Renee Stahl and Jeremy Toback - Night Mantra

I used to listen to Jeremy Toback (from Brad) a lot when I was in college but I have not been in touch with any of his music for a number of years now. While I was checking out the details of Sean Smith's new album (The Diamond Hand), I stumbled on the tune below which is Jeremy and a woman named Renee Stahl (who has an amazing voice) singing a song called Night Mantra from a children's album called It's a Big World. I think it sounds pretty damn good.

If you have never heard of Brad, you're missing one of the best Pearl Jam side projects around. Check out their song, The Day Brings below.

Earth Hour

Google "turned out the lights" on their home page to bring awareness to everyone about Earth Hour. From 8-9 PM local time, people around the world will be turning off their lights in recognition of energy conservation.

"Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver."

Here is a relatively cheesy video about it, but it gives you some background on the event in case you are interested and don't feel like reading. It's a good cause, join in from 8-9 PM local time.

Click a Trick

As you may know, after Jozy graduated from puppy training Summa Cum Laude, we enrolled her in Click a Trick. We have gone through two classes so far and it is pretty fun. She has learned to:

• Spin
• Go Around
• Shake and Other Paw (although she already knew these)
• High Five
• The first two parts of Take a Bow
• Roll Over (they haven't taught us this yet so this is a home schooled trick at the moment)
  

For all of you who are curious, here is a highlight video of Jozy strutting her stuff. Enjoy.

Comments on our 1960's kitchen can go unstated. You know you love it.

I'm On Setanta Sports

My buddy pele1410 sent me a link to one of the Jose Mourinho skits that feature him as a character on a solo talk show on Setanta Sports...as a puppet. They are pretty damn funny if you have an appreciation for him as an egomaniac and as a potential coaching genius. Here's one for you below. If you are huge Jose fan or just oddly curious, check out the Official Fans Page.

"And finally tonight, I'm fantastic."

The Notwist - One With the Freaks

Sorry for the lack of posts. Travel earlier this week and a hectic schedule. Here's a random tune from a band that is hitting my iTunes playlist recently.

5 Hours

You know you're in for a long day when you look at your watch and it is 8 am and you have been up for 5 hours...and you are in Houston waiting for a flight home. Must...take...nap...

Training Day, Steve Nash

Sometimes it is tough to convince kids to practice. In my opinion, this is one place where the commercial world excels (perhaps as a bi-product, but it is worth noting). At the same time companies are convincing athletes/kids to buy their product, they sell the need to work hard. Of course, they are also sending the message that their product helps improve performance. However, I think that in some cases the message is sent in an way which prevents complete attribution of better performance to buying the latest shoe or other type of training gear.

As a coach, I'll gladly point to commercials like the one below to message to my kids that rewards and accolades are not given freely, they are earned. I also really like the thought that Steve Nash expresses in this commercial related to accentuating your teammates on the field. I think that is a really great way to verbalize one creative component of playing the game.

By the way, Steve Nash looks like a really good soccer player.

Wheels

I need to get myself a pair of dress shoes with those wheels in the sole just like the sneakers that kids have these days. Every time I see them zoom by me in the airport I get jealous. Has someone invented these for business travelers yet?

Jim Noir - Eanie Meany

Jim Noir crossed my path today with a tune called Don't You Worry courtesy of the Mp3 blog I am Fuel, You are Friends. It is a cool tune so I would recommend heading over there and checking it out. Anyway, I couldn't figure out why Jim's name sounded so familiar to me until I did a quick search online and "remembered" that he wrote the song Eanie Meany, which was featured in the Adidas commercial Jose + 10 during the past World Cup. Eanie Meany made an appearance on a limited edition Blades of Blue monthly mix made after the World Cup of all soccer and joga bonito tunes. There are a few people out there that have a copy. If you're not one of them and you would like one, let me know. Here is the Eanie Meany video and the actual commercial as well. Enjoy.

And the commercial, Jose + 10 with special appearances by Platini, Zidane, Kahn and more.

Tiffany May, the US vs. Honduras Streaker

I didn't catch the U-23 US vs. Honduras game the other night and apparently I missed the show. Most of the time, when streakers make appearances on any American TV channel these days, they never show the actual streaker and the act is criticized heavily. For some reasons, FSC decided to not only show it, they decided to show a slow motion replay. Well played.

And in case you are concerned, the streaker is actually clothed, albeit in a bikini and an American flag.

Go to Hillcrest Road (KC blog) to read an interview with the now famous Tiffany May. You gotta love the FSC announcer..."Not too shabby."

Michael Bradley Game Winner, Heerenveen vs. Roda

Michael Bradley continued his form recently and scored a game winner for Heerenveen vs. Roda. Courtesy of SBI, here is a clip of his side volley game winner. Nice.

Jozy and the Jalepeno

So you know we grow jalepenos on our back yard right? Well, today, this website became relevant to me. Here is a quote in case you do not follow the link.

"If a dog happens to ingest an entire jalapeno pepper, he is likely not in any immediate danger, but he will be affected by its compounds just like a person. He might begin to sneeze, desperately lick his chops, and frantically search for water. If your dog has eaten jalapenos, make sure he has plenty of water to drink.

Depending on the tolerance of your dog’s digestive system, she may vomit subsequent to ingesting jalapenos. You may want to keep an eye out to protect your carpet or furniture. "

Cars Are Not Big Dogs or Toys

I have gotten pretty good at taking Jozy on at least one bike ride a day almost every day during the week. There appears to be a side affect from this consistent exposure to the road combined with the natural adrenaline that comes with running: Jozy is now very excited and interested in cars. In fact I think that she is interested in actually interacting with automobiles (or possibly the people who she sees in the automobiles).

I am not sure if it is the people in the cars or the cars itself that are starting to interest her. But I am noticing that she is trying to "greet" those "big dogs with 4 wheels that are carrying humans." In some cases, after they pass us, she is now trying to chase the car as it proceeds down the road. I am trying to correct the behavior, but I am not 100% sure what steps I need to take to start to correct this.

Joe Henry - Civilians

Joe Henry caught my ear back on 'silvery, silvery citibank lights' and I am slowly exploring other songs on his newest album. His website has a few free downloads so go check it out. Through the course of the exploration I stumbled upon Fabchannel. Over 700 full length concerts of various artists. Way cool. Mission from the website:

"Fabchannel.com brings you a wide variety of live music in sound and vision. From upcoming acts to big stars playing rock, hiphop, folk, avant-garde and everything in between.

With a team of dedicated, music loving directors, editors, programmers and promoters Fabchannel has built one of the biggest online concert archives in the world. 700 full-length concerts, festivals, performances, debates and lectures can be freely experienced in the Fabchannel video on demand archive. Live from the famous Paradiso and Melkweg Amsterdam."

They have a Joe Henry concert available so here it is. The first song is the one that is currently on my playlist, entitled Civilians. Enjoy.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

This band (Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin) just started crossing my path recently with the song Think I Wanna Die from their new album Pershing which will be released in April. I haven't been able to find a real video for the tune, which I really like, but it is featured in the montage below (at the beginning) which appears to be a short YouTube video previewing the upcoming album release. I downloaded their last album (Broom) from eMusic last night. Have yet to listen to it though.

Download Think I Wanna Die from PolyVinyl Records by clicking here.

Official Fansite

Snuggles

Jozy ate a dryer sheet tonight. I was a little worried about her after she ate it, but she is now sleeping on her chair without a care in the world, all snuggly soft.

Update: Scratch that. She might not be feeling so hot. She just changed positions on the chair and it appears that she pee'd on the chair while sitting in it...hmm....

Update: Jozy appears to be urinating a lot. I now believe this may have nothing to do with the dryer sheet and more to do with the broccoli stems I fed her tonight. Luckily, it was only a little bit.

Update (3/18): Jozy appears to be better so far this morning. She didn't have any accidents over night and is hanging out in my office on the futon this morning.

Weekend Recap @ Red Stick

This past weekend was a long weekend of soccer in Baton Rouge for my U-17 team. We entered a tournament with 12 teams (a number this high is quite a feat for a U-17 tournament in these parts) and did so with a roster that put us at about 12-13 players all weekend long. It was hot, the competition was intense, and we were faced with multiple injuries that stacked the odds against us. In bracket play, we finished 2-0-1 on top of our bracket. I was a little disappointed in our tie because I felt like the guys were just coasting and doing the bare minimum. They responded the next day with two straight wins but most importantly, played a beautiful style of soccer. Our possession and off the ball movement in the semi's really made me proud.

Unfortunately, the semi's were marred by an altercation with the other team - I do not think it is appropriate to go into details here. However, we played incredible soccer with tired legs and limited numbers. In the finals, we faced the home team but did not have much left to give. We found ourselves down two goals in less than 5 minutes. After the initial shock, the game settled down, we found our composure and played our game. We actually ended up losing 4-0 but I am not concerned about this in the least. Up until the final whistle, we actually controlled possession and moved the ball really well. We did this without two of our best players and during the 5th game of a long weekend. The fact that we were able to own the ball so well against what will be one of the best teams in the state, signifies the potential we have down the road. I think my players may feel otherwise, but I'll be sure to repeat the message a few times. Good weekend overall.

Coach

(During our last practice)

Player: I think I just vomited in my mouth and swallowed it.

AFC: 4-0-0

Last night we played our arch rival in the co-ed league and won 5-4. It was a hard fought game under the lights at Clark field. It would be nice to have more games like this in our co-ed league. Most of the games are not challenging enough.

Last night's game was interesting because the dynamic of the "girl goal" rule came heavily into play twice. For those of you not familiar, the rule is that when a woman scores in the game, it is worth two points. For teams like ours and a couple others (one team has a lot of UL women college players on it), this rule is probably unnecessary. It was established to make sure that women were getting involved in the game. On our team, our women are incredible, so we involve them because it just makes sense. You cannot win a co-ed game if you don't have a full team involved and contributing on the field.

So last night, the rule affected the dynamic of the game on two occasions.

1. We were tied 1-1 and received a PK. I opted to have a man on our team take it because the game was close and in my opinion, in a close game with a good goalie in the opposition net, you put your best PK kicker on the line. If it is a woman, so be it. However, I thought Mark was a good choice and he put it away. There is a possibility that some of my team disagreed with that decision. Not sure. In general though, if the "girl-goal" rule stays in the league, I think someone should evaluate if it even applies to PKs. I would like to remove the rule altogether, but would settle for a PK being worth one point, regardless of the kicker.

2. We were up 4-1 and it really felt like the other team was just about to give up. They had no momentum and we were drilling them. And then a woman scored. 4-3. The game was back on. Mind you, we had scored 4 goals and they had scored 2. But regardless, 4-3. The dynamic of the game completely shifted.

Last nights game reminds me why I get frustrated with the rule. It has played in our favor in the past and last night, it played in theirs. But in my opinion, in soccer, a goal is a goal. It is worth one point. When you try to change that system, you end up looking as silly as the MISL.

Team Building, Tennis or Pole Jumping?

So when fields are closed here because of continual rain storms, and you don't want to send your team home because you should take advantage of the fact that you have your team's attention for 1-2 hours, what do you do? My choice yesterday was to take them to a tennis court and play some soccer tennis. Soccer tennis is a blast, the kids get to hang out and have fun and on top of that, it helps improve touch on the ball. So it is a win-win as far I am concerned.

What does SC Heerenveen (Michael Bradley's club team) do for team building? They play a sport called Fierljeppen which involves a long pole and a body of water. You can watch Bradley's team play the sport below. If you are just skimming this and don't watch all 72 seconds of this video, do yourself a favor and skip to 46 seconds in and watch Bradley take his turn. He totally eats it. It is wicked funny.

MLS Trading Cards

Go check them out here. Is it weird that I am looking for the link on the Upper Deck website to buy a couple packs out of curiosity? Is it strange that I think these will make good stocking stuffers for next Christmas?



via 100 Percent Soccer

Set Play

When it comes to set plays, I am not the most creative of coaches. However, I just think I found the next one I will teach. Watch carefully. This is pretty damn funny.

Via Who Ate all the Pies

Coach

(One of my players this past weekend has a nagging hip or groin injury. We are not sure which. So we called the trainer over and he helped stretch the area and showed our player how to do so on his own. In the next game, the following exchange occurred.)

Coach: You ok? Why did you ask to come out?
Player: It hurts, I can't sprint and I don't want to cause a goal.
Coach: Ok. Relax on the sideline. Do the stretch that the trainer showed you.
Player: It doesn't help.
Coach: I asked you if it helped when he showed you the stretch. You said it felt great.
Player: I was just saying it. I didn't want him to feel like an idiot.

Let the Season Begin

As you may have guessed based on the resurfacing of a Coach post recently, my Division 1 club team has kicked back into gear. This past weekend we played our first tournament in preparation for defending our state title. It was a challenging weekend, not the least of it because it was freezing here! There was frost on the ground in the morning...in March! Crazy. On top of that, the time change made Sunday morning really tough. As far as my team goes, we only had about 12 guys all weekend, some of which were injured or sick, so we had a challenging task in front of us.

As far as the competition goes, we played one of our arch rivals on Sunday in the tournament final and won the cup on PK's. Winning on PK's is not a normal event for my team so this was a big accomplishment. In two of the games this past weekend, we also came back from 1 goal deficits. In fact, in one game we came back twice (so three come from behind moments in total). This was another encouraging take away. The primary downside to the weekend was that we needed to come back those three times. We need to figure out how to grab the lead first and hold onto it, rather than try to climb out of holes we dig for ourselves.

Looking ahead: We play in a tournament in Baton Rouge next weekend. Wish us luck!

Hallelujah and the Knork

I'm posting this item for two people, one I know really well and one I have met only once. The rest of you are more then welcome to continue to read and comment though.

For my wife: Here is something to read since you are such a big fan of sporks (which I really dislike). Check out the Knork.

For Luke to pass on to his brother: Check out this post on Cohen's Hallelujah (you may have seen this in the past). It has an in depth view, with statistics of covers of the song. Pretty neat.

Enjoy your weekend everybody.

The Meaning of Night

"The boundaries of this world are forever shifting - from day to night, joy to sorrow, love to hate, and from life itself to death; and who can say at what moment we may suddenly cross over the border, from one state of existence to another, like heat applied to some flammable substance."

The quote above is from the current book that I am reading entitled, The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox. There is something about this sentence that I really like. Feel free to react if you feel the need.

No Leprechauns Please

Barista: Welcome to Starbucks. Can I take your order?
Me: Yup. I'll take a grande peppermint mocha, hold the leprechauns.

Coach

A friend of mine (Mark) stopped by my practice yesterday to kick around with my team.

Player: Who's that coach?
Coach: That's my friend Mark.
Player: Does he have an English accent like you?
Coach: I don't have an English accent.
Player: Jersey accent. Same thing.

Torres Goal: Liverpool vs. West Ham

For those of you curious to see what my wife's goal looked like last night, here is an approximate recreation of the event by Liverpool's Torres. My wife's form is a little better but Torres does a decent job in this clip.

AFC: 3-0-0

We have started the portion of our co-ed season where we play games during the week rather than on the weekends (due to youth tournaments taking up the fields on Sunday). Last night was the first such night game. I find night games difficult because I don't have contacts and can't wear glasses when I play. Thus, I have no real depth perception in these games. Also, it is obviously just tougher to see my team, the opponent and the ball in general. These are all bad things.

It didn't matter last night though. We played one of the weaker teams in the league and even though it took us 15 minutes to get the first goal, the game was over fast. The final score was greater than 10-0.

Big news from this game was that my wife scored her first goal of the season! It was a shot from a cross. One time hit from about 14 yards out. Lower 90, far post. She also played center midfielder for a good portion of the game and did really well. She put in an impressive performance.

Our record is now 3-0-0. Next Thursday (I think) we play our top rival. It will be a barn burner.

Rabbit

When I travel I usually rent my cars from National. They have a good frequent rental program and they usually have a nice selection of cars from which you get to pick rather than get assigned. I have to say that I really like the Volkswagen Rabbit that I picked up last night. It is tight.

One Word

Well, we made it out of the storm in Louisiana and I got on an earlier 2nd flight via stand by. One word you want to hear when you fly stand by: Upgrade.

So it's first class on my way to Philly. Interesting travel day.

Two Words

Two words you never want to read when checking the weather along your flight itinerary: Tornado Watch.

Wish me luck.

Alliteration Gone Wrong

I've been drinking peppermint mochas from Starbucks recently but with the upcoming St. Patrick's day holiday, they are throwing green sprinkles on it and have renamed it to a Leprechaun latte. Never mind that it is not a latte. When I pointed this out and asked for an explanation, the reason they decided on this term is that it 'leprechaun mocha' just doesn't have the right ring to it. Thus, they have decided to incorrectly name the product.

I Found It

1. The Temptation Of Adam - Josh Ritter
2. Fiery Crash - Andrew Bird
3. West Coast - Coconut Records
4. Where's the Music - Medeski Martin & Wood
5. Hoppípolla - Sigur Rós
6. Apartment Story - The National
7. Ghost - Rogue Wave
8. My Moon My Man - Feist
9. Jacksonville - Sufjan Stevens
10. Kanske Ar Jag Kar i Dig - Jens Lekman
11. Radio Song - The Felice Brothers
12. Pilette Breakdown - Lost Bayou Ramblers
13. Kathleen - Josh Ritter
14. Ada - The National
15. Penelope - Pinback
16. Twice - Little Dragon
17. If One of Us Should Fall - The Slip
18. Adlai Stevenson - Sufjan Stevens
19. To The Stars! To The Night! - Le Loup
20. Selective Periphera - Ben Benjamin

Paw Protection

Jozy loves her bike rides and on the weekends we go on long ones. The only thing we need to do is to make sure we put on her paw wax first to make sure her paws are ok with the wear and tear of the road. The other option was to buy little booties. Paw wax is much cooler than dog booties.