My Tribute To Ray Hudson And His Color Commentating Greatness.

So I was watching the Real Madrid - Barca game(which was anything but a classico) on Gol TV today and thought that not enough people appreciate Ray Hudson's "enthusiasm" for the game, or as I call it..........all around craziness. So in honor of Ray's over the top announcing, I present a video to the uninitiated so they can gain the same appreciation for him that I currently hold:

Week 6 MLS Recap........What The Hell??

Maybe its just me, but what the hell is going on in MLS so far this year? The highly touted uber-team DC United has been playing more like Derby County recently, and last years MVP Luciano Emilio looks about as dangerous as a wet sponge..........here's some other things that are puzzling MLS fans and happened around MLS this week:

Somebody Break Up The Crew: Honestly nobody saw this coming...........the Columbus Crew are 5-1 and looking down and laughing at everybody from the top of the MLS standings. If anybody tells you they predicted this they are lying and you should kick them in the privates......But seriously the Crew are playing good soccer and Schellotto looks as good as ever even after all those off season rumors he didn't want to be in Columbus this year. The Crew have a chance to go to 6-1 this week as long as they score a goal because god knows San Jose couldn't score even if the other team had no one in net............Oh yeah and how about Moreno's flying scissor kick assist to Robbie Rodgers this past week.......Ray Hudson's head probably exploded when he saw it:

Beckham Bends It Like...............Beckham: Just a note to the RSL defense, there are some people in this league that you really shouldn't be leaving open at the top of the box and in a perfect world they wouldn't leave anybody open. But if your going to leave somebody open from 20 yards out, don't let it be someone who is world famous for swerving the ball into the upper 90's of numerous goals throughout his career. Ruud Gullit must be thanking the heavens above that his team can score more than two goals every game because his defense outside of Sean Franklin is a disaster area guaranteed to give up at least a goal per game............so instead of watching their futile attempts at defense, feast your eyes on Beckham doing what he does best:


Westward Bound: You hear that?? That's the sound of Eastern Conference teams celebrating every time they have to play a Western Conference team as the Western Conference is just plain awful this year. The fact that the last place team in the Eastern Conference right now, DC United, would only be two points out of a playoff spot right now is just plain sad. Hopefully the Western Conference can get it together for the good of the league because right now none of them deserve a playoff spot.



Crapitol Hill: Things are not good down in DC right now as they are playing listless, uninspired soccer right now and are languishing as the bottom of the Eastern Conference table. There is simply no reason for a team with so much talent on the roster to be playing so awfully. Their game against Colorado was downright awful on Sunday, and its hard to see them turning it around against Chicago this Thursday mostly because Chicago is on fire(haha I meant that) and because they have had made DC their proverbial Bee-otch in recent years(see last years playoff match-up and everyone before that).......Hopefully DC can call upon some help from their new sponsor, and get Herbie the Love Bug to play for them and score some goals.

Preview: Red Bulls Vs Maple Leafs FC

Ahhhh another thursday night means another edition of MLS Primetime Thursdays, with this weeks matchup taking place up in Maple Syrup-Ville as the Red Bulls take on Toronto FC. It should be a good matchup as Toronto isn't the example of soccer futility anymore and the Red Bulls have been playing pretty decent the last couple games. The only way to break down this matchup is to assess the teams strengths and weaknesses:

Red Bulls Strengths:

Jozy "ridiculous man-child" Altidore - Jozy lives for the spotlight and it wouldn't surprise me to see him go apeshit and roof one in the upper corner on Toronto tonight. That being said, it also helps that the likes of Marco Velez should be marking him............that's like putting Mark Madsen on Lebron James.....successful defending will just not materialize out of that matchup folks.

The return of JPA - If Angel does indeed play tonight, we could see a ritualistic massacre of the Toronto defense if him and the man child get the service they need.................but that's a big if. But just remember what happened last time Angel played in T-Dot:

Red Bulls Weaknesses:

John Conway - Nuff said...................the guy is 18 feet tall and still cant block some easy shots. If he couldn't block a Larentowitz free kick right at him, how is he gonna stop Laurent Roberts rocket launcher on his left foot? And how will he stop any of the class free kicks Amado Guevara can produce?? This point alone could make for an interesting and high scoring game.

The midfield......or lack thereof - The matchup between TFC's suddenly awesome midfield and RBNY's extremely unawesome midfield will probably decide the game tonight. I honestly cant see Claudio Reyna doing much against the buzzsaw in Carl Robinson and the box to box middie in Mo Edu...........I also cant see him doing much because he really hasn't done much during his time in NY except for last game against San Jose but they're an expansion team, so like all of Barry Bonds' home runs when he was 'roided up, that performance from Reyna technically doesn't count.

TFC Strengths:

Bat-Shit Crazy Fans - Say whatever you want when it comes to who have the best fans in the league but in my opinion its not even close, and that makes TFC extremely hard to beat at home. That being said, the one thing I request of TFC fans tonight is that you not start the "this is our house!" chant if you are losing..........especially by alot...........that happened alot last year and it didn't reflect well on your overall intelligence.

Uber Midfield - As stated before in the Red Bulls weaknesses, the disparity between the two midfields is huge and it could help turn this game tonight into a rout of epic proportions. Head Coach John Carver has come in and transformed the midfield into a deadly possession/ triangle passing team, with dangerous skill at every middie position. I wouldn't be surprised if Osorio has to take Reyna out at halftime in order to keep him from being absolutely brutalized for another half, although I hope that Claudio makes me eat my words.

TFC Weaknessess:

Marco "i fuck up alot" Velez - If the RBNY has any smarts at all on their coaching staff, and I'm pretty sure that's what they picked up Osorio for, then they will unleash an all out assault on TFC defender Marco Velez. He is far and away the weakest link on their defense and is prone to unbelievably stupid mistakes at times(example of his shambolic defending).

El Lobo's Temper - With Guevara tearing up the league since returning a couple of weeks ago you gotta figure that hes in for another good game against a less than full strength RBNY team. The one factor is that he may be pressing his game because he will feel like he has something to prove against his old team. That can mean two things: that he either plays out of his mind and pulls a ridiculous goal out of his ass........or that he gets frustrated and lets that famous temper of his take over and take him out of his game. I'm going to lean towards the latter just because I think Osorio will have Stammler shadowing Guevara and that combined with the shitty conditions in the rain tonight will make for an angry Amado.

Prediction:
As much as it pains me to say this, the gulf between the two midfields will be too great for RBNY to overcome and they will be unlucky on a few chances and lose 3-1 with Angel getting a goal in his first game back if he plays. I also predict that there will be another douchebag/asshat Toronto fan who will throw a flare or smoke bomb on the field, damaging the already shitty field turf.