Another day of sports has come and gone and it looks like things have been shaken up. There were two different Champions Leagues in action last night on both sides of the Atlantic, baseball’s spring training is now in full swing (forgive the pun), and the Phoenix Coyotes have won…..again.
UEFA Champions League is by far the most enjoyable soccer club competition in the world. No other tournament will pit the true powerhouses from every country in its fold on this scale. With two English clubs already completed their first legs, and with victories (Tottenham over AC Milan and Arsenal’s epic victory over mighty Barcelona) it was Chelsea’s turn to step it up. Away to Copenhagen, nobody predicted that this was going to be a difficult match for the Blues. The Danish squad was by far the best draw any team could have hoped for due to their inexperience. However; because of Chelsea’s recent downturn in performance pundits have begun wondering whether or not this match might be the forgone conclusion we all made it out to be two months ago. Chelsea answered that question in impeccable style. With Carlos Ancelotti employing a 4-4-2 pairing up Nicolas Anelka and Fernando Torres up front he was immediately paid the dividends. Anelka scored a brace to propel Chelsea into a 2-0 finish and an easy trip back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg in a couple of weeks. With Fernando Torres still not finding his way onto a score sheet patience is going to run out more and more with each passing game. He needs to start showing the Blues faithful and brass why he commanded a £50 million transfer fee from Liverpool. Chelsea brought him in to play in and help them win the Champions League this year and he’s lucky Anelka stepped up to the challenge last night.
Real Madrid also drew with Lyons last night. Karim Benzema managed to put Madrid up but was cancelled out late in the fixture. Although Real have been knocked out of the competition by Lyons twice recently, they seem to have everything well in hand with a trip back to the Bernabau and an even score line playing to their advantage.
In other Champions League news, the CONCACAF Champions League got back underway last night. The Columbus Crew was pitted up against Real Salt Lake in a quarterfinals match-up. These are the last two MLS teams left in the competition after its lengthy hiatus. It almost counts as the first MLS action of the new season…except that this competition is the continuation of last season, and the final standings of the season before that…it’s all very confusing. While they have opposite schedules and the tournament takes so long it starts to mess with your head a bit. A gritty affair between the two teams (there’s been no love lost in any match involving these two sides in recent days) they ended on a 0-0 draw. Neither side claiming a push over the other and no it comes down to the second leg with Salt Lake having the home advantage. Either way we’ll see an MLS team go through to the semi finals. It would be nice to see one of these two teams come out with the championship just to compare how they would play against some of the world’s best clubs in the following FIFA Club World Cup. You know…curiosity.
Keeping on the theme of soccer…what in world happened to Tottenham last night? We’re talking about a team that can hold onto a clean sheet and win against AC Milan at San Siro but can’t stop Blackpool from cruising to victory? With a 3-1 loss at Bloomfield Road last night Harry Redknapp has some explaining to do. If Tottenham want to hang onto that fourth place finish and find themselves back in the Champions League next year they cannot afford to be losing these types of games. Hats off to the Tangerines though for an impressive ability. Charlie Adam has been showing why his manager has put so much faith in needing him to stay in the top flight. It’s a foregone conclusion that Adam will find himself in a different team’s shirt next year based on his magnificent campaign this season. Ian Holloway had to fend off many bids for Adam’s services this past January convinced that he would be vital to Blackpool down the stretch. Adam’s corners are superb and precise, his penalty taking is spot on, and he reads the fields so well. Until the summer poaching season comes Holloway will look very wise indeed for making the kid stick around.
Changing gears back to North America a couple of revelations have been made. First off, the Cincinnati Reds officially named Edison Volquez as their opening day starter. He must have seriously impressed the coaching staff to be named this early in the spring campaign. Of course, this is barring performance and injury woes throughout the course of spring games. With Dusty Baker making this choice so early you can’t help but wonder if he’s trying to light a fire under the likes of Arroyo and Cueto to get even better performances out of them this season.
In the NHL the Phoenix Coyotes won….again. This is the second major streak the “Yotes” have gone on this season and has catapulted them up to the division lead. It looks like they’ll be duking it out with the Sharks down the stretch which should make for some very interesting games. Could anybody see this coming given the problems this franchise faced just a couple of years ago? Going into bankruptcy, becoming owned by the NHL, and almost being moved to Canada by businessman and owner wannabe Jim Balsillie. The team is proving they were no fluke making their first play-off appearance last season and bringing the Red Wings to a seventh game in their series. It looks like Phoenix is going to be raring to go once the play-offs hit this year and I think they’ll be a force to reckon with. Maybe a good solid trade at the deadline will put them right over the top.
In closing, how bad does Jim Balsillie feel right now? He seems to have the golden touch for making bad teams good again by attempting to purchase them. He tried to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins, failed, and they went on to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals winning one of them. Then he tried to purchase the Nashville Predators, failed, and they haven’t missed the play-offs since. Now he has attempted to buy the Coyotes, failed, and they’ve made their first play-off appearance as a franchise and look destined to be a regular fixture there in the years to come. Maybe going into bankruptcy isn’t all that bad for teams…just give Mr. BBM a call.
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