World Cup finals this summer - and a big tournament is being predicted for the giant defender.

After coming through the college system in America, Onyewu was snapped up by French side Metz - but he never settled and joined La Louviere on loan.

His form with La Louviere earned him a move to Standard - and he has been a regular with them for the past two seasons.

A number of clubs including Manchester United and Charlton Athletic are thought to have scouted Onyewu along with Boro - but skysports.com understand the Teessiders have now made their move and a deal is now in place.

Northeastfootball.co.uk: Boro closing in on Onyewu

Clubcall: Boro to land USA international?

Alan Smith Update

Amazingly, after surgery to repair his broken leg and ankle, the doctors are now predicting that Alan Smith may be able to return in six months:

FERGIE: SMITH WILL BE BACK IN 6 MONTHS

Without Smith, Manchester United won the Carling Cup today, pasting Wigan 4-0:

United dedicate win to Smith

and the Mancs wore shirts during the post-game celebrations which said "For You Smudge".



Smith is nicknamed Smudger, a nickname originally held by the Alan Smith who played for Arsenal from 1987 to 1995. Apparently all soccer-playing Alan Smiths are nicknamed Smudger.

Previous posts:

He Knew He Was In Trouble When

Comeback Trail

Get Well Alan Smith

Comeback Trail

That's the Alan Smith we know and love:

Positive Smith already talking of speedy comeback

BARELY 24 HOURS AFTER suffering a terrible leg injury, Alan Smith was sitting up in his hospital bed yesterday afternoon telling his doctors and Manchester United team-mates that he will be back on a football pitch sooner than they think. No guarantees can be given at this stage, but the hope at Old Trafford is that the Yorkshireman’s spirit and bloody-mindedness will help him to make a full recovery.

Previous post:

Get Well Alan Smith

Get Well Alan Smith

This is how we want to see Alan Smith come back.

Alan Smith of Manchester United broke his leg at the end of yesterday's FA Cup match with Liverpool, a break so bad that most of the other players on the field couldn't stand to look at it. I've seen Smith live three times, in Chicago & New York on England's US Tour, and in Manchester last fall. He's a tenacious player who is never outworked. Hope he can use that attitude to recover from an injury which Sir Alex Ferguson said was one of the worst he's ever seen. He's going to miss the World Cup and will probably be out for a year.

Smith suffers horrific leg break

Soccer: Hope crumples on one bad break

Smith career not under threat

Maybe They Think He'll Sell Some Shirts

Chelsea still in race to sign Adu

The 16-year-old, who plays for DC United and who made his international debut in January, is a prime target for Europe's top clubs.

BBC Sport understands Chelsea continue to monitor his situation closely and hope to clinch a deal, although a move is not imminent, as has been reported.

Manchester United also want to sign the Ghanaian-born prodigy but Chelsea are hopeful of beating off all opposition.

The big problem for Freddy is he has shown little on the field to date, other than a few tricks and some pretty goals. He hasn't even nailed down a starting spot on his squad in MLS, not exactly a top tier league (sorry, American fans). He appeared for the US national team earlier this month, not because he had earned it, exactly, but because he and Ghana were making noises about his appearing for that country. Until he made an appearance for the US national senior team, he was essentially a free agent.

And who knows? Maybe this is all spin from his agent. Maybe the article in today's WaPo is spin from his agent, too, toward a different goal:

Adu's World Cup Hopes Hinge on Play for United

Freddy Adu has not given up hope of making the U.S. World Cup squad, but after training under Coach Bruce Arena in California for a month, the 16-year-old forward realizes this much: It is imperative to make a robust impression with his club team, D.C. United, before he has any chance of joining the national team in Germany this summer.

Adu's effort began yesterday, when he participated in his first preseason practice of the year at RFK Stadium's training grounds.

"I've just got to work hard and be a regular starter for D.C.," he said. "The month of April [when the MLS season starts] is very important for me because Bruce said he is going to be monitoring my every move and I'm just going to work hard and keep improving and bringing that to D.C. United.

I do not expect to see Freddy in Germany this summer.

Game of the Day

Liverpool-Manchester United. Rafa's resurgent Reds v. Sir Alex's slumping Mancs. England's two best players, Stevie Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. The biggest game of the EPL season to date.

Wish I got Setanta Sports so I could buy this one on pay-per-view.

Match preview from Kopblog: Rafa's Reds to put Man Utd Has-Beens in their place

United Rant: Overview

My prediction: Liverpool 3-1, Liverpool goals by Stevie G., Crouch, Kewell, and Van Nistelrooy for MU. Bonus predictions: yellow cards to Rooney, Ronaldo, and Sussoko.

Update: Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool Unfortunately, the only predictions I made that came true were yellow cards to Rooney and Sussoko. A big wasted opportunity by Liverpool.

There's Only One Roy Keane-O

Farewell to Manchester United captain Roy Keane, unceremoniously dumped by ManU yesterday.

The Guardian:

Roy Keane and Alex Ferguson: 1993-2005

Ushered out of the door by the most ruthless manager in the business [Sir Alex Ferguson], Keane's exit could hardly have been less dignified for a man who has graced the Old Trafford pitch for the last 12 years.

Roy of the rage can look back at Old Trafford in anger - and with pride

The Old Trafford dressing room will be quieter without him, dangerously so. United were unbeaten on all six of his appearances this season. The affluence of the squad may drift into a tolerance of the defeats he loathed. It will be a tamer club without him and almost certainly a less successful one.

I was privileged to attend a Man U game last month & had the pleasure of spotting the Man U captain glowering at the team from the Director's Box. I did get to see him play a few times on the Man U tours of the US and he was something. Even in his 30s he played with ferocity.

I wonder how soon Sir Alex will let some other player wear #16? And who will be captain? Scholes doesn't really have the personality for the role. Part of Keane's fury with the team is that no one has stepped up to lead in his absence. Well, now they'll have their chance.

U.S. - Costa Rica Squad Announced

Arena Names 18-Man Roster In Advance of Oct. 8 Qualifier in Costa Rica

ROSTER BY POSITION

Goalkeepers (2) – Kevin Hartman (Los Angeles Galaxy), Tim Howard (Manchester United)

Defenders (8) – Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy), Wade Barrett (San Jose Earthquakes), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Dan Califf (San Jose Earthquakes), Eddie Lewis (Leeds United), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake), Jonathan Spector (Charlton Athletic)

Midfielders (5) – DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Ricardo Clark (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Kyle Martino (Columbus Crew), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids)

Forwards (3) – Brian Ching (San Jose Earthquakes), Santino Quaranta, (D.C. United), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)

Looks like we will finally get our first look at Tim Howard in a while -- he's been riding the pine at Man U., and between Kasey Keller's dazzling domination and Tim's first child being born, he hasn't even been called up this year.

Glad to see Jonathan Spector on the roster, too. Hope this time Bruce puts him in. Please God don't let our average age at the World Cup next year be close to 30. That team will just break down and get overrun.

Eddie Pope? I think Bruce sees his past more than he sees his present. I love and adore Eddie Pope, but he's done at the international level. Once you lose that step as a defender, it's over. Can you see him going head to head with Wayne Rooney? Kaka? Eto'o? Shevchenko? Nope. We tried this last World Cup (Jeff Agoos) with disastrous results.

Twellman (too short) and Ching (too slow) haven't impressed me yet. But Twellman is a scorer, and his fabulous record of late strikes with the Revolution this year has earned him this spot. With scoring phenom Eddie Johnson still suffering from fractures in his feet, Bruce must find another striker, just in case. That's where Ching comes in.

At least our two best young players are on the squad, Damarcus Beasley and Oguchi Onyewu. When we shut down the other team's striker, he's been Onyewuued.

What can I say about all those MLS guys? I just don't understand giving all those roster spots to people who have such a small chance of making the World Cup squad. Wade Barrett? A 29-year-old who's been capped once? Come on. I'd rather see Freddy Adu, Eddie Gaven, Zak Whitbread, Justin Mapp, Alecko Eskandarian, Benny Feilhaber, Marvel Wynne. Young players with promise. Too bad they didn't go to U.Va.

Oh well. At least he didn't call up Chris Armas.

My Kind of Town, Chicago Is

I need to blog about my great soccer jaunt. My mom & I flew out of Newark on Thursday last week to Chicago to see England's national team (men) play the US at Soldier Field on Saturday. After a direct flight (a nice change from hub-hopping) we took an airport shuttle to our hotel. We rode with tourists from New Hampshire and three name-dropping gay men from LA ("I hear Tom Cruise goes there all the time", etc.). The husband of the NH couple was nice but when he began advocating that the Twin Towers in NYC be rebuilt I tuned him out. (Like who would ever work in that building? Only out-of-towners think that's a good idea.)

We stayed at the Swissotel, & I got a great rate from a site called travelzoo which included a buffet breakfast for both of us each day. The hotel is at 323 E. Wacker Drive, a fancy business hotel 3 blocks west of Millennium Park & 3 blocks north of Michigan Avenue. I asked the desk clerk for a room facing the lake, but with our bargain rate he wouldn't budge. We had a room on the 29th floor overlooking the city. The room was great, soft high-thread-count sheets, down comforters, floor to ceiling windows, huge bathroom with both shower stall and deep bathtub, and Ethernet. Not that I could figure out the Ethernet connection, but we weren't there to go on the computer.

I had bought a great little tour book, the Eyewitness Guides Top Ten Guide to Chicago. It's small, fits in your purse, and really condenses the highlights of Chicago into a series of lists. The perfect guidebook for a short trip. We went for a walk after stowing our bags & walked down to Millennium Park, marveling at the architecture. I made dinner reservations at the Berghoff, 17 W. Adams Street. Not realizing how close it was, we took a cab there. We had a great German meal -- Mom had sauerbrauten & I had wiener schnitzel, with a bratwurst & knockwurst appetizer, & sauerkraut & red cabbage. We had glasses of the house amber beer and rewarded ourselves with apple strudel for dessert. Not traditional German strudel, it was made with phyllo dough, but delicious. We walked home and again enjoyed all the little architectural details of the buildings; many had big elaborate clocks extending from the corner of the building.

Friday we had our first hotel breakfast/brunch -- trays of fresh watermelon, pineapple, honeydew & cantaloupe, cheeses, smoked salmon, salami & ham, scrambled eggs, Irish oatmeal, cheese blintzes, hash browns, two kinds of sausage, bacon, grilled tomatoes, french toast, and then a whole other table of breads & cereals. Brunch cost $18 per so we were happy to hand them our voucher at the end of the meal.

OK, here's the best part, the English team was STAYING IN OUR HOTEL! Mom recognized one of the players in the elevator as we returned from brunch. She walked into the elevator and said, "Well, good morning, Mr. Crouch!" As in Peter Crouch, who would be making his England debut on the tour. He was folded into the corner of the elevator, wearing his white England shirt over khakis. The other guy in the elevator -- shorter than me --said, also with an English accent, "Of course you recognize him, he's 6'7"." Mom said, well, who are you? (knowing that there are many young players here for England & that we may not know all of them.) I couldn't understand his name through his accent but he said he played for Charlton -- Mom said "Oh, you play with Danny Murphy!" Then she turned to Crouch & said she was looking forward to seeing him play. He was pretty shy & awkward. We were gleeful after we got off the elevator! We took another walk, this time down State Street and Michigan for a bit of shopping. We tried on $200 hats in Marshall Field, then I got some t-shirts with the American flag on them at Old Navy & Mom & I both picked up new purses in TJ Maxx. We walked over to the Daley Center to see the Picasso sculpture in the plaza. On the way home we hit a Borders where Mom bought 3 English soccer magazines.

That afternoon we went to see the Cubs play the Rockies at legendary Wrigley Field. We took the El from the Lake station to Addison. Amazed at all the legal scalpers working the street just outside the train station. Guess I overpaid for tix by purchasing them on the internet before the trip. With the Cubs in a nosedive the Cub fans are not beating down the door. Like Fenway Park, though, Wrigley Field is its own draw. We made it into our seats high above home plate in time to see poor Mark Prior get hit on the elbow by a comebacker straight at him, the ball hit so hard it was caught on the fly by the third baseman. Well, at least the Cubs romped. Derrick Lee hit two home runs. He is an impressive physical specimen -- reminded me of Dave Winfield.

We took the El home and repaired to our hotel room to freshen up before our Friday night dinner at Bar 36, a fancy wine bar. We went down the elevator to the hotel lobby to see a guy in a periwinkle blue uniform with his back to us, signing the shirt of a young boy. It was Andy Johnson, Crystal Palace striker who finished second in the Premier League in goals (behind Thierry Henry, natch). In person, he looks much smaller than he does on the field. Slight, almost. Then we spotted Joe Cole (with John Terry, most improved player on Chelsea). I said to Mom, Mom, you better go get your camera! So she headed off the elevator, where she had a nice conversation with Joe Cole. While she was gone Sol Campbell (Arsenal) and Wes Brown (Manchester United) walked in and began signing autographs and posing for pictures. Then Alan Smith and Phil Neville (both Man U.), who with nasty looks on their faces walked briskly past the people in the hallway & went directly to the elevator. I thought at the time that it was just their personalities, but Smith may have had his famous dust-up with Steve McLaren about the fact that the manager had decided to start Peter Crouch at striker rather than Smith.

Mom finally arrived back & I took her picture with Wes Brown. We struck up a conversation with a transplanted Englishman who was very impressed with our football knowledge (he introduced us to other Brits by saying, "These two young ladies know their football! They watch it on the satellite!"). He took our picture with Sol Campbell (swoon) and Andy Johnson. I got pictures of Mom with Sven Goran Eriksson (the manager) and David James (Manchester City). We missed out on pics with Ashley Cole and Jermaine Dafoe.

OK, here's the embarrassing part. I saw Kieran Richardson wearing the same training outfit, but he looked too young to play. I thought maybe he was the ballboy. So I asked him, "Are you going to play?" He replied "I hope so!" I suppose my question didn't seem so stupid to him as he had never before appeared for his country. He made the most of it, didn't he? Richardson's dream England debut I told Mom the story later and she said, oh, he's a Man U player, but they loaned him out to West Brom this season & he scored the goal that kept them from being relegated. Mom knows all.

While all this was going on I had called the restaurant to tell them that we were going to be 15 minutes late appearing for our reservations. So we finally left to go to dinner. We chortled throughout our dinner, passing the camera back & forth to look at our gets.

Oh, and the "Charlton" player we met in the elevator? A practical joker. I saw him again in the lobby and asked his name. "Michael," he replied. "Owen". Yeah, like I wouldn't recognize my favorite English football player! Every time I saw him after that for the next two days I sang out "Michael! Michael Owen!" He was shameless, nothing bothered the little s**t.

Saturday we went for a walk to Millennium Park to see the new sculpture, "Cloud Gate", which was partially on view. Known in Chicago as "The Bean", it is a, well, bean-shaped sphere made of 110 tons of steel. Only about 20% of the sculpture was completed & exposed, but you could see the sky, the skyline, and the curious on the plaza in its reflection. We took each other's pictures reflected in The Bean, then headed back to the hotel.

And once again, there was the England team, this time heading out for a bit of pre-match training. At this point the word was out with England fans so our hotel, lobby and entryway were filled with autograph seekers. We stood our ground & took a few photos. A burly man threatened my mother with expulsion for taking a picture inside the lobby (he said he was with security) so we went outside & took pics of the team in the hotel entrance. The team waited around until Peter Crouch came out, last, his head down, looking dejected. Probably had just learned he would not play in the game today.

After all the meetings with the team in the hotel, the game was almost anticlimactic! We intended to take the bus, but the 146 bus did not come for 30 minutes, until a bus came which refused to open the doors because it was too full. So we hailed a cab & had it let us out at the Roosevelt Rd. train stop. We joined the throngs walking to the game. A mostly English crowd, it seemed, from the yelling and the singing. We passed two men inside an underpass selling the new England strip out of a black sports bag ($40 each). They sold out in less than a minute.

Security was pretty routine. They looked cursorily inside my binoculars & my purse. We found our seats on the Club level & I headed out for food. I got sandwiches & sodas. Stupid Soldier Field rule: fountain sodas served in cups, you can't have either a lid or a straw. However, if you order coffee, you can get both a lid & a little stirrer. I don't know, I think I'd rather be hit by a cold flying projectile than a cup of hot coffee. But that's just me.

US was missing our "A" team: No Damarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson, Eddie Lewis, Claudio Reyna, John O'Brien, Frankie Heyduk, Clint Mathis, Pablo Mastroeni, Oguchi Onyewu, Tim Howard, or the ageless Cobi Jones. England was missing even more: David Beckham, Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Sean Wright-Philips, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Paul Robinson, Wayne Bridge, Danny Murphy, Ledley King and more.

The US played what I call "boot and chase" soccer, preferring long crosses to the forwards to controlling the ball on the ground up the field. England cleaned our clock, really; Landon Donovan (known by doubters as "Landon Gone") was invisible. Josh Wolff worked his butt off but couldn't finish. I was impressed by Richardson, of course, with his two goals, and Joe Cole, who looks like he will be quite the playmaker some day. Alan Smith leaned in on everyone and fouled repeatedly.

Unfortunately we had to listen to a couple of soccer pretenders behind us who kept saying inane things like "Smith's going to get a card! That's the fourth time he's fouled! Referees are counting!" Right, he's going to get a card for a garden variety push.

I thought Clint Dempsey had left it all on the field & was calling for him to be subbed out when he scored late in the game. That made the score look respectable, but without an attack we really got skunked.

After the game we walked home past all the beautiful parks, fountains, and sculptures.

Sunday we again went walking, looking at architecture and eventually ending up at the Art Institute of Chicago, which is right next to Grant Park. Fantastic collections. I got to add another painting to my "Mel Kelly life list". My high school art teacher's room was covered with reproductions of great paintings. Each year the class had to memorize all the paintings in order and recite the names of the paintings and the artist. I think if you got my brothers & sisters in a room today between the four of us we could recreate the entire three walls. It started with "Starry, Starry Night" by Van Gogh, which I've seen, along with "Pines and Rocks" by Cezanne (Mr. Kelly called it Rocks and Pines, but who's counting). At the Art Institute I saw Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", which Mr. Kelly mercifully shortened to Sunday Afternoon in the Park. Check!

Monday we flew back to Newark & headed to Manhattan for a night on the town before England - Columbia. Tuesday we headed out early to Giants Stadium. Got there so early we pulled into the parking lot for the Aramark employees. There weren't any parking collectors there yet, so we just went in the open gate & saved $15. Parked next to an Aramark truck for shade & set up chairs to eat & crowd watch. Bought an England flag from a woman selling them out of a sports bag. ($10). Went into the stadium when it opened at 2:30 p.m.

Silly security rule at Giants Stadium: They sell you soda in 20 oz. bottles but won't give you the cap. (Note to self: Take a 20 oz. soda cap next time you go to Giants Stadium.) A 12-year-old Columbian boy in the row ahead of us almost got in a fight with an English fan (couldn't determine if she was English or American) who was shouting obscenities in his mother's ear. At halftime when I went out for soda, I proclaimed myself "Switzerland" as I passed through the two still angry camps. As for the game: The real Michael Owen favored us with a hat trick as England won 3-2. The fans chanted and sang. The sun shone. It was a great, great, great trip.