Matthew McCabe's Florida Marlins fan blog

The eyes of the soccer world were on South Africa Sunday as the upset minded US National Team took on powerhouse Brazil in the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup. The Americans, on life support after the first two games of the tournament, were looking to complete their stunning turn around with a victory over Brazil in the final. The US had taken down the World's #1 team, Spain, on Wednesday and were looking to pull off another huge upset over Brazil who beat host South Africa to reach the final. For 45 minutes the US had the World wondering, could it be?

Through the first half the US was clearly the better team, led by Tim Howard who put in one of the best performances of his career. At the halftime whistle the Americans were ahead 2-0 and holding the Brazilian offense in check. In the 2nd half the US did all they could, Howard in particular, to keep the Brazilians off the board. Slowly but surely, however, you could see the Brazilians beginning to wear down the Americans, beginning to find a groove offensively. Brazil would fire in 3 goals in the later portion of the 2nd half, the final dagger coming in the 84th minute, to steal victory from the US with a 3-2 comeback win.

Continue reading "US Soccer Team come out winners even in defeat"

The United States National Team scored a monumental victory yesterday in the FIFA Confederations Cup, defeating world #1 Spain 2-0 in the tournament's semi-final game. Spain had been on an amazing streak heading into yesterday's game against the U.S. Spain was riding a 35 match unbeaten streak, one short of the all time record, and was also riding a world 15 game winning streak. None of that made a difference yesterday as Spain and its roster of world class footballers fell to the U.S.

All things considered, yesterday was a fantastic moment for the U.S. National Team as they pulled off one of international football's most stunning upsets. Spain is loaded with talented players who play for some of the best teams, in the best leagues in European football. Iker Casillas is perhaps the best goalie in the world right now, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, and Sergio Ramos comprise one of the best defenses in the world, and Fernando Torres and David Villa might be the most deadly 1-2 combination up front. The U.S. on the other hand is a very young, very green team with little depth and few veteran leaders. The majority of the U.S. players play at home in the less impressive MLS, and those who play abroad play in some of Europe's lesser leagues or see little playing time.

Continue reading "Momental victory for US National team, but what does it really mean?"

As the baseball world awaits the return of Manny Ramirez in a little over a week, many are wondering which Manny Ramirez will return after a 50 game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's steroid policy. This evening Ramirez begins a stint with the Albuquerque Isotopes, the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to help rid himself of nearly 2 months of rust and prepare to return to the Dodgers next Friday. The question remains though, which Manny will we see when Ramirez takes the field in San Diego next week?

Most baseball fans are used to a brash, confident (even over confident), and constantly smiling Manny doing and saying what he wants. Manny being Manny as they say. Ramirez is no stranger to controversy and has no doubt heard his fair share of boos and jeers in stadiums around the country. Manny has long been accused of being perhaps the laziest, if not most over-rated, outfielder in MLB. Manny's redeeming quality was his ability with a bat in his hand. His home-runs and RBIs, and clutch hitting allowed the Boston Red Sox to look past several Manny being Manny behaviors like constant trade demands, taking time off in between (or worse in the midst of) innings in the outfield, and then of course pushing around a Red Sox employee who wouldn't allow him to abuse player ticket allowances by demanding more.

Continue reading "Which Manny Ramirez will return to Los Angeles?"

Disgraced former MLB slugger Jose Canseco apparently has one more trick left up his sleeve to help keep himself in the limelight, well beyond his 15 minutes of fame. Canseco wants to get together with fellow disgraced steroid users Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro to file a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the Players Association to seek compensation for loss of wages and defamation of character.

Canseco stated in a telephone interview that:

"Because I used steroids and I came out with a book, I was kicked out of the game, but I have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. A lot of these players have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame: Mark McGwire and so forth. They're losing salaries, because obviously when you're inducted into the Hall of Fame, you get asked to do certain, you know, appearances and shows and so forth, which incorporates income. So there is a major income loss. Not even that, baseball blackballs you from their family, meaning you can't have a future proper reference from them, a job, no managerial jobs, no coaching jobs, nothing. They completely sever you."

Continue reading "Jose Canseco to bring full circus to court, plans to sue MLB and MLBPA"

The country was captivated in the summer of 1998 by the home-run chase as Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs and Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals simultaneously chased Roger Maris' single season home-run record. As the season neared a close the two managed to keep the pressure on each other night in and night out to go yard. America was hooked on baseball, tuning in each night to see these two sluggers battle it out to see who would be the new long ball champion.

Fast forward a decade and the fog of greatness is slowly disappearing around many of baseball's former greats as the steroid scandal that has gripped MLB over the past few years is showing no prejudice in who it tears down. In 2005 when interest in steroid use shot up, McGwire, Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro went in front of Congress to declare their innocence and deny knowledge of other "juicing". All three players sat in front of Congress and swore under oath they had never used steroids, ever. By this time many had begun wondering if McGwire and Sosa's chase in 1998 was steroid propelled. After all, both men had rather large physiques and were big time hitters.

Continue reading "Another "hero" falls, Slammin' Sammy busted"

On Tuesday an agreement was reached in Donte Stallworth's drunk driving incident. Stallworth was arrested after he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in Miami on March 14th. The accident occurred at 7:20am as Stallworth was heading home after a night of drinking at a trendy Miami Beach club. The victim was just finishing his shift at work and was crossing the street to catch his bus when Stallworth struck and killed him with his car. When police arrived Stallworth submitted to a roadside sobriety test and blew a .126, well above Florida's .08 legal limit.

Yesterday a plea agreement was reached in the case that will see Stallworth serve 24 days in jail followed by two years of house arrest, eight years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service, and have a lifetime suspension of his driving privileges. Stallworth also reached a financial settlement with the victims family, the details of which remain confidential. If Stallworth's case had gone to trial, a conviction could have resulted in a 15 year prison sentence for Stallworth. The victim's family however, in the interest of foregoing the pain and agony of a trial, got behind the plea agreement to get the issue settled.

Continue reading "Donte Stallworth sentenced, but was justice served?"

Plaxico Burress has avoided a decision in the justice system, for now, but will a decision on his playing future soon be reached? Burress and his agent Drew Rosenhaus have stated that he is in good shape and ready to play in the NFL this coming season after recovering from his self inflicted gun shot wound last fall. With jail time on the back burner for now, Burress seems free to rejoin an NFL team and resume his career, but does anyone want to sign him? More importantly, should anyone sign him?

Rumor has it that among a handful of teams, the New York Jets and Chicago Bears have expressed the most interest in Burress' services. Both teams could use Burress' experience and ability. The Bears have long been lacking a reliable, go to WR to help but some teeth in their offensive scheme. The Jets even more so could benefit from Burress as he would not only be able to stretch the field but would be a fantastic target for rookie Mark Sanchez if, or more accurately when, he becomes the Jets starter. The bigger question is, should either of these teams, or any other even consider giving Burress a contract.

Continue reading "Who wants Plaxico Burress?"

The U.S. Men's National Team began play today in the Confederations Cup in South Africa in forgettable fashion. The U.S., playing in what some are calling the "group of death", faced defending world champion Italy today. The Americans put in a performance similar to Jekyll and Hyde with a strong first half followed by a flop of a second half.

Working against the American squad was a red card issued to Ricardo Clark in the 33rd minute for a late tackle on Italy's Gennaro Gattuso. Up to that point the game had seen nothing more than toothless offensive forays from both teams, but after Clark's departure the U.S. seemed re-energized despite playing 10 v 11. The increased U.S. effort was rewarded in the 41st minute as Jozy Altidore raced into the Italian 18yd box only to be hauled down by Giorgio Chiellini. Landon Donovan converted the PK for his 40th international goal and sent the U.S. into halftime up 1-0.

Continue reading "U.S. flops in Confederations Cup opener"

Over the last two years America has slowly sunk into an economic mess. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and their self-esteem as they find it harder and harder to make ends meet. It appears however that not everybody is suffering. As college educated people lose jobs they've held for years, and recent college graduates struggle to find any job at all, there are some signing on the dotted line for millions that haven't earned a dime of what they are being given. America's two largest, and most arguably most popular, professional sports leagues are doing nothing to curtail ballooning salaries for top rated rookies who haven't even set foot on the field to prove they are worthy of a contract.

Immediately people are going to disagree and say these kids spent one, two, three, or four (though most don't spend four) years in college as student-athletes waiting for this opportunity. Surely then, that time has earned them a good wage in the professional ranks, but how so? How does performing exceptionally in college prove you are worth anything in the professional ranks? If you ask most athletes and analysts, they will tell you that in no sport are the college ranks anywhere near the intensity of the professional leagues. Given that knowledge, it should be easy to realize then that everything earned in college gets you nothing but attention before your professional career. Accomplishments in an admittedly lesser league (or level of play) don't prove you are capable of success on the prime time stage.

Continue reading "More and more money, but for what?"

The summer transfer period is just a few weeks old and already Real Madrid has forked over more money in transfer fees than most clubs could ever dream of spending. After a disappointing 2008-2009 domestically and in Europe for Los Blancos, the decision was made to tear it down and start fresh in Madrid. The organization was forced to watch their biggest rival, Barcelona, complete the Treble this season, winning La Liga by a comfortable nine point margin, taking home the Copa Del Rey, and conquering the Champions League with a fantastic 2-0 defeat of Manchester United. As if it weren’t bad enough, Madrid was unceremoniously bounced from the Champions League 5-0 on aggregate by English side Liverpool.

A slow start in La Liga this season cost manager Bernd Schuster his job, and the embarrassing Champions League exit coupled with a late season 6-2 loss to rival Barcelona cost club President Ramon Calderon his position. New club President Florentino Perez and manager Manuel Pellegrini have been tasked with regaining Madrid’s elite status among Europe’s clubs. Perez wasted no time making Madrid’s intentions clear. Monday the team paid AC Milan $92.05 million for midfielder Kaka and then broke the bank on Thursday, paying Manchester United $131 million for midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo. Now the question is will $223 million spent on two of the world’s elite footballers make a difference?

Continue reading "Can Real Madrid buy its way back to glory?"