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NZI Sevens Rugby: Shield Champions

THE USA EAGLES!!!

GOOD WORK BOYS!!!

NEXT WEEKEND, THE USA SEVENS TOURNAMENT!

New Zealand Sevens (semi) Live Blogging Underway!

Ok, here’s the deal. Setanta Sports has been advertising that coverage of tonight’s New Zealand Sevens was going to be LIVE in the United States. So I get an email and Day 2 is already underway. Are you kidding me? I was looking forward to “Live Blogging” Day 2 and apparently Setanta Sports lied to me. LIARS!!!

I apologize. Maybe they are only showing the end of it live instead of the entire day…no idea. I just double checked the Setanta USA website and it still says the coverage was going to be live tonight. Fuckers, but I probably fucked up and misunderstood.

Well…I’m pissed. But, at least let me get everyone caught up to what has gone down so far.

Bowl Quarterfinals

England-33 Canada-17

France-17 USA-12 –Not a great start for the Eagles. They are now eliminated from the Bowl competition and must now play for the Shield. The French get a measure of revenge after losing to the Eagles in George. It should be noted that the score was 12-12 at the end of regulation and France scored the winning try in “sudden death” over time.

Argentina-19 Kenya-7

Cook Islands-24 Papua New Guinea-17

Cup Quarterfinals

New Zealand-40 Wales-5

Australia-31 Scotland-7

Tonga-14 South Africa-10–What an upset! Tonga did not compete in Dubai or George and yet they knock off one of the tournament favorites. Congrats to them.

Samoa-19 Fiji-17 –Hell yeah! The upsets continue. This is probably good news for the Kiwis as I felt Fiji was the only squad strong enough to defeat the hosts.

Shield Semifinals

USA-19 Canada-7 –The Eagles advance to the Shield Finals! Sure, its the lowest trophy you can win in a Sevens Tournament, but any hardware is an accomplishment. They will get a chance to avenge their loss to Kenya in the Plate Finals back in December at the South Africa Sevens as the two squads will meet for the Shield Finals. This also gives the U.S. two straight victories over our rivals to the north. Michael Palefau and Matthew Hawkins scored tries for the U.S.

Kenya-38 Papua New Guinea-7

And that catches you up to date.

Please click on “READ MORE” below as I will now begin LIVE TRYGOL.COM COVERAGE of the rest of the New Zealand International Sevens!!!

New Zealand Sevens: Live Blogging Begins At 12:30am ET

Just a quick reminder, I will begin “live blogging” Day 2 of the New Zealand Rugby Sevens tonight at 12:30 am ET. I can’t promise you that I will be able to stay awake until 4 am but I’ll give it my best shot. Regardless, I will post results later Saturday morning.

Great “Try Gol” Weekend

We have a very busy weekend a head of us and I couldn’t be more excited. I may be a bit worn out when its all said and done, which will be weird because its not like I’m doing anything except watch TV almost non-stop.

So let’s break everything down, starting tonight:

Rugby: IRB New Zealand Sevens-Day 2
Day 2 kicks off tonight (or very early tomorrow depending on where you live) and the USA Eagles are in the Bowl Quarterfinals. They will take on France. I’m fairly confident our boys will get a victory. Frankly France is playing like shit at the moment and we defeated them in South Africa back in December, which at the time seemed like an upset. I’m going to predict the Eagles make it to the Bowl Finals before losing. I hope I’m wrong but they always seem to stumble a bit on Day 2 of any given 7’s tournament. I’m picking Fiji or New Zealand to win it all as both squads seem pretty unstoppable at the moment.

Live coverage in the United States will begin at 12:30 am Eastern on Setanta Sports. I will attempt to “Live Blog” the matches tonight, although I make no promises that I will be able to stay up until 4am. I’m a 32 year old trapped in a 72 year old body.

Rugby: 6 Nations-Saturday
The 2008 RBS 6 Nations begins tomorrow around 9am Eastern with Ireland hosting Italy. Ireland should easily defeat Italy as I feel the other squads will defeat Italy easily as well. I could be wrong though, it’s not like Ireland had a stellar performance at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The match will air in the U.S. on Setanta Sports at 11:30 pm ET on Sunday, which basically means I will probably flip back and forth between the match and UFC 81. UFC takes priority here because I’m paying for that.

Wales travels to Twickenham to take on England at 11:30 am Eastern. I’m going to have to avoid spoilers until Sunday when the match airs on Setanta at 3pm ET. I’m really looking forward to this match. I feel Wales is much improved and England is considered by most to be the favorites to win the 6 Nations this year. Last year, Wales gained their only victory over England but I don’t see that happening this year. Look for England to win a close one.

UFC 81-Live on Pay Per View
I caught shit via email the last time I mentioned the Ultimate Fighting Championship on this “rugby & soccer” blog. Being of a libertarian mind, all that did was motivate me to plug it again. I love the UFC and I’m really looking forward to the Pay Per View on Saturday night. Former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar makes his UFC debut as he takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. I’m a Brock Lesnar fan and make no apologies for it. He’s a legit fighter and I feel he will destroy Frank Mir in the 1st round. I hope I’m right, I’m going to feel good gloating. Its funny because if you look at the forums, everyone seems to be talking shit about how Mir will defeat the “fake” wrestler, yet in all the polls I’ve seen, Brock is a heavy favorite to win. Perhaps some people are shit talking on the forums just to talk shit? Who knows. Tim Sylvia is taking on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. I hate Tim Sylvia and couldn’t give a fuck less about this bout. Here’s hoping Nog ends it early and wins the Interim Heavyweight Title. The other bout I’m looking forward to is Jeremy Horn vs Nate Marquardt. I like both fighters but I’m going to place my bet on Jeremy Horn as that guy has some sick submissions. UFC 81 airs on PPV in the U.S. at 10pm Eastern.

Soccer (or “Football”): Fulham vs Aston Villa
On paper it would seem that Aston Villa should be the clear cut favorites to take all 3 points at the Cottage. They are currently sitting 5th in the table and with the way Liverpool has been performing, it’s possible that by the end of the season, you could see Villa finish in the Top 4, which would be huge for that club.

Fulham needs a victory, bottomline. A couple days ago I stated that we need draws away and victories at home if we are to avoid relegation. So, the boys must step up and secure a victory this weekend. I have no idea what Roy Hodgson plans on doing this Sunday, however if I were to give him some advice, I would make Eddie Johnson available to come off the bench. I wouldn’t start him at this point because I feel Eddie probabl lacks fitness. However, I do believe our favorite “Grown Ass Man” could provide the second half spark we currently lack. In order to avoid relegation we must be able to finish off matches. I’m going to say Fulham pulls off the “upset” and takes 3 points at home. Let’s go with 1-0 and once again, I’m going to pick Jimmy Bullard to score our goal. I’ll probably pick Jimmy to score in every match until he actually scores. I just really want to see the guy complete his comeback. The match will air Live at 11am on Fox Soccer Channel.

Football (or “Football”): Super Bowl XLII-Patriots vs Giants
Yes I love American Football just as much as I love rugby, soccer or mixed martial arts. But for the first time in my life, I couldn’t give a shit less about the Super Bowl. I hate the Patriots (even though you did give my Fighting Irish Charlie Weiss, thanks!) and hate the New York Giants even more. I honestly couldn’t give a rats ass about this game and I’m not entirely sure if I’ll watch it or not. I am looking forward to tuning in to Spike TV during halftime to watch the latest Major League Eating (MLE) competition. I think I missed my calling. I could have been the Hot Wings champion or something. Not sure what those athletes will be chowing down but I do know it sickens my wife, so that is entertainment in of itself. Back to the Super Bowl, I’m predicting Patriots-31 Giants-10 and Jason-bored.

Rugby-RBS 6 Nations-Sunday
Scotland vs France will kick off at Murrayfield at 10am Sunday and will air in the U.S. at 11pm Sunday night on Setanta. France should win but don’t count out Scotland at home. I see something like 24-13, with the first half being really close and France pulling away in the second.

So there you have it. Another kick ass, sports filled weekend for yours truly. Remember, I will attempt to “live blog” Day 2 of the IRB New Zealand Sevens tournament tonight, starting at 12:30 am.

NZ Sevens: Day 1 Results; Day 2 Matches

Day 1 is complete and as far as the quarterfinals go, you pretty much see your usual suspects involved. Thats not to say that there wasn’t a couple of upsets on Day 1, as I chronicled in the post prior to this one.

The USA Eagles went 1-1-1 on the day, finishing 3rd in their group. Even though they didn’t make it to the quarters this time (as they did in South Africa back in December), they did manage an upset and a hard fought draw. Let’s hope the Eagles can make a run in the Bowl or Plate portion of the tournament today because I feel the boys deserve to bring home a trophy.

NZ Sevens-Day 1 Results

Pool A
Match 7: New Zealand 43-0 Canada
Match 8: Samoa 22-0 Papua New Guinea
Match 15: New Zealand 41-0 Papua New Guinea
Match 16: Samoa 31-10 Canada
Match 20: Canada 27-21 Papua New Guinea
Match 24: New Zealand 19-7 Samoa

Pool B
Match 5: Fiji 40-7 Wales
Match 6: England 17-21 Cook Islands
Match 13: Fiji 31-14 Cook Islands
Match 14: England 5-15 Wales
Match 19: Wales 26-7 Cook Islands
Match 23: Fiji 17-7 England

Pool C
Match 3: South Africa 24-14 Australia
Match 4: Kenya 19-0 France
Match 11: South Africa 29-7 France
Match 12: Kenya 0-19 Australia
Match 18: Australia 24-14 France
Match 22: South Africa 33-7 Kenya

Pool D
Match 1: Argentina 7-17 USA
Match 2: Scotland 26-0 Tonga
Match 9: Argentina 17-19 Tonga
Match 10: Scotland 7-7 USA
Match 17: USA 7-38 Tonga
Match 21: Argentina 12-19 Scotland

Eagles Off To Flying Start In Wellington

Well the New Zealand Sevens are underway and it has been a Day 1 full of upsets and my USA Eagles started the “minnow” party in the very first match of the tournament.

The U.S. shocked Argentina, defeating the Pumas 17-7. Mike Palefau scored two tries for the Americans. What a way to get the competition started!!!

It didn’t end there…the Eagles would then draw with Scotland 7-7. I’ll take that as well. So let me break down Pool D right quick to give you an idea of where the Eagles stand. The U.S. has 1 win and 1 draw. Scotland defeated Tonga 26-0, so that puts Scotland at 1 win and 1 draw. Tonga defeated Argentina, so Tonga has 1 win and 1 loss while the Pumas are stuck at 0-2. If the U.S can manage a victory over Tonga, they will punch their ticket to the money round.

The real SHOCKER and I mean SHOCKER of the tournament so far was the Cook Islands defeating ENGLAND!!! I repeat, England lost to the Cook Frickin’ Islands 21-17. I don’t care if this is 7’s or 15’s rugby, thats an upset and a half.

Not sure how late I’m going to stay up tonight, so I may or may not have further updates. I will have complete Day 1 results and Day 2 opening match ups Friday morning.

*Update (12:19 am ET)- England just lost to Wales 15-5, which means they are heading for the Bowl portion of the competition, which is what I like to call the “loser tournament”. They must still play Fiji and unless the Brits wake the hell up, they could end the Pool stage 0-3. I’m still awake, so I’ll keep updates coming until I fall out.

*Update (12:33 am ET)-I forgot to mention that Fiji easily defeated the Cook Islands. Looks like Fiji has already wrapped up #1 in Pool B. Scary thing is, the battle for Pool B’s other quarterfinal spot will be between Cook Islands and Wales. I had Fiji and England coming out of this Pool, so tickle me shocked. What about New Zealand you say? They stomped Canada and Papua New Guinea in their first two matches, so all isn’t flipped upside down in New Zealand.

*Update (12:40 am ET)-If it makes you “blokes” feel any better, France is sucking up the joint as well today. Kenya defeated France 19-0 and then France got spanked by the Springboks 29-7. I had a French rugby fan who typed in very broke English, tell me that France would recover in Wellington, that outside of New Zealand, they had the most “talented” 7’s squad in the world. Well let’s see, in the past 2 tournaments you’ve lost to the USA Eagles, Kenya & Wales (who aren’t exactly a 7’s powerhouse). Blow me Frenchies.

*Update (12:58 am ET)-Getting tired here. I’m going to try to stay up until the USA/Tonga match. I only have to wait through 1 more as Canada is taking on Samoa right now. It may be tough staying up all night to cover this thing tomorrow but I’ll do my best. Nothing booze and pain pills can’t handle. My plan is to live blog Day 2 of the competition. I would do it tonight but I gotta be to work in a few hours. I wish the “Canucks” would hurry up and lose so we can get to the Eagles. Just as I was about to end this post, I noticed Samoa beat Canada 31-10. Now its on to USA vs Tonga, a HUGE match for the Eagles. I’m starting to get nervous…

*Update (1:16 am ET)- In my New Zealand Sevens preview, I stated the match I was most worried about was the one versus Tonga and I was right. Tonga defeated the Eagles 38-7. Tonga just punched their ticket to the quarterfinals in their first tournament appearance of the season. As for the Americans, there is a VERY slim chance we could still advance to the quarters, but we would need Argentina to completely stomp Scotland. While it’s possible that Argentina could win, I doubt they will win by enough for the U.S. to advance due to “point difference”. Too bad, that draw with Scotland ended up hurting us more than helping us. Nothing to be ashamed of Eagles, a great opening day. If we do end up in the Bowl, it looks like we get France. Hahaha, I just hope “karma” doesn’t bite me in the ass after my “frenchie” rant earlier.

*Update (1:31 am ET)- Well I’m off to bed. Its about an hour until the Scotland/Argentina match and even though I’m holding on to hope that a miracle will happen and the U.S. will end up in the quarters, I seriously doubt it.

I’ll have complete Day 1 results Friday morning and I plan on “Live Blogging” Day 2 tomorrow night. Time to get some sleep. Good night!

U.S. Soccer Unveils New Look Jersey

The 2008 USA Men’s soccer home jersey. The boys will debut the new look against Mexico next Wednesday. I must admit, I’m not fond of it. Doesn’t matter what you look like as long as you win, I just prefer the one they had been wearing.  Although it’s much better than the kit they wore for the Copa America!

New Site Sneek Peek

Last week I mentioned that Try Gol will soon have a new look. Well I can now give you a bit of a preview.

Click HERE

Remember, you can access this blog via TryGol.com now. I’ve noticed the majority of my traffic is still coming in via http://trygol.wordpress.com. After the new site is 100% complete, you will only be able to access the blog via TryGol.com. Please bookmark & update your records.

The Greatest Try of All Time

Enjoy…

International Rugby Takes Center Stage This Weekend

For the next couple of weekends, the focus of the rugby world will be on International squads as the RBS 6 Nations begins as well as the New Zealand & USA Sevens.

As I’ve stated here in the past, I love the 6 Nations and I will once again throw my support to Wales. I feel the Welsh squad will give us a much better performance this season compared to last season, when the team only managed one victory (versus England!). The Welsh squad must enter the Lions Den straight away as they take on 2007 RWC runners up England at Twickenham. I’m hoping for an upset, even though the English squad features 6 members of the London Wasps.

The only thing that sucks is the matches will be televised in the U.S. on Setanta Sports, tape delayed. I guess I’ll REALLY have to avoid spoilers. Most matches will be given same day coverage, while others will be shown a day later.

RBS 6 Nations-Opening Weekend Fixtures

Ireland vs Italy (Croke Park)

England vs Wales (Twickenham)

Scotland vs France (Murrayfield)

I’ll have results & thoughts up after I’ve been able to watch all 3 matches on tape delay. I apologize for that but I want to avoid spoilers.

New Zealand Sevens-LIVE!!!

Day 2 of the New Zealand Sevens will be televised LIVE in the U.S. on Setanta Sports. The live coverage begins 12:30 am eastern (9:30pm Friday Pacific) Saturday morning and will conclude at 4 am. This is the first time this year that a Sevens Tournament will be aired live in the States. I imagine that Day 2 of the USA Sevens a week later will also air live either on Setanta Sports or Versus.

The U.S. must take on Scotland, Argentina & Tonga on Day 1. I feel the Eagles can defeat Argentina & Scotland, which would be enough for us to move on to the “money round” on Day 2. I’m a little bit worried about the Tonga match but its entirely possible that the U.S. could win their group, which would put us in a better position on Day 2.

I will have Day 1 results up as soon as I can. With the time difference, it may be tough but I will attempt to keep everyone up to date with the results. I feel with some luck, the Eagles may shock a few people on the opening day and may finally come home with some hardware for the first time this season (we came close in South Africa), which would be huge confidence boost heading to San Diego on the 9th and 10th, where the Eagles were handed a much tougher draw.

GOOD LUCK EAGLES!!!

Fulham Earns A Point At Bolton

When you sit at the bottom of the table, you’ll take any point you can get. We needed a victory but settled for a draw yesterday at the Reebok, as both clubs fought to a 0-0 draw.

Fulham played pretty well in the first half but seemed to lack spark in the attack in the second. I feel that will be what Eddie Johnson can provide. He wasn’t dressed for the match yesterday but as soon as he gets fit, I feel that will be his role. I don’t expect him to start but he will be a great late game substitute. If we expect to avoid relegation, we must finish off matches, which has been our problem this season.

Hats off to Antti Niemi, he played really well in goal last night. I’ve been critical of him at times this season but don’t be fooled, he earned our point yesterday. The Cottagers return home Sunday to take on Aston Villa. Very important to get a win. I’ll take away draws as long as we can begin winning at home.

On a side note, Brian McBride may be close to his return. He played all 90 minutes for the reserves recently, which is a great sign. I don’t feel Brian will carry us to the promise land this season, but he is a key player to help keep us up.